Statistics

Updates to Data Zones and Intermediate Zones now published

December 16, 2024 by Office of the Chief Statistician No Comments | Category Geography

The Scottish Government has today published updated versions of Data Zones and Intermediate Zones.

Data Zones and Intermediate Zones have been updated to reflect changes to population and other geographical boundaries since they were last revised in 2014 following the 2011 Census. In particular, the proposed changes have been produced to align with new population data from the 2022 Census.

The Scottish Government previously consulted on changes to Data Zones and Intermediate Zones earlier in 2024.

What are Data Zones and Intermediate Zones?

Data Zones are statistical geographies used to produce small area statistics at a local level. They are designed to have a population of between 500 and 1,000 people, making them small enough to describe communities while also being large enough to avoid disclosing personal information.

They serve two main functions in the production of official statistics. Firstly, they provide a standard, stable geography for the production and publication of statistics at a local area on a wide range of topics. Secondly, aggregations of Data Zones can be used to provide estimates for higher level geographies where official statistics might not otherwise be available.

Intermediate Zones are similar to Data Zones but cover a larger population and area. They are used to produce local area statistics where statistics cannot be published at Data Zone level due to the risk of disclosing sensitive information.

How Data Zones and Intermediate Zones will be used

The revised Data Zones boundaries have been published on the Scottish Government’s spatial data platform and are now available for use by statistics producers.

• Data Zone Boundaries
• Data Zone Centroids
• Intermediate Zone Boundaries
• Intermediate Zone Centroids

A csv geography lookup table aggregating from 2022 Data Zones to higher level geographies is available on statistics.gov.scot.

Census data for the new Data Zones and Intermediate Zones will be published in 2025. A lookup file that links Census Output Areas to Data Zones and Intermediate Zones has been published by National Records of Scotland.

If you have any questions about Data Zones and Intermediate Zones please contact statistics.enquiries@gov.scot.

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