my @lat_lon_key = (split /[.]/, $key); my $lat_key = join('.', @lat_lon_key[0,1]); my $lon_key = join('.', @lat_lon_key[2,3]); #### $VAR1 = { '53.58964145.8.560993391' => { 'name' => 'A99_984_KEI', 'id' => '-1643796' }, '53.58464146.8.560693392' => { 'id' => -1643795, 'name' => 'A88_984_KEI' } };