Europe Edition 2019/2020 features latest administrative and postcode boundaries

Bruchsal, Germany, October 22, 2019 – GfK has released its Europe Edition 2019/2020, which includes digital maps for all of Europe, reflecting the thousands of regional changes that have occurred since the previous release. The map sets are available for 42 European countries and offer coverage of the latest administrative and postcode boundaries. Up-to-date digital maps are the basis for carrying out accurate geographic analyses in geomarketing software and business intelligence systems.

GfK’s Europe Edition includes approximately 1,000 digital maps, which reflect the latest regional status and feature numerous new details and regional levels. Due to newly created or dissolved regions as well as boundary adjustments, there have been changes to almost all European countries with the exceptions of Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Latvia, Malta and Slovenia. The new maps also offer more granularity, especially along coastlines and in cities. With few exceptions, the maps for all countries are available down to the most detailed postcode and administrative levels. GfK’s Geomarketing experts have also released updated 2019 European market data that fits seamlessly with the maps, including GfK Purchasing Power and information on inhabitants and households.

“Precise, up-to-date maps are critical for companies from all sectors, as these are the basis for carrying out geographic analyses, such as planning branch networks and sales territories,” explains Klaus Dittmann, head of cartography in GfK’s Geomarketing solution area. “Governments and postal organizations throughout Europe implement numerous changes each year to improve service and efficiency, ensure adherence to European regulations or address financial needs. We update our maps for Europe annually to give our customers an accurate cartographic basis for carrying out error-free geographic analyses.”

Postcodes are particularly prone to changes due to reforms and continually evolving regional mail volumes. Postcodes are also the means by which companies geocode all of their address-related information, as postcodes exist throughout the world and offer a consistent, unambiguous reference point for geographic analyses. It is therefore important that postcode boundaries are accurate. For example, if the postcode associated with a company site has changed, the turnover values for this location will either be assigned to an incorrect postcode or disappear altogether if the postcode in question has been dissolved.

New additions

GfK’s Europe Edition 2019/2020 reflects the changes to the postcode and administrative levels that occurred in 37 European countries since the previous release. The edition also includes adjustments to thousands of regions. Below is a country-by-country description of some of the more comprehensive changes:

Italy

The map set has been expanded with a map of the country’s 402,551 sezioni (census regions).

•  municipalities: 56 dissolved and 22 new
•  5-digit postcodes: 29 dissolved and 37 new 

Lithuania

Street number coverage is now available for the cities of Vilnius, Klaipeda, Palanga, Alytus, Jonava, Utena, Kedainiai, Marijampole, Mažeikiai, Panevežys, Šilute, Kretinga and Gargždai.

•  wards: 5 dissolved and 45 new 
• 5-digit postcodes: 285 dissolved and 101 new; numerous boundary changes/corrections as well as name changes/corrections

Poland

The new edition includes a revision of the postcode boundaries down to the level of street numbers for the cities of Stettin, Bydgoszcz, Bialystok, Lublin, Czestochowa, Radom and Sosnowiec.

•  municipalities: 11 dissolved and 20 new 
• 5-digit postcodes: 15 dissolved and 18 new; numerous boundary changes

Portugal

The map set for Portugal now includes a map of the country’s 265,817 subsecçãos estatísticas (census regions).

Romania

In the combined map of the four- and six-digit postcodes, 46 cities have been revised at the street level for the six digit postcodes.

Spain

The map set has been expanded with a map of the country’s 36,089 secciones censales (census regions).

• municipalities: 7 new, 5 name corrections
• 5-digit postcodes: 1 dissolved, 1 name change

Sweden

•  5-digit postcodes: 109 dissolved and 239 new; numerous boundary changes/corrections

Turkey

The map of the country’s districts and neighborhoods has been expanded to include coverage of neighborhood
regions (mahalle) in the provinces of Kocaeli and Yalova.

•  city districts and areas: 55 dissolved and 641 new; 108 name corrections 
• 5-digit postcodes: 18 dissolved and 60 new; numerous boundary changes/corrections as well as name corrections

Ukraine

The combined map of the three- and five-digit postcodes has been expanded to include coverage of the five-digit postcodes in the city of Odessa.

• 5-digit postcodes: 2 dissolved and 60 new; numerous boundary corrections

United Kingdom

•  postcode units: 11,279 new 
• postcode unit points: 3,447 dissolved

Availability

The approximately 1,000 maps for the 42 European countries are available in all standard map formats, including *.shp (ESRI), *.tab (MapInfo), *.lay (RegioGraph) and Oracle Spatial. All maps of the postcode and administrative regions are vector-based and consequently offer infinite zoom and flexible viewing options.

Additional information

on GfK’s worldwide digital maps can be found here.

Print-quality illustrations

can be found here.

About GfK

GfK is focused, digital and a client-centric business. The company connects data and science and is in the unique position to leverage proprietary and third-party data to create indispensable predictive market and consumer insights as well as recommendations. Innovative analytics solutions provide answers for key business questions around consumers, markets, brands and media. As an analytics partner, GfK promises its clients all over the world “Growth from Knowledge”. For more information, please visit  www.gfk.com or follow GfK on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/GfK.



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Thomas Muranyi
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