GeoJSON (Geographic JSON)
GeoJSON is a JSON-based format for encoding geographic features — points, lines, polygons, and collections of geometries with associated properties. It is the standard for web mapping, geospatial APIs, and sharing geographic data between applications.
MIME Type
application/geo+json
Type
Text
Compression
Lossless
Advantages
- + Human-readable JSON format — easy to debug and edit
- + Universal support in web mapping libraries and GIS tools
- + Simple specification that is easy to generate and consume
- + Standardized as RFC 7946
Disadvantages
- − Verbose for large datasets — consider GeoParquet or TopoJSON
- − No built-in support for coordinate reference systems beyond WGS84
- − Topology is not preserved — no shared boundaries
When to Use .GEOJSON
Use GeoJSON for web maps, geospatial API responses, and exchanging geographic data between mapping applications.
Technical Details
GeoJSON uses a FeatureCollection containing Feature objects, each with a geometry (Point, LineString, Polygon, Multi*) and properties object. Coordinates are in WGS84 (longitude, latitude) decimal degrees.
History
GeoJSON was created by a community of developers in 2008 and formalized as RFC 7946 in 2016. It is supported by Mapbox, Leaflet, Google Maps, QGIS, PostGIS, and virtually every mapping platform.