The data presented throughout this website is compiled from a number of trusted public datasets and geographic reference sources. We process and combine these datasets to provide detailed information about postcodes, towns, villages, cities and administrative areas across the United Kingdom.
The Office for National Statistics Postcode Directory (ONSPD) is our primary source for postcode geography. Produced by the UK’s Office for National Statistics, it links every current postcode to a wide range of geographic and administrative areas, including:
The ONSPD allows us to accurately associate postcodes with the various administrative and statistical areas used throughout the UK.
For Scottish postcode geography, we also utilise data from the National Records of Scotland Postcode Directory (NRSPD). This dataset provides postcode-level geographic references specific to Scotland and helps ensure our Scottish postcode data remains comprehensive and accurate.
Maps and geographic area information are derived from official boundary datasets published by the Office for National Statistics. These datasets define the boundaries of local authorities, counties, regions, constituencies and other statistical areas.
By using official boundary data, we can accurately display and analyse geographic relationships between places across the UK.
Highway geography is derived from OpenStreetMap, distributed under the Open Database License (ODbL).
Some place name and geographic coordinate data is derived from GeoNames and is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 Licence. Data has been processed and combined with other sources for presentation on this website.
School information is compiled from official open data published by the UK Department for Education, the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government and the Northern Ireland Department of Education. Separate official registers are used to include independent schools in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The records are standardised into a consistent set of school phases and matched to geographic coordinates using published locations or postcode data. Proposed, closed, nursery, higher education and alternative-provision establishments are excluded.
Phone dialling codes and their geographical distribution are derived from open data provided by Chris Bell.
We regularly update our datasets to reflect changes to postcodes, administrative boundaries and geographic information. While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information presented, postcode allocations, boundaries and place information can change over time.