Overview
Human activity has an environmental footprint. We can quantify the natural world and measure the ways in which we interact with it. The indicators in this section show the state of the planet, as well as our use of natural resources, and the observed impacts. Use of natural resources can promote economic development, but environmental phenomena can also undermine economic progress, and when they do, they often affect the highly vulnerable the most. These data also describe efforts to mitigate and contain the potentially negative impact of human activity, for example by expanding marine protected areas or by transitioning to renewable energy sources.
What types of data are available?
The environment-related indicators illuminate phenomena such as urbanization and the loss of biological diversity; agricultural output and declining forest area; freshwater withdrawals and freshwater growing scarcity; electricity production and greenhouse gas emissions.
The indicators also reveal the progress that countries have made on many of the environment targets set by the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. For example, WDI environment indicators help to monitor progress on promoting sustainable food production systems (SDG 2.4), ensuring sustainable withdrawals and supply of fresh water (SDG 6.4), ensuring universal access to affordable, reliable, and modern energy services (SDG 7.1), reducing the adverse environmental impact of cities (SDG 11.6), conserving coastal and marine areas (SDG 14.5), and protecting and preventing the extinction of threatened species (SDG 15.5).
Every year relevant new environment indicators are added to the WDI. This year, new interim target estimates of the proportion of people exposed to ambient air pollution by particulate matter (PM2.5) based on World Health Organization air quality guidelines, were provided by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME). Another addition was an enhanced indicator for water stress: freshwater withdrawal as a proportion of available fresh water (SDG 6.4.2), compiled by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Data for the environment indicators are drawn from international sources and have been standardized to the extent possible to facilitate cross-country comparisons.
When interpreting this type of data it should be kept in mind that many environmental issues stretch the limits of the cross-country approach. Because ecosystems often span national boundaries, for example, threatened species are counted in all countries where they are present (risking double counting for the unwary data user). Most of the ocean falls outside national jurisdictions, limiting the data that can be presented in the WDI framework. The majority of greenhouse gases are emitted from a local site, but once released into the atmospheric commons, they become a global problem, though with varied local effects. Conversely, access to natural resources may vary within a country: for example, water may be abundant in some parts of a country but scarce in others.
Measuring environmental phenomena and their subnational, national, and supranational effects continues to be a major challenge.
Featured Indicators
A selection of relevant indicators is presented below. The table shows, for each featured indicator, time coverage per year, for all countries, for each decade since the 1960s, and regional coverage for each World Bank geographical region since 2010. For detailed thematic lists please refer to the World Development Indicators Statistical Tables.
| Agriculture | ||||
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| Indicator | Code | Time coverage | Region coverage | Get data |
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Agricultural land (% of land area)
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AG.LND.AGRI.ZS |
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Land under cereal production (hectares)
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AG.LND.CREL.HA |
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Cereal yield (kg per hectare)
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AG.YLD.CREL.KG |
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Agriculture, value added per worker (constant 2010 US$)
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NV.AGR.EMPL.KD |
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| Climate | ||||
| Indicator | Code | Time coverage | Region coverage | Get data |
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CO2 emissions (metric tons per capita)
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EN.ATM.CO2E.PC |
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PM2.5 air pollution, mean annual exposure (micrograms per cubic meter)
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EN.ATM.PM25.MC.M3 |
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PM2.5 air pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding WHO guideline value (% of total)
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EN.ATM.PM25.MC.ZS |
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Average precipitation in depth (mm per year)
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AG.LND.PRCP.MM |
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| Energy & mining | ||||
| Indicator | Code | Time coverage | Region coverage | Get data |
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Energy intensity level of primary energy (MJ/$2017 PPP GDP)
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EG.EGY.PRIM.PP.KD |
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Renewable energy consumption (% of total final energy consumption)
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EG.FEC.RNEW.ZS |
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Renewable electricity output (% of total electricity output)
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EG.ELC.RNEW.ZS |
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Access to electricity (% of population)
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EG.ELC.ACCS.ZS |
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Access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking (% of population)
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EG.CFT.ACCS.ZS |
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| Environment | ||||
| Indicator | Code | Time coverage | Region coverage | Get data |
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Forest area (% of land area)
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AG.LND.FRST.ZS |
