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Who owns Ordnance Survey?

Ordnance Survey, mentioned in the story for its booming map sales, is a government-owned company. It's Britain's national mapping agency, responsible for surveying and mapping Great Britain. This public ownership ensures its maps are widely available and trusted for everything from hiking to national infrastructure planning.

Stories that explain this

Paper maps outsell GPS, even tripling demand in some cities

Questions this opens up

What is a national mapping agency? Who uses OS maps? How does OS make money?

Related explainers

Ordnance Survey's big role How accurate are OS maps? How does active learning help? Benefits of 'old school' maps What is cognitive mapping? The digital divide in navigation How does GPS affect brains? Is GPS always accurate?

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