Border Changes Dataset
Browse municipal boundary data by country. Only 10 rows are shown as a preview.
Codebook (click to expand)
Codebook¶
Below, each field is given a short heading followed by its definition. Where a field participates in the primary key, that fact is noted explicitly.
year¶
Type: 4-digit INTEGER
Description: Calendar year in which the boundary event took legal effect. When no change occurs, identifies the annual snapshot this record belongs to.
Example: 2015
Constraints: Ranges 2014–2024.
reference_year¶
Type: 4-digit INTEGER
Description: Companion year in the fixed two-year cycle that fully describes a change.
Example: 2016
Constraints: Null when there is no change.
Two complementary rows per change:
| Row role | Rule | Example values |
|---|---|---|
| Event year | reference_year = year + 1 |
year = 2014 → reference_year = 2015 |
| Geometry year | reference_year = year - 1 |
year = 2015 → reference_year = 2014 |
cname¶
Type: TEXT
Description: Country name under the criteria used in the Quality of Government Institute data provision.
Example: France
original_code¶
Type: TEXT
Description: Official national municipality code as issued by the country source.
Example: 01001
Constraints: Digits only; often begins with a leading zero, so treat as text. Part of the composite primary key in geometry tables.
munqog_code¶
Type: TEXT
Description: Project's internal municipality identifier, stable across years, enabling consistent tracking.
Example: fr-11080-1
mun_name¶
Type: TEXT
Description: Municipality name exactly as provided in the source file.
Example: Val De Lambronne
Constraints: UTF-8; may include accents or special characters.
original_code_years_cover¶
Type: INTEGER
Description: Total years the original national code was valid.
Example: 11
munqog_code_years_cover¶
Type: INTEGER
Description: Total years the internal ID is valid.
Example: 9
recorded_change¶
Type: BOOLEAN
Description: TRUE if any boundary event affected the municipality in year.
change_nature¶
Type: TEXT
Description: High-level category of change, for example merger.
sub_change_nature¶
Type: TEXT
Description: Fine-grained subtype of change, for example simple.
case_id¶
Type: TEXT
Description: Identifier that groups all municipalities involved in the same legal act.
Example: fr-m-34-2015-2016
Constraints: Unique within country; nullable when recorded_change is FALSE.
units_involved¶
Type: INTEGER
Description: Number of municipalities involved in the case.
Example: 2
Constraints: Null when recorded_change is FALSE.
change_name_description¶
Type: TEXT
Description: Plain-language note if the name of the entity changed.
Constraints: Nullable when recorded_change is FALSE.
change_code_description¶
Type: TEXT
Description: Plain-language note on ID inheritance or retention.
Constraints: Nullable when recorded_change is FALSE.
shape_area¶
Type: FLOAT
Description: Area of the municipality in square metres, snapshot of event year.
Example: 7641150
Constraints: Derived from the geometry layer if not provided by the original source.