Last Updated: December 17, 2024

Note: Google Data Studio is now known as Looker Studio.

Looker Studio provides the Geo data type for geographical data. You see this data type when you create or edit a data source schema in Looker Studio:

Use the Geo data type if you want Looker Studio to expect geographic data (like a city, region, country, continent) when processing a field in the underlying data source.

Geo data types are generally used with Google Maps or Looker Studio Geo Field Map / Geo Chart / Geo Heat Map / Geo Bubble Map:

You can insert a Google Map or Geo Chart in your Looker Studio report from the ‘Insert’ menu:

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Geo data types available in Looker Studio

Following are the various Geo data types available in Looker Studio:

1. Continent
2. Subcontinent
3. Country
4. Country Subdivision (1^st level)
5. Country Subdivision (2^nd level)
6. Designated market area
7. City
8. Postal Code
9. Address
10. Latitude, Longitude

#1 Continent

Use the Continent data type if you want Looker Studio to expect a continent name when processing a field in the connected data source. 

The following are examples of valid continent names (in the context of Looker Studio):

• Africa
• Oceania
• Americas
• Asia
• Europe

#2 Subcontinent 

Use the Subcontinent data type if you want Looker Studio to expect a sub-continent name when processing a field in the connected data source.  

For example, ‘Northern Europe’ is a sub-continent name. 

The following are examples of sub-continent names:

You can get the full list of the valid sub-continent names from here: https://developers.google.com/chart/interactive/docs/gallery/geochart#Continent_Hierarchy

#3 Country 

Use the Country data type if you want Looker Studio to expect a country name when processing a field in the connected data source. 

For example, the ‘United Kingdom’ is an example of a country name. 

The following are examples of country names:

You can get the full list of valid country names from here: https://www.worldometers.info/geography/alphabetical-list-of-countries/

#4 Country Subdivision (1st Level)

Use the ‘country subdivision (1st level)’ data type if you want Looker Studio to expect a country subdivision name when processing a field in the connected data source. 

For example, the ‘US states’, ‘Canadian provinces’, ‘French regions’ are examples of a country subdivision (1st level). 

You can get a full list of Country subdivisions (1st level) here

https://support.google.com/datastudio/answer/9843174?hl=en#country-subdivision-1st-level&zippy=%2Cin-this-article

#5 Country Subdivision (2nd Level)

Use the ‘country subdivision (2nd level)’ data type if you want Looker Studio to expect a country subdivision at level 2 name when processing a field in the connected data source. 

For example, the ‘US countries’, ‘Italian and Spanish provinces ’, ‘French departments’ are examples of a country subdivision (2nd level). 

You can get a full list of Country subdivisions (2nd level) here

https://support.google.com/datastudio/answer/9843174?hl=en#country-subdivision-2nd-level&zippy=%2Cin-this-article

#6 Designated market area

Use the ‘Designated market area’ data type if you want Looker Studio to expect a Designated market area name when processing a field in the connected data source. 

Designated market areas are media markets or television market areas or simply a market region where the users can receive similar television and radio station offerings. This is currently supported only for the United States.

Examples of designated market areas are

• New York
• Los Angeles[b]
• Chicago
• Philadelphia[d]
• Dallas-Fort Worth[e]
• San Francisco-Oakland-San Jose[f]
• Atlanta[g]
• Houston[h]
• Washington (Hagerstown)[i]. 

You can get a full list of designated market areas here

https://support.google.com/datastudio/answer/9843174?hl=en#designated-market-area&zippy=%2Cin-this-article

#7 City 

Use the City data type if you want Looker Studio to expect a city name when processing a field in the connected data source. For example, ‘London’ is a city. 

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#8 Postal Code

Use the ‘Postal code’ data type if you want Looker studio to expect postcode (zip code) information when processing a field in the connected data source.

For example, the following is the postcode of Heathrow airport terminal 2:

If we use this postcode field on Google Maps (embedded in a Looker Studio report), it is going to look like the one below:

#9 Address

Use the Address data type if you want Looker Studio to expect a full address when processing a field in the connected data source.

For example, the following is the full address of the Prime Minister of the UK:

If we use this address field on Google Maps (embedded in a Looker Studio report), it is going to look like the one below:

#10 Latitude, Longitude

Use the ‘Latitude, Longitude’ data type if you want Looker Studio to expect Latitude, Longitude information when processing a field in the connected data source. 

Use the Latitude and Longitude Finder https://www.latlong.net/ to get the Latitude and Longitude data for a particular geo-location. 

You can also use this tool to find GPS coordinates: https://www.maps.ie/coordinates.html

Here is how you enter the latitude and longitude information in Google Sheets:

This latitude and longitude information is for London, UK

If we use these coordinates on Google Maps (embedded in a Looker Studio report), it is going to look like the one below: