Understanding Switzerland – Over 1,000 Maps and Datasets at Your Fingertips
As of May 2026, the Federal Geoportal offers users access to over 1,000 datasets covering everything from infrastructure and noise levels to natural hazards and traffic. These data serve as a vital resource for public authorities, researchers, and businesses, providing the foundation for spatial planning, deep-dive analytics, and strategic decision-making.
From leisure and nature to transport
Digital maps have evolved far beyond simple tools for navigation or locating cities.
Today, almost every square inch of a map is packed with hidden insights: avalanche risk zones, noise pollution levels, the solar energy potential of rooftops, or even a glimpse into how a neighborhood looked a century ago. Geodata is woven into the fabric of our daily lives, often without us realizing it. Whether you are planning a hike, scouting a location for winter sports, building a home, or simply checking the safety of your surroundings, you are tapping into a vast network of geographical information and digital maps.
As of May 2026, the Federal Geoportal offers users access to over 1,000 datasets covering everything from infrastructure and noise levels to natural hazards and traffic. These data serve as a vital resource for public authorities, researchers, and businesses, providing the foundation for spatial planning, deep-dive analytics, and strategic decision-making.
Open Data for everyone
Through the map.geo.admin.ch viewer, anyone can seamlessly combine and visualize maps, aerial imagery, and geoinformation for any area in Switzerland. Moreover, all data is completely open and free of charge.
Organizations and specialists can easily integrate these data into custom applications and tools via standardized geoservices. Popular applications like Alertswiss, as well as recreational apps like swisstopo and SwitzerlandMobility, pull data directly from the portal, making these complex insights accessible and practical for the public.
Cooperation between administrative authorities
Reaching the milestone of 1,000 datasets within the Federal Spatial Data Infrastructure (FSDI) is the result of a coordinated effort between over 20 federal offices, cantons, and administrative bodies. This asset continues to expand, with more than 70 new datasets added in the last year alone. To ensure accuracy, the data is constantly refined by specialists, with a quarter of all sets now benefiting from fully automated updates.
The statistics speak for themselves: in 2025, the portal saw 33 million visits. Furthermore, third-party data traffic hit a record-breaking 3,800 terabytes last year, underscoring the massive demand for reliable geographic insights.
The role of swisstopo
The Federal Office of Topography swisstopo acts as the backbone of this operation. It is responsible for running the infrastructure, harmonizing data, and standardizing interfaces. By doing so, swisstopo ensures that information from diverse sources is unified, reliable, and easy to reuse across the country - benefiting government bodies, private companies, and citizens alike. Strategic oversight is provided by the Coordinating Agency for Federal Geographical Information (GCG).
Looking ahead, the Federal Geoportal will merge with the cantonal portal (geodienste.ch) and other existing sites into a single, unified platform. This new platform, SWISSGEO, is designed to break down silos and make access to geodata even more intuitive and consistent across every level of the Swiss government.