The Main Structure of Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Third Edition

spatial statistics

data visualisation

A framework to collect, analyse and disseminate statistical data based on social geography - the distribution of people and communities, rather than administrative bounderies

Author

Tra Tran

Published

May 13, 2025

Overview

The Main Structure of Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) ${3}^{th}$ Edition has 7 levels, and is developed based on the concept of a functional area - an area within which many people commute or travel to access services.

Geographic Level	Population Range	Composition	Primary Use
Mesh Block (MB)	30–60 dwellings	Smallest classification with 368,286 units	Foundation for all ASGS levels
Statistical Area Level 1 (SA1)	200–800 people	Built from Mesh Blocks with 61,845 coded units	Detailed Census dissemination
Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2)	3,000–25,000 people	Built from SA1s with 2,475 coded units	Community health & service stats
Statistical Area Level 3 (SA3)	30,000–130,000 people	Built from SA2s with 359 coded & named units	Regional planning and comparison
Statistical Area Level 4 (SA4)	100,000–500,000 people	Built from SA3s with 108 coded & named units	Labour force reporting
State/Territory	Varies widely	Built from SA4s with 8 States/Territories and 1 Other Territory (OT)	National-level statistics and governance
Australia		The highest level

Source: ABS ASGS Edition 3

Interactive Map

Below interactive map gives examples of how higher level aggregation are built from lower level ones.

An overview of the Main Structure (may take a few seconds to load. ). Filter map layers and Adjust zoom in/out options for better understanding

Mesh Block map of North Melbourne (an SA2 level block). Mesh Blocks are the smallest unit of ASGS, not named.

SA1 map of North Melbourne (an SA2 level block). SA1s are built from Mesh Blocks and also not named.

From this level, blocks are named, this is a SA2 map of Melbourne City (an SA3 level block).

SA3 map of Melbourne-Inner (a SA4 block), which includes Essedon, Brunswick-Coburg, Darebin-South, Yarra, Melbourne City, Port Phillip and Stonnington-West.

SA4 map of Greater Melbourne (a Greater Capital City Statistical Area - GCCSA).

Greater Capital City Statistical Areas are used to provide a more detailed understanding of the population distribution and characteristics within major urban areas of State and Territory. Victoria (State) is divided into Greater Melbourne and Rest of Victoria.

Australia State and Territory map - the highest level of ASGS, which includes 8 States/Territories and 1 Other Territory (OT). The OT is the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).

--- title: "The Main Structure of Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) Third Edition" author: "Tra Tran" date: '2025-05-13' url: "https://tranlevantra.github.io/personal_website/blog/posts/2025-05-13%20ASGS/" image: "fig/Australia.png" description: "A framework to collect, analyse and disseminate statistical data based on social geography - the distribution of people and communities, rather than administrative bounderies" categories: - spatial statistics - data visualisation tags: - ASGS - spatial analysis - mapview - R format: html: code-tools: true --- ## Overview The **Main Structure** of Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS) ${3}^{th}$ Edition has **7 levels**, and is developed based on the concept of a functional area - an area within which many people commute or travel to access services. | **Geographic Level** | **Population Range** | **Composition** | **Primary Use** | |----|----|----|----| | Mesh Block (MB) | 30–60 dwellings | Smallest classification with 368,286 units | Foundation for all ASGS levels | | Statistical Area Level 1 (SA1) | 200–800 people | Built from Mesh Blocks with 61,845 coded units | Detailed Census dissemination | | Statistical Area Level 2 (SA2) | 3,000–25,000 people | Built from SA1s with 2,475 coded units | Community health & service stats | | Statistical Area Level 3 (SA3) | 30,000–130,000 people | Built from SA2s with 359 coded & named units | Regional planning and comparison | | Statistical Area Level 4 (SA4) | 100,000–500,000 people | Built from SA3s with 108 coded & named units | Labour force reporting | | State/Territory | Varies widely | Built from SA4s with 8 States/Territories and 1 Other Territory (OT) | National-level statistics and governance | | Australia | | The highest level | | **Source:** [ABS ASGS Edition 3](https://www.abs.gov.au/statistics/standards/australian-statistical-geography-standard-asgs-edition-3) ## Interactive Map Below interactive map gives examples of how higher level aggregation are built from lower level ones. ::: panel-tabset ## Overview <figure> <iframe src="fig/overview.html" width="100%" height="450px" style="border:none;"> </iframe> ```{=html} <figcaption font-size: 0.9em; color: gray;"> An overview of the Main Structure (may take a few seconds to load. ). Filter map layers and Adjust zoom in/out options for better understanding </figcaption> ``` </figure> ## Mesh Block <figure> <iframe src="fig/meshblock.html" width="100%" height="450px" style="border:none;"> </iframe> <figcaption style=" font-size: 0.9em; color: gray;"> Mesh Block map of North Melbourne (an SA2 level block). Mesh Blocks are the smallest unit of ASGS, not named. </figcaption> </figure> ## SA1 <figure> <iframe src="fig/SA1.html" width="100%" height="450px" style="border:none;"> </iframe> <figcaption style=" font-size: 0.9em; color: gray;"> SA1 map of North Melbourne (an SA2 level block). SA1s are built from Mesh Blocks and also not named. </figcaption> </figure> ## SA2 <figure> <iframe src="fig/SA2.html" width="100%" height="450px" style="border:none;"> </iframe> ```{=html} <figcaption font-size: 0.9em; color: gray;"> From this level, blocks are named, this is a SA2 map of Melbourne City (an SA3 level block). </figcaption> ``` </figure> ## SA3 <figure> <iframe src="fig/SA3.html" width="100%" height="450px" style="border:none;"> </iframe> <figcaption style=" font-size: 0.9em; color: gray;"> SA3 map of Melbourne-Inner (a SA4 block), which includes Essedon, Brunswick-Coburg, Darebin-South, Yarra, Melbourne City, Port Phillip and Stonnington-West. </figcaption> </figure> ## SA4 <figure> <iframe src="fig/SA4.html" width="100%" height="450px" style="border:none;"> </iframe> <figcaption style=" font-size: 0.9em; color: gray;"> SA4 map of Greater Melbourne (a Greater Capital City Statistical Area - GCCSA). </figcaption> </figure> ## GCCSA <figure> <iframe src="fig/GCCSA.html" width="100%" height="450px" style="border:none;"> </iframe> <figcaption style=" font-size: 0.9em; color: gray;"> Greater Capital City Statistical Areas are used to provide a more detailed understanding of the population distribution and characteristics within major urban areas of State and Territory. Victoria (State) is divided into Greater Melbourne and Rest of Victoria. </figcaption> </figure> ## State/Territory <figure> <iframe src="fig/STE.html" width="100%" height="450px" style="border:none;"> </iframe> <figcaption style=" font-size: 0.9em; color: gray;"> Australia State and Territory map - the highest level of ASGS, which includes 8 States/Territories and 1 Other Territory (OT). The OT is the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). </figcaption> </figure> :::