GEOnet Names Server (GNS)

Description of Names Files for Countries and Territories Format

Note:

The data format is tab-delimited text.
The names in the country files are sorted alphabetically and are displayed in Reading order (usually used in mapping applications; ex. Mount Everest)

Field Name and Description

Field Name	Field Description	Field Type	Maximum Field Length
RC	Region Code. A code that determines the character mapping used in the Full_Name field (refer to REGIONS.PDF for character mapping): 1 = Western Europe/Americas; 2 = Eastern Europe; 3 = Africa/Middle East; 4 = Central Asia; 5 = Asia/Pacific; 6 = Vietnam.	number	1 Digit
UFI	Unique Feature Identifier. A number which uniquely identifies the feature.	number	± 10 Digits
UNI	Unique Name Identifier. A number which uniquely identifies a name.	number	± 10 Digits
LAT	Latitude of the feature in ± decimal degrees (WGS84): no sign (+) = North; negative sign (-) = South.	number	± 2.7 Digits
LONG	Longitude of the feature in ± decimal degrees (WGS84): no sign (+) = East; negative sign (-) = West.	number	± 3.7 Digits
DMS_LAT	Latitude of the feature in ± degrees, minutes, and seconds (WGS84): no sign (+) = North; negative sign (-) = South.	number	± 6 Digits
DMS_LONG	Longitude of the feature in ± degrees, minutes, and seconds (WGS84): no sign (+) = East; negative sign (-) = West.	number	± 7 Digits
UTM	Universal Transverse Mercator coordinate grid reference.	character	4 Characters
JOG	Joint Operations Graphic reference.	character	7 Characters
FC	Feature Classification: A = Administrative region; P = Populated place; V = Vegetation; L = Locality or area; U = Undersea; R = Streets, highways, roads, or railroad; T = Hypsographic; H = Hydrographic; S = Spot feature.	character	1 Character
DSG	Feature Designation Code. A two to five-character code used to identify the type of feature a name is applied to.	character	5 Characters
PC	Populated Place Classification. A graduated numerical scale denoting the relative importance of a populated place. The scale ranges from 1, relatively high, to 5, relatively low. The scale could also include NULL (no value) as a value for populated places with unknown or undetermined classification.	number	1 Digit
CC1	Primary Country Code. A two alphabetic character code uniquely identifying a geopolitical entity (countries, dependencies, and areas of special sovereignty).	character	2 Characters
ADM1	First-order administrative division. A two alphanumeric character code uniquely identifying a primary administrative division of a country, such as a state in the United States.	character	2 Characters
ADM2	Second-order administrative division. The name of a subdivision of a first-order administrative division, such as a county in the United States.	variable character	200 Characters
DIM	Dimension. Usually used to display elevation or population data.	number	± 10 Digits
CC2	Secondary Country Code. A two alphabetic character code uniquely identifying the country code of a particular name if different than that of the feature.	character	2 Characters
NT	Name Type: C = Conventional; D = Not verified; N = Native; V = Variant or alternate.	character	1 Character
LC	Language Code. A two alphabetic character code uniquely identifying a language of a country if multiple official languages are used.	character	2 Characters
SHORT_FORM	A specific part of the name that could substitute for the full name.	variable character	128 Characters
GENERIC	The descriptive part of the full name (does not apply to populated place names).	variable character	128 Characters
SORT_NAME	A form of the full name which allows for easy sorting of the name into alpha-numeric sequence. It is comprised of the specific name, generic name, and any articles or prepositions. This field is all upper case with spaces, diacritics, and hyphens removed and numbers are substituted with lower case alphabetic characters.	variable character	200 Characters
FULL_NAME	The full name is a complete name which identifies the named feature. It is comprised of the specific name, generic name, and any articles or prepositions (refer to REGIONS.PDF for character mapping).	variable character	200 Characters
FULL_NAME_ND	Same as the full name but the diacritics and special characters are substituted with Roman characters (refer to REGIONS.PDF for character mapping). ND = No Diacritics / Stripped Diacritics.	variable character	200 Characters
MOD_DATE	The date a new feature was added or any part of an existing feature was modified (YYYY-MM-DD).	date-time	10 Characters