High Quality Download Gadm Data — Version 36 Work
How to download GADM data (version 3.6) and use it
Step 2: Selecting the Correct File Format for Your Work
Once you select a country (e.g., “France”), you will see various format options. To make GADM “work” seamlessly, pick based on your tool:
| Format | Best for | Notes |
|--------|----------|-------|
| Shapefile (.shp) | QGIS, ArcGIS (all versions) | Universal, but requires all 4–5 component files. |
| GeoPackage (.gpkg) | QGIS, modern GIS | Single-file, better performance, highly recommended. |
| R data (.rds) | R users (sf or sp packages) | Loads directly with readRDS(). |
| KMZ | Google Earth, web mapping | Limited attribute access. |
For most users: Choose GeoPackage or Shapefile. Then click the download button. The file will be named like gadm36_FRA_gpkg.zip or gadm36_FRA_shp.zip.
7. Quick command-line download example (wget)
wget https://biogeo.ucdavis.edu/data/gadm3.6/gpkg/gadm36_FRA_1.gpkg
R (sf package)
library(sf)
gadm <- st_read("gadm36_IDN_1.shp") # level 1
plot(gadm["NAME_1"])
The Moral of the Story
Downloading legacy data like GADM v3.6 isn't about clicking the biggest, brightest button on a website. It requires:
- Navigation to the Archive: Bypassing the "latest" hype.
- Format Selection: Choosing Geopackage over Shapefile for modern efficiency.
- Verification: Ensuring the specific administrative levels (0 through 3) loaded correctly.
With the data now local and validated, the real work—analysis and visualization—could finally begin.
To download GADM data version 3.6 , you should use the GADM version 3.6 download page for individual countries or the world download page for global datasets. 1. Download by Country (Recommended) download gadm data version 36 work
This is the most efficient method for most users because global files are extremely large and resource-intensive. GADM Country Download (v3.6)
Select your desired country from the dropdown menu (e.g., "India," "United States," "Brazil").
Choose your preferred format. Version 3.6 commonly provides: Shapefile (.shp): Best for ArcGIS or QGIS. GeoPackage (.gpkg): A versatile, modern spatial database format. Specifically for use with R spatial packages like For viewing in Google Earth. 2. Download for the Entire World If you require global coverage, use the Global GADM 3.6 Complete Database: Download as a single GeoPackage or Shapefile. Six Separate Layers:
You can also download layers 0 through 5 (country level down to smallest administrative units) as individual files to save processing time. 3. Download via Software (Programmatic Access)
For data science and automation, you can fetch version 3.6 directly through code: package with the command geodata::gadm(country="ISO", version="3.6") . The older raster::getData() function is being phased out. Python Users: Utilize the gadm library on PyPI to programmatically download shape data by country name. Stack Overflow Key Metadata for Version 3.6 Administrative Levels: How to download GADM data (version 3
Level 0 is the country boundary; Levels 1–5 represent increasingly smaller subdivisions like states, districts, or municipalities.
From version 3.6 onwards, GID codes are persistent, making them more reliable for long-term projects than older versions. Resolution: Typically around 10m resolution. ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 code for a specific country to use in your scripts? Download GADM data (version 3.6)
Downloading and Working with GADM Data Version 3.6 GADM (Global Administrative Areas) is a high-resolution spatial database providing administrative boundaries for all countries and their subdivisions. While newer versions exist, Version 3.6 remains widely used in academic research and historical GIS analysis for its comprehensive and standardized administrative levels. Where to Download GADM 3.6 Data
To access Version 3.6, you must navigate to the GADM Old Versions page. From there, you have two primary options for obtaining the data:
By Country (Recommended): This is the most efficient method if you only need data for specific regions. You can select a country from an alphabetical list and download its boundaries in various formats. The Moral of the Story Downloading legacy data
Whole World: For global analysis, you can download the entire world as a single database. Note that these files are very large and may take significant time to download. Available Data Formats
Version 3.6 data is available in several formats to suit different software needs: Download GADM data (version 3.6)
Part 1: What is GADM Version 3.6? Why Use It?
Before you download GADM data version 3.6, you must understand what you are getting.
GADM 3.6 contains maps of administrative boundaries (countries, provinces, districts, etc.) for all countries and territories worldwide. Version 3.6 is unique because:
- Data Source: It integrates public sources (NGOs, national mapping agencies, and UN data) but is not necessarily official. Always verify for legal use.
- Levels: Up to 5 administrative levels (ADM0 = country, ADM1 = first-level subdivision like state/province, ADM2 = district, etc.).
- Attributes: Includes names, HASC codes, and often ISO numeric codes.
- Size: ~500 MB compressed; ~2 GB extracted for all countries.
Why version 3.6 specifically?
While GADM 4.0+ exists, version 3.6 is preferred in production pipelines because:
- It was the last version before GADM changed its download API.
- It has fewer geometry errors compared to earlier versions.
- Many legacy R packages (
raster,sp) and Python libraries (geopandas<0.10) expect GADM 3.x structure.
A. In R (using sf or raster)
library(sf)
