Identification info

Metadata Language

English

Character set

UTF8

Dataset Reference Date (Publication)

2024-12-16

Identifier

www.gov.scot / SG_DataZone_Bdry_2022

Presentation form

Digital map

Maintenance and update frequency

Not planned

GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0

• Statistical units

GEMET - Concepts, version 4.2.3

• statistical data
• population distribution

IPSV Subjects List

• Statistical analysis

Limitations on Public Access

Other restrictions

Other constraints

No limitations to public access

Use constraints

Other restrictions

Other constraints

Open Government Licence

Other constraints

Available under the terms of the Open Government Licence. The following attribution statement must be used to acknowledge the source of the information: Copyright Scottish Government, contains Ordnance Survey data © Crown copyright and database right (insert year).

Other constraints

Dataset is complete for Scotland. Care should be taken when using this dataset with lookups to other postcode based geographies. Some postcode unit boundaries have changed since data zones were created therefore exact match of the boundaries are unlikely.

Spatial representation type

Vector

Denominator

10000

Topic category

• Boundaries
• Society

Code

S92000003

 

Code

EPSG:4258

Code

EPSG:27700

Distribution Information

 

Data quality info

Quality Scope

Dataset

Statement

The Data Zone geography was first created in 2004 for use within the Scottish Neighbourhood Statistics (SNS) programme (now known as statistics.gov.scot) to allow statistics across a number of policy areas to be readily (and regularly) available for a consistent and stable geography. This original dataset (built from 2001 Census Output Areas) was created by St. Andrews University in 2004 on behalf of the Scottish Government. Data Zone boundaries are managed by the Scottish Government's Geographic Information Science and Analysis Team (GI-SAT), who carry out any required updates at the request of the Office of the Chief Statistician (OCS).

The method which was used to update 2001 Data Zone boundaries following the 2011 Census has been replicated for this Census 2022 update. The aim for this update was to apply Census 2022 data, re-align to local authority boundaries (as at Census Day 2022), and account for changes in population, while keeping boundaries relatively comparable to those created for 2011. The criteria used in the definition of 2022 Data Zones followed the same as 2011, and were:

• That they be built up from 2022 Census Output Areas;

• Maintain approximately equal resident populations of 500 to 1,000 people, with an absolute minimum of 375 people and a maximum population of 1,125;

• Be a continuous area without multiple extents (based on the Extent of the Realm coastline), unless caused by water (e.g. Data Zones including islands);

• Where appropriate, changes from 2011 occur within Intermediate Zone boundaries;

• Maintain a compactness of shape.

Initially, a first draft of boundaries was created by aggregating 2022 Census Output Areas to 2011 Data Zones, based on the location of the Output Area Population Weighted Centroids. The population (defined as household residents) was summed for each 'best-fit' Data Zone to assess whether it fell within the required population thresholds. Data Zones which had seen a decrease in population (e.g. as the result of housing demolition) and fell below the minimum population of 375 were merged with the neighbouring Data Zone with the longest shared boundary within the same Intermediate Zone. Conversely, Data Zones which had seen an increase in population to values greater than 1,125 (e.g. as the result of a new housing development) were split into one or more new Data Zones.

After the split and merge process was complete, additional changes were applied to reconfigure any multi-extent Data Zones which were not caused by water. This occurred where Census Output Areas had changed significantly from 2011 and resulted in some best-fit 2022 Data Zones being composed of two parts that do not touch. In most instances, the smaller non-contiguous part of the Data Zone (usually consisting of a single Output Area) was absorbed into a neighbouring Data Zone. Note that there may be Data Zones which are multi-extent when clipped to Mean High Water, which are not caused by islands. In addition, feedback which had been received from some local authorities on changes to make to Data Zone boundaries was considered and applied where possible when designing the proposed 2022 Data Zones.

Once the proposed set of 2022 Data Zones was complete, they were put out to public consultation. Local authorities, who have expert knowledge of their communities and therefore could assess if proposed Data Zones grouped areas with similar social characteristics, were encouraged to respond. Respondents were invited to propose changes to Data Zones by re-assigning Output Areas, as long as they complied with the criteria set above for the definition of 2022 Data Zones. Consultation responses resulted in a number of revisions being made to the proposed set. The number of changes made varied by local authority, with some accepting the proposals from the consultation, and others requesting multiple reconfigurations of Data Zones.

The finalised set of boundaries consists of 7,392 Data Zones. Each 2022 Data Zone has been given a new unique code, following the Scottish Government’s standard naming and coding convention. The new S-codes for Data Zones were applied in batches per local authority, which were ordered alphabetically by name, and in batches per Intermediate Zone. The Data Zone 2022 codes range from S01013482 to S01020873 (the previous 2011 codes ranged from S01006506 to S01013481). Most Data Zones have been named according to the Intermediate Zone in which they reside, following the format ‘Intermediate Zone Name – 01’, ‘Intermediate Zone Name – 02’, etc. A small number of local authorities chose to provide names for each individual Data Zone.

Census 2022 total population, household resident population, and household counts have been supplied by NRS for each Data Zone and are included in the attribute table. All census data outputs have privacy protection applied (known as cell key perturbation) to keep the data of individuals safe. In the case of 'nested' geography hierarchies, the impact of these Statistical Disclosure Controls (SDC) means the sum of the population within Output Areas does not always match the corresponding Data Zones population totals. Similarly, the sum of the population within Data Zones might not match the corresponding Intermediate Zones population totals. The same applies when summing totals at a local authority level, i.e. the sum of the populations of all Output Areas, Data Zones, and Intermediate Zones within a local authority may not match the published local authority total.

Standard area measurements in hectares and square kilometres have also been calculated from Census Output Area totals. The attribute represents the Land Area definition, i.e. the area to Mean High Water excluding the area of inland water bodies which are over 1 square kilometre surface area. This attribute has been included to ensure that total areas remain consistent when comparing geographies. The Land Area is the recommended parameter to use for calculating density statistics. Further details on Standard Area Measurements are available from the Office for National Statistics (ONS: see https://www.ons.gov.uk/methodology/geography/geographicalproducts/otherproducts/ukstandardareameasurementssam. Note that the standard area measurements will differ from the automated Shape_Area attributes. This will be due to the different coastlines/inland water, and also can be due to the Output Areas policy to remove non-contiguous parts, which was applied after the standard areas were calculated. For more information on the non-contiguous Output Areas policy, see https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/publications/geography-census-2022-how-the-census-geographies-were-created-information-note/.

Note that the Data Zones nest exactly into local authorities as they were at the time of the 2022 Census. However, the Data Zone boundaries will not be updated to reflect any changes made to local authority boundaries in-between Censuses.

 

Metadata

File identifier

f6656adf-b720-4612-ad5c-1d13eae94c8b XML

Metadata Language

English

Resource type

Dataset

Metadata Date

2024-12-16T12:28:16.433Z

Metadata standard name

UK GEMINI

Metadata standard version

2.3