What is spatial data?

Data in general is any collection of facts and values. In a GIS lexicon "data" is often too broad: for spatial work one almost always means geodata or spatial data — information with a location component.

Generic data (tables, CSV without coordinates) becomes GIS-relevant when linked to a map via geocoding or joins. Geodata includes vectors, raster, attributes, and metadata on source and quality.

The distinction matters: "data" alone says nothing about PDOK, BAG, or format. For projects, speak of geodata, vector data, or raster data and refer to catalogs such as the Nationaal Georegister.