# Geographic fields

## Catalog fields

Geographic codes in the dataset catalog link to the geography catalog. See [Geographies](/en/resources/file-definitions#geographies)
and [Database Overview](/en/resources/file-definitions#database-overview) for XLSX columns, the inclusion of recorded ancestor nodes
and known missing values.

## API fields

Use [`location.*` in the API lookup fields](/en/data-access/query-api#lookup-fields) for dataset geography, and
[API search fields](/en/data-access/query-api#search-fields) to filter by geographic code. The XLSX geography catalog and API
geographic fields retain their respective representations. A geographic path is not a regional group membership list.

## Geographic relations

| Relation     | Meaning                                      |
| ------------ | -------------------------------------------- |
| Parent-child | A parent recorded in the geographic record   |
| Containment  | Members included in a regional group or area |
| Overlap      | Overlap between geographic areas             |

Parent-child relations in the first-phase catalog do not replace regional containment or overlap relations. Complete
regional group membership and rest-of-world definitions are not recorded.