Map data update for Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and parts of Europe

We’re always looking to improve the accuracy of our maps and the value of the services we offer around them. To do that we need to have the best quality map data possible, and we believe that nobody knows the world around them better than our users. For this reason we’re always excited when we can update our maps and enable users to participate in improving them, as we have previously in the United States and Canada.

Today we’re adding Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Liechtenstein, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, and Switzerland to the set of countries in which this is possible. These map updates will improve our geocoding and directions, increase the accuracy and coverage of natural features such as forest and water bodies, and add walking paths and bicycling trails.

The updates will roll out over the next 24 hours, and will be applied automatically to existing Maps API applications. However we ask that you refresh any cached addresses, latlngs, or routes for these countries that were obtained using the Maps APIs before this update as soon as possible.

If you have any questions or concerns about how these updates affect your Maps API application, or for help refreshing your cached data, please post to the relevant forum. We look forward to lots of great map feedback from our users in these countries that will improve the maps experience both in Google Maps and in the Maps API.

Posted by Thor Mitchell, Google Maps API Product Manager