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Total natural resources rents (% of GDP)
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NY.GDP.TOTL.RT.ZS |
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Terrestrial protected areas (% of total land area)
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ER.LND.PTLD.ZS |
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Terrestrial and marine protected areas (% of total territorial area)
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ER.PTD.TOTL.ZS |
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Marine protected areas (% of territorial waters)
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ER.MRN.PTMR.ZS |
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| Urban and rural development | ||||
| Indicator | Code | Time coverage | Region coverage | Get data |
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Access to electricity, urban (% of urban population)
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EG.ELC.ACCS.UR.ZS |
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People using at least basic drinking water services, urban (% of urban population)
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SH.H2O.BASW.UR.ZS |
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People using at least basic sanitation services, urban (% of urban population)
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SH.STA.BASS.UR.ZS |
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Access to electricity, rural (% of rural population)
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EG.ELC.ACCS.RU.ZS |
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People using at least basic sanitation services, rural (% of rural population)
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SH.STA.BASS.RU.ZS |
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People using at least basic drinking water services, rural (% of rural population)
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SH.H2O.BASW.RU.ZS |
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| Water and sanitation | ||||
| Indicator | Code | Time coverage | Region coverage | Get data |
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Renewable internal freshwater resources per capita (cubic meters)
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ER.H2O.INTR.PC |
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Annual freshwater withdrawals, total (% of internal resources)
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ER.H2O.FWTL.ZS |
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Water productivity, total (constant 2010 US$ GDP per cubic meter of total freshwater withdrawal)
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ER.GDP.FWTL.M3.KD |
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People using safely managed drinking water services (% of population)
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SH.H2O.SMDW.ZS |
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People using safely managed sanitation services (% of population)
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SH.STA.SMSS.ZS |
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About the data
Agriculture
Land Use and Productivity
Agriculture remains an important economic sector in many economies, and agricultural activities are a source of food and revenue for large segments of the population in many countries. The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) collects relevant data using annual questionnaires supplemented by information from official secondary data sources. The FAO tries to impose standard definitions and reporting methods but because complete consistency is not possible, data on agricultural land and land use in different regions may not be comparable.
Land under cereal production refers to harvested area, although some countries report only sown or cultivated area. Production data on cereals relate to crops harvested for dry grain only, such as wheat, rice, maize, barley, oats, rye, millet, sorghum, buckwheat, and mixed grains. Cereal crops harvested for hay or harvested green for food, feed, or silage and those used for grazing are excluded. Cereal grains are grown in greater quantities and provide more food energy worldwide than any other type of crop. The FAO allocates production data to the calendar year in which the bulk of the harvest took place. Most of a crop harvested near the end of a year will be used in the following year.
Agricultural value added per worker is a measure of agricultural productivity. Value added in agriculture measures the output of the entire sector (ISIC divisions 1-5) less the value of intermediate inputs. Agriculture comprises value added from forestry, hunting, and fishing as well as cultivation of crops and livestock production.
Climate
Air pollution
Air pollution places a heavy burden on world health. In many places, urban as well as rural, households burn wood, charcoal, dung, crop waste, or coal to meet basic energy needs. Cooking and heating with solid fuels create harmful smoke and particles that fill homes and contaminate the surrounding environment. Long-term exposure to ambient air pollution contributes to health problems such as respiratory diseases, lung cancer, and heart disease. Its huge economic costs are a drag on development, particularly for low- and middle-income countries and for vulnerable segments of the population like children and the elderly.
Data on exposure to ambient air pollution are derived from estimates of annual concentrations of very fine particulates produced for the Global Burden of Disease study, an international scientific effort led by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. Estimates of annual concentrations are generated by combining data from atmospheric chemistry transport models and satellite observations of aerosols in the atmosphere. Modeled concentrations are calibrated against observations from ground-level monitoring. Exposure to concentrations of particulates in both urban and rural areas is weighted by population and aggregated by country.
Pollutant concentrations are sensitive to local conditions, and even monitoring sites in the same city may register different levels. Direct monitoring of ambient PM2.5 is still rare in many parts of the world, and measurement protocols and standards are not the same for all countries. These data should be considered only a general indication of air quality, intended for cross-country comparisons of the relative risk of particulate matter pollution.
