Geographic data and information

Geographic data and information is defined in the ISO/TC 211 series of standards as data and information having an implicit or explicit association with a location relative to Earth (a geographic location or geographic position). It is also called geospatial data and information, georeferenced data and information, as well as geodata and geoinformation. Approximately 90% of government sourced data has a location component. Location information (known by the many names mentioned here) is stored in a geographic information system (GIS). There are also many different types of geodata, including vector files, raster files, geographic databases, web files, and multi-temporal data. Spatial data or spatial information is broader class of data whose geometry is relevant but it is not necessarily georeferenced, such as in computer-aided design (CAD), see geometric modeling. Geographic data and information are the subject of a number of overlapping fields of study, mainly: Geocomputation Geographic information science Geographic information science and technology Geoinformatics Geomatics Geovisualization "Geospatial technology" may refer to any of "geomatics", "geomatics", or "geographic information technology".