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Natural Earth Roads

Natural Earth Roads provides a public-domain global road network that is lightweight and easy to import into QGIS or web mapping tools.

Format Shapefile
Coverage Global
Resolution 1:10m to 1:110m
License Public domain
Update Versioned releases

Format

Shapefile

Geometry

LineString

Coverage

Global

Resolution

1:10m to 1:110m

About this dataset

Global major road network lines derived from public domain cultural vector data.

Download Natural Earth roads for a lightweight global road network layer suitable for basemaps and transport visualization.

Road basemaps Transport overlay Quick global network preview

How to download

  1. 1 Open the Natural Earth downloads page.
  2. 2 Choose the 1:10m Cultural section.
  3. 3 Download the roads shapefile zip.
  4. 4 Extract and add the line layer to your map.

FAQ

Does Natural Earth Roads include local streets?

No. It focuses on major roads and highways at a global scale rather than detailed local street networks.

Can I convert Natural Earth Roads to GeoJSON?

Yes. The shapefile can be exported to GeoJSON with QGIS, GDAL, or online converters for web use.