This zip file contains the Standard Area Measurements (SAM) for the administrative areas in the United Kingdom as at 31 December 2015. This includes the wards, local authority districts, counties and regions in England and the countries. All measurements provided are ‘flat’ as they do not take into account variations in relief e.g. mountains and valleys. Measurements are given in hectares (10,000 square metres) to 2 decimal places. Four types of measurements are included: total extent (AREAEHECT), area to mean high water (coastline) (AREACHECT), area of inland water (AREAIHECT) and area to mean high water excluding area of inland water (land area) (AREALHECT). The Eurostat-recommended approach is to use the ‘land area’ measurement to compile population density figures.Click the Download button to download the files