for historical consistency or specific project requirements. This version remains a robust resource, offering detailed administrative boundaries for nearly every country in the world. Why Choose Version 3.6? Released in May 2018, GADM 3.6 maps over 386,735 administrative areas
After downloading, check that your file isn’t corrupted:
The GADM website recommends downloading data by country due to the large file sizes of global datasets. For each country, you can choose from a variety of file formats, including:
Downloading GADM 3.6 data is straightforward. The most reliable method is through the official GADM archives . 1. The GADM Data Download Page Navigate to the GADM Data page. Look for the section specifying .
: For global analysis, the entire dataset is available on the GADM World Download page
Select a specific country and choose your preferred file format.
Before you , you must understand what you are getting.
Many academic models and automated scripts are hardcoded to work specifically with the 3.6 schema. Step-by-Step: How to Download GADM Version 3.6
Geospatial datasets regularly shift as political boundaries evolve. Version 3.6 represents a highly stable snapshot of global administrative frameworks.
What (QGIS, ArcGIS, Python, R) you plan to use? Which country or region you are analyzing?
: Not all countries have all levels of administrative boundaries. The availability depends on the source data.
Optimized for data scientists working in R using the sp or sf packages. 4. How to Work with GADM 3.6 Data in GIS Software
Go to: https://gadm.org/download_country_v3.html Note: Do not use the main download button—that defaults to version 4.0+.
The gadm library on PyPI allows you to download and visualize shape data within Jupyter Notebooks using Folium.
# If you downloaded the .rds file # Note: GADM .rds files are often saved as sf objects already gadm_data <- readRDS("gadm36_COUNTRYCODE_sf.rds")