GeoJSON

GeoJSON is an open standard format for encoding geographic data structures in JSON (JavaScript Object Notation). The specification is defined in RFC 7946 and describes how points, lines, polygons, and multi-geometries are represented, along with associated attributes. The format was introduced in 2008 and is widely supported by web and GIS tools.

A GeoJSON document has a root element of type FeatureCollection, which contains an array of Feature objects. Each feature has a geometry (Point, LineString, Polygon, MultiPoint, etc.) and optionally a properties object for attributes. Coordinates are always in WGS84 (EPSG:4326), and the order is longitude, latitude. An optional bbox (bounding box) can describe the geographic extent.

GeoJSON is widely used in web maps, mobile apps, and REST APIs because it is lightweight and easy to parse in JavaScript. Many WFS services can deliver GeoJSON as an output format, and platforms such as Leaflet and Mapbox support it natively. It is ideal for exchanging vector layers between systems and for feeding interactive maps in the browser.

Advantages include human readability compared to binary formats, no separate parser required in web browsers, and broad tooling support. For very large datasets, file size can be a drawback; in those cases, streaming approaches or more compact variants such as TopoJSON are sometimes used. In Dutch geo applications, GeoJSON is often combined with PDOK, WFS, and address data.