Most countries have a national mapping agency that is a government-owned organisation. It creates topographic maps and geographic information for a country. Some national mapping agencies also handle land registry matters.
Ordnance Survey
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The Ordnance Survey of the United Kingdom was the first national mapping organisation; its origins date back to 1747 when the construction of a map of the Scottish Highlands was planned. This survey, at a scale of 1 inch to 1000 yards (1:36,000) was the starting point for the Principal Triangulation of Great Britain (1783-1853), and led to the creation of the Ordnance Survey. They started surveying the land as early as 1790 when the Board of Ordnance began a national military survey at one-inch-to-the-mile (1:63,360 scale). As other military problems gained precedence, a third of England and Wales was mapped over the next thirty years.