The Global Administrative Unit Layers (GAUL) aims to facilitate mapping and analysis of data across countries by standardizing administrative boundaries and names globally. It provides the most up-to-date international boundaries and administrative units for all countries. GAUL helps geographically represent statistical data at national and sub-national levels. It is used by UN agencies, universities, and NGOs to display reliable boundaries and geo-code data on topics like agriculture, health, and population.

1. The Global
Administrative Unit
Layers (GAUL)
BASIC CONCEPTS
Fabio Grita
System support officer, FAO

2. Objectives
To facilitate mapping and geospatial analysis of data
across countries by harmonizing boundaries and names of the
administrative units at global level
To provide the international community with the most
reliable and up-to-date data on international
boundaries and administrative units for all countries in the
world
To create an easily maintainable standard for
administrative units in order to geo-reference statistical, forecast and
real-time datasets

3. GAUL layers
WILAYA (Districts)KATA NDOGOTAARAFA (Divisions)KATA (Locations)

4. GAUL helps to geographically represent statistical
information (e.g. crop production, nutrition,
population, etc.) at national and sub-national levels
Yearly wheat production of districts
of Sylhet Province
How to use GAUL
GAUL districts of Sylhet Province

5. Wheat Production of Bangladesh
(Year 2007)
5822
Yearly wheat production
How to use GAUL

6. GAUL - disputed areas
GAUL is compliant with the
guidelines provided by the
United Nation Cartographic
Section (UNCS)
INDIA
PAKISTAN
CHINA

7. GAUL Approach
Data collection
(from various national and international sources)
Data evaluation
(using official documents and sources)
Data integration in GAUL
(selected data becomes an integral part of GAUL)
New GAUL release
Distribution to authorized users:
(UN agencies, Universities, Research
Centres, NGOs)
GAUL benefits from the contribution of its own users

8. GAUL Visualization
FENIX Mapping

9. GAUL Users
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
Global Information and Early Warning System (EST)
◦ Rainfall Tool
Natural Resources Service (NRC)
◦ the South-East Asia poverty mapping project
Land and Water development division (NRL)
◦ AgroMaps: A global spatial database of agricultural land-use statistics aggregated by sub-national
administrative districts
◦ Aquastat: FAO's Information System on Water and Agriculture
Fishery Marine Resources Service (FIR)
◦ FIGIS: Fisheries Global Information System
Statistics Division (ESS)
◦ CountryStat
Information Technology Department (CIO)

10. GAUL Users
UN agencies
World Food Programme (WFP)
World Health Organization (WHO)
UN Joint Logistic Centre (UNJLC)
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Data Exchange Platform for the Horn of Africa (DEPHA) – UNDP
Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
United Nations Spatial Data Infrastructure (UNSDI)

11. GAUL Users
other GAUL users
Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR)
Joint Research Centre (JRC)
Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWSNET)
NGOs: World Vision International, Save of Children
Projects: Food Security and Analysis Unit (FSAU), Global Monitoring for
Food Security sponsored by the European Space Agency (GMFS)
Universities: University of Rome “La Sapienza”, San Diego State
University and University of California, Aston University (UK), University
of Carolina North Carolina.

12. Why users are interested in GAUL?
To have an authoritative source for boundaries and names
To display reliable boundaries/names in their applications
To rely on a solid geo-coding system for spatially represent
their data (e.g. productions, population, etc.)

13. Issues and Adopted Solutions
ISSUES SOLUTIONS
Disputed areas GAUL is compliant with guidelines
and boundaries published by the UN
Cartographic Section
Some of the GAUL boundaries might
not be validated by the national
Government
FAO-GAUL disclaimer visible from
any application or map
GAUL data is not downloadable
from users’ applications (boundaries
can only be displayed)
Uncertainty on data policy for some
of the countries
Political (and sometimes administrative) boundaries may be sensitive data

14. Thank You for Your Attention
GLOBAL
ADMINISTRATIVE
UNIT
LAYERS