wget https://biogeo.ucdavis.edu/data/gadm3.6/gpkg/gadm36_FRA_1.gpkg
Guide to Downloading and Using GADM Data Version 3.6 GADM (Global Administrative Areas) is a high-resolution database of country administrative boundaries used widely in Geographic Information Systems (GIS). While version 4.1 is the latest, Version 3.6 remains a critical "workhorse" version for many researchers and developers who require compatibility with legacy projects or specific derived datasets. Where to Download GADM 3.6 Data
You can access the GADM 3.6 data directly from the official GADM Old Versions page.
Download by Country (Recommended): This is the most efficient way to get data if you only need a specific region. You can select from over 200 countries on the Country Download page.
Whole World Download: For global analysis, you can download the entire world as a single database on the World Download page. Note that these are very large files. Available Data Formats
Version 3.6 supports several standard spatial data formats to ensure it works across different software environments:
GeoPackage (.gpkg): Now the standard format for GADM. It is a single file that can contain multiple layers and is compatible with QGIS and ArcGIS.
Shapefile (.shp): A classic format consisting of at least four files (.shp, .shx, .dbf, .prj). It is compatible with almost all GIS software.
KMZ (.kmz): Ideal for use in Google Earth to visualize boundaries quickly. download gadm data version 36 work
R (SpatialPolygonsDataFrame): For data scientists, GADM provides .rds files that can be read directly into R using the readRDS() function. Understanding Administrative Levels
GADM data is organized by levels of subdivision, which allows you to "work" at the specific scale your project requires: Download GADM data (version 3.6)
To download GADM data version 3.6, you must access the historical archive directly on the official website or its mirrors.
While GADM has moved on to newer versions (such as version 4.1), version 3.6 remains highly sought after due to its widespread adoption in past academic papers and compatibility with older GIS project pipelines. 📥 Direct Download Methods Option 1: Official Website Navigate directly to the GADM Old Versions Page. Find the section dedicated to Version 3.6. Choose your extraction scale:
By Country: Recommended for smaller file sizes and targeted research.
Entire World: Downloads the global database (file sizes are massive). Select your preferred GIS format (GeoPackage or Shapefile). Option 2: University Repository (UC Davis)
If the main website is down or loading slowly, you can pull straight from the directory files indexed at the UC Davis Geodata Repository. For Shapefiles: Pull from the UC Davis SHP Folder. For GeoPackages: Pull from the UC Davis GPKG Folder. 🛠️ Accessing GADM 3.6 via Code wget https://biogeo
Many GIS specialists prefer loading the boundaries directly into their software rather than manually downloading files. 🐍 Python (Geopandas)
You can call the direct URLs in Python via the geopandas library to read spatial boundaries on the fly:
import geopandas as gpd # Example: Downloading the national border (Level 0) for Afghanistan in GeoPackage format url = "https://ucdavis.edu" gdf = gpd.read_file(url) print(gdf.head()) Use code with caution. Copied to clipboard 📊 R (geodata package)
The legacy getData() function from the raster package has been deprecated. To fetch specific GADM versions directly in R, use the newer CRAN geodata library: Download GADM data (version 3.6)
The browser began its work. Because GADM files are high-resolution (meaning they follow the exact curves of coastlines and rivers), they aren't small.
Once the download finished, I moved the files into my project folder.
Here is how to work with the data after a successful download. Guide to Downloading and Using GADM Data Version 3
It started, as most GIS projects do, with a deadline and a blank map. I needed the most detailed administrative boundaries available for a project focusing on rural development in Southeast Asia. I didn't just need country outlines; I needed the deep cuts—districts, municipalities, the level 2 and level 3 boundaries that make a map truly useful.
I knew exactly where to go: GADM (Database of Global Administrative Areas). It is the gold standard for high-resolution spatial data. However, I specifically needed version 3.6. It’s a stable legacy version that works perfectly with my existing scripting tools, and I wanted to avoid the schema changes found in the newer version 4.
Here is the journey of retrieving that data.
Finding older versions on data portals can often feel like trying to find a specific book in a library with no card catalog. Thankfully, GADM respects the archivist in all of us.
I found the link labeled "Old Versions" or sometimes listed directly under the downloads tab as "Version 3.6". I clicked through.
Note: This is a critical step. If you just hit the main "Download" button on the homepage, you are downloading the latest version. To get 3.6, you must actively select the archived branch.
Once on the version 3.6 page, the format looked familiar. The header confirmed: GADM version 3.6 - Data download.