Geopolitical views - HERE Raster Tile API

The HERE Raster Tile API provides a pview parameter that you can use to render the map with boundaries based on international or local country views (geopolitical views). The values follow ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country codes schema. Typically, the international view is used, unless the map is being used within a particular country for which a local view is available. If the pview parameter is specified and the view is supported, the boundaries of the selected country view are shown; otherwise the default boundaries view is shown.

A typical use case is that a particular area of the world is considered as disputed by two or more countries. Therefore, each country shows that area as part of itself. If you request a particular tile with the geopolitical view of country A, the response shows the area as belonging to A. Similarly, if you request the tile with the geopolitical view of country B, the response shows the area as belonging to B.

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Note
The following examples use a HERE API Key to authenticate your request. For the available authentication options, see the Get started.

Optional: Get the list of supported geopolitical views

To obtain the current list of all available geopolitical views, make a request to the /politicalViews endpoint, as shown in the following example:

https://maps.hereapi.com/v3/politicalViews
?apiKey=YOUR_HERE_API_KEY

Response:

The response body is a JSON file that provides a list of country codes following the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 schema. Each code corresponds to a geopolitical view available for a given map resource type. The following snippet provides a simplified example of JSON response from the /politicalViews endpoint:

{
  "background":["AB","AR","CN","CY"],
  "base":["AB","AR","CN","CY"],
  "blank":["AB","AR","CN","CY"],
  "label":["AB","AR","CN","CY"]
}

Apply a geopolitical view

For example, when viewing a specific location in the Kashmir region on the Indian subcontinent, the initial request shows the default international view. This view includes a dashed border between India and Pakistan, highlighting the Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh territories:

https://maps.hereapi.com/v3/base/mc/4/11/6/png?size=512
&apiKey=YOUR_HERE_API_KEY
&lang=en

Response:

Requesting the same tile using the Pakistani view shows a solid border, representing Pakistan's political stance on these territories:

https://maps.hereapi.com/v3/base/mc/4/11/6/png
?size=512
&apiKey=YOUR_HERE_API_KEY
&lang=en
&pview=PK

Response:

You can also request the tile using the Indian view, as shown in the following example:

https://maps.hereapi.com/v3/base/mc/4/11/6/png?size=512
&apiKey=YOUR_HERE_API_KEY
&lang=en
&pview=IN

Response:

Next steps

To explore all supported endpoints and parameters, see the API Reference.
To gain more hands-on experience with the HERE Raster Tile API, see the Tutorials section of this guide.