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Overview of Geodata Standards

Here is a description of different types of geodata standards, which organizations that develop standards and a selection of relevant standards.

Standards in the geodata domain can be divided into different groups:

  • general standards – to create geodata specifications, including description of data quality and metadata.
  • domain standards – describe the content within a certain domain (e.g. hydrography and roads) and make it possible to represent natural or artificial phenomena on, above or below the earth's surface.
  • technical standards – to create geodata services and provide geodata, and to enable different systems to work together through standardized interfaces.

Who develops geodata standards?

There are several organizations that develop geodata standards. They are described in more detail on the page When are geodata standards used?, the most important of which are:

  • ISO (International Organization for Standardization) which developed the ISO 19100 series of geospatial standards. Most of the standards are used in architecture and infrastructure to be able to exchange data, as well as a few domain standards.
  • OGC (Open Geospatial Consortium) which develops non-formal standards. OGC standards are often more IT-related and exist in many domains, including spatial data infrastructure (SDI), built environment and 3D.
  • W3C (World Wide Web Consortium), which produces general standards for the web.
  • SIS (Swedish Institute for Standards) which develops Swedish standards, technical specifications and technical reports, e.g. a standard for Water systems (SS 637008:2015) and guidelines for data quality and data product specifications (SIS-TR 40:2015).
  • RTCM (Radio Technical Commission for Maritime Services) which develops standards relevant in the field of GNSS.
  • DGIWG (Defence Geospatial Information Working Group) which develops military geodata standards.
  • IHO (International Hydrographic Organization), which develops standards in the hydrographic field.

In addition to organizations that develop geodata standards, there is INSPIRE, which has developed specifications for all EU countries. National specifications are also being developed within the framework of Smartare samhällsbyggnad (smarter planning and building process). These specifications are not formal standards but are referred to and can be used as such in certain contexts.

Selection of geodata standards

The SIS technical committee, TK 323 Geodata, has produced an overview guide on geodata standards (in Swedish, new window) that briefly describes geodata standards, tutorials and other documentation, and how these standards can be used. Some recommended geodata standards from ISO are:

National guidelines in Swedish:

Technical standards:

SIS list of geodata standards (in Swedish, new window)

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