Spain’s Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI), coordinated by the Instituto Geográfico Nacional (IGN) and the Centro Nacional de Información Geográfica (CNIG), provides a comprehensive framework for managing and sharing geospatial data across national, regional, and local administrations. Guided by LISIGE (Law 14/2010), which ensures that the country’s efforts align with the Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe (INSPIRE) Directive, Spain’s SDI ensures interoperability, open access, and efficient collaboration among public sector geospatial data producers. It leverages modern OGC APIs, open-source software, cloud hosting, and 2D/3D visualization to make geographic data widely accessible for government, industry, and citizens.

Key Features

• Governance and Coordination
  National Cartographic System (SCN) coordinates 17 autonomous communities, 2 autonomous cities, 50 provinces, and 8,100+ municipalities. The Geographic High Council (CSG) and the Executive Council of the Spanish Geographical Information Infrastructure (CODIIGE) oversee SDI architecture, standards, and INSPIRE compliance.
• Comprehensive Services for Spatial Data
  View Services: WMS, WMTS, TMS, XYZ raster tiles, and 3D Tiles via Cesium. Download Services: WFS, WCS, ATOM feeds, and full datasets for raster and vector data. OGC APIs (Maps, Features, Coverages, Processes) for RESTful, developer-friendly access. Metadata catalogs (43,753 resources in IDEE and 789 in CODSI) are published in XML and RDF (DAT-AP).
• Advanced Visualization and 3D Support
  2D and 3D environments with base terrain (quantized-mesh DTM) and photogrammetric scenes. Vector tiles for high-resolution, client-side rendering and interactive analysis.
• Collaborative Projects
  Mapa Ciudadano: Unified public map integrating official multi-scale geographic data. CartoCiudad: National postal addressing, geocoding, and spatial analytics. API-IDEE: Integration of national and regional APIs (CNIG + Andalusia MAPEA) for consistent 2D/3D map viewers.

Benefits & Impact

• Improved Data Interoperability
  Harmonizes geospatial data across all levels of administration.
• Open and Accessible Data
  CC-BY 4.0 licensing encourages public and private sector reuse.
• Scalable and Modern Infrastructure
  Cloud hosting and OGC APIs ensure high availability and performance under heavy demand.
• Enhanced Decision-Making
  Supports environmental management, urban planning, and public policy with authoritative, real-time geospatial data.
• Efficient Public Administration
  Reduces duplication and enables joint technological developments (e.g., API-IDEE).

Use Cases

• National and local governance
• Public and citizen services
• Address and location intelligence
• 3D urban and environmental modeling
• Open data and app development