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Geocode
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<p>A geocode is a <a href="/facts/Code/CSntvnEo">code</a> that represents a geographic entity (<a href="/facts/Location/fXux5RaJ">location</a> or <a href="/facts/Geographical_feature/MRbCqBmW">object</a>). It is a <a href="/facts/Unique_identifier/NMcgc7qX">unique identifier</a> of the entity, to distinguish it from others in a <a href="/facts/Finite_set/za1newlP">finite set</a> of geographic entities. In general the <i>geocode</i> is a <a href="/facts/Human-readable/GDE1fpHT">human-readable</a> and short identifier. </p><p>Typical geocodes and entities represented by it: </p> <ul><li><i>Country code</i> and subdivision code. Polygon of the administrative boundaries of a country or a subdivision. The main examples are ISO codes: <a href="/facts/ISO_3166-1_alpha-2/NIatkw4y">ISO 3166-1 alpha-2</a> code (e.g. AF for <a href="/facts/Afghanistan/v63Auu1C">Afghanistan</a> or BR for <a href="/facts/Brazil/QHkG46GL">Brazil</a>), and its subdivision conventions, such as <a href="/facts/ISO_3166-2%3aAF/DdFJJVXM">AF subdivision codes</a> (e.g. AF-GHO for <a href="/facts/Ghor_province/ujayjmeM">Ghor province</a>) or <a href="/facts/ISO_3166-2%3aBR/cL4Y0tfB">BR subdivision codes</a> (e.g. BR-AM for <a href="/facts/Amazonas_(Brazilian_state)/PafcYwfy">Amazonas state</a>).</li> <li><i>DGG cell ID</i>. Identifier of a cell of a <a href="/facts/Discrete_global_grid/1o9WRD1t">discrete global grid</a>: a <a href="/facts/Geohash/zYeUQVes">Geohash</a> code (e.g. ~0.023 km2 cell 6vd23gq at Brazil's <a href="/facts/Geographical_centre/e7L0dtNC">centroid</a>) or a <a href="/facts/Open_Location_Code/d9k1Dj8g">Plus Code</a> (e.g. ~0.0002 km2 cell 58Q8XXXX+XX within the same area).</li> <li><i>Postal code</i>. Polygon of a <a href="/facts/Postal_code/5Kckdr9M">postal area</a>: a <a href="/facts/C%25C3%25B3digo_de_Endere%25C3%25A7amento_Postal/jlYLou7c">CEP</a> code (e.g. 70040 represents a Brazilian's central area for postal distribution).</li></ul> <p>The <a href="https://www.iso.org/standard/70742.html">ISO 19112:2019</a> standard (section 3.1.2) adopted the term "geographic identifier" instead geocode, to encompass long labels: <i>spatial reference in the form of a label or code that identifies a location</i>. For example, for ISO, the country name “People's Republic of China” is a label. </p><p>Geocodes are mainly used (in general as an <a href="/facts/Primitive_data_type/0c898228">atomic data type</a>) for <a href="/facts/Labelling/PuEzlf9J">labelling</a>, <a href="/facts/Data_integrity/g3XGbKIH">data integrity</a>, <a href="/facts/Geotagging/LuvNUMVA">geotagging</a> and <a href="/facts/Spatial_database/wzPAetLd">spatial indexing</a>. </p><p>In <a href="/facts/Theoretical_computer_science/jSkGGuvy">theoretical computer science</a> a <i>geocode system</i> is a <a href="/facts/Locality-sensitive_hashing/hj8UllQG">locality-preserving hashing function</a>. </p>