Coding and naming policy for statistical geographies in Scotland

To promote consistent standards for the naming and coding of UK geographies, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has developed a Coding and Naming Policy for UK Statistical Geographies.

The purpose of this document is to summarise the key points of the policy, with specific reference to Scottish statistical geographies.

A Register of Codes for Scotland is maintained by the Office of the Chief Statistician. The Office for National Statistics maintains a central Register of Geographic Codes for the UK which incorporates codes for Scottish geographies.

Geography codes are referred to as GSS codes, where GSS refers to the Government Statistical Service. GSS codes currently exist for more than 40 administrative and statistical geographies in Scotland.