Carbon dioxide emissions
Carbon dioxide emissions are the primary source of greenhouse gases, which contribute to global warming, threatening human and natural habitats. Fossil fuel combustion and cement manufacturing are the primary sources of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions, which the U.S. Department of Energy’s Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC) has calculated using data from the United Nations Statistics Division’s World Energy and the U.S. Department of Interior’s Geological Survey. Carbon dioxide emissions, often reported as elemental carbon, were converted to actual carbon dioxide mass by multiplying them by 3.667 (the ratio of the mass of carbon to that of carbon dioxide). Although estimates of global emissions are probably accurate within 10 percent (as calculated from global average fuel chemistry and use), country estimates may have larger error bounds. Trends estimated from a consistent time series tend to be more accurate than individual values.
Each year since 1949 the CDIAC has recalculated the entire time series, incorporating recent findings and corrections. Estimates exclude fuels supplied to ships and aircraft in international transport because of the difficulty of apportioning the fuels to individual countries.
Energy & Mining
Energy use
In low- and middle-income economies, growth in energy use is closely related to growth in the modern sectors—industry, motorized transport, and urban areas—but also reflects climatic, geographic, and economic factors. Energy use has been growing rapidly in low- and middle-income economies, but high-income economies still use about four times as much energy per capita.
Total energy use refers to the use of primary energy before transformation to other end-use fuels, such as electricity and refined petroleum products. It includes energy from combustible renewables and waste: solid biomass and animal products, gas and liquid from biomass, and industrial and municipal waste. Biomass is any plant matter used directly as fuel or converted into fuel, heat, or electricity. Because data for combustible renewables and waste are often based on small surveys or otherwise incomplete information, they give only a broad impression of developments in this area and are not strictly comparable across countries. Country notes in International Energy Agency (IEA) reports explain some of these differences. All forms of energy—primary energy and primary electricity—are converted into oil equivalents. A notional thermal efficiency of 33 percent is assumed for converting nuclear electricity into oil equivalents and 100 percent efficiency is assumed in converting hydroelectric power.
Electricity production
Use of energy improves people’s standard of living, but electricity generation can also damage the environment. Whether there is damage mainly depends on how electricity is generated. For example, burning coal releases twice as much carbon dioxide—a major contributor to global warming—than burning an equivalent amount of natural gas. Nuclear energy does not produce carbon dioxide emissions but does produce other dangerous waste products.
The IEA compiles data on energy inputs used to generate electricity. Data for countries that are not members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) are based on national energy data adjusted to conform to the annual questionnaires OECD member governments complete, and estimates are sometimes made to calculate major aggregates when needed data are missing, with adjustments to compensate for differences in definitions. In making the estimates the IEA consults with national statistical offices, oil companies, electric utilities, and national energy experts. It occasionally revises its time series to reflect political changes. Energy statistics for other countries have also undergone continuous changes in coverage or methodology in recent years as more detailed energy accounts have become available. Breaks in series are thus unavoidable.
Environment
Loss of forests
Forests provide habitat for many species and soak up carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Properly managed they also provide a livelihood for people dependent on forest resources. FAO’s Global Forest Resources Assessment 2015 provides information on forest cover in 2015 with adjusted estimates for 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015. The data do not distinguish natural forests from plantations, and areas where forest management has temporarily removed tree cover or where it has been temporarily lost through natural disturbances are still considered forest.
Habitat protection and biodiversity
Deforestation is a major cause of loss of biodiversity, and habitat conservation is vital for stemming this loss. Conservation efforts have focused on protecting highly biodiverse areas. The World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) compile data on protected areas. Differences in definitions, reporting practices, and reporting periods limit cross-country comparability. Nationally protected areas are defined using the six International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) categories for areas of at least 1,000 hectares—scientific reserves and strict nature reserves with limited public access, national parks of national or international significance that are not materially affected by human activity, natural monuments and natural landscapes with unique aspects, managed nature reserves and wildlife sanctuaries, protected landscapes (which may include cultural landscapes), and areas managed mainly for the sustainable use of natural systems to ensure long-term protection and maintenance of biological diversity—as well as terrestrial protected areas not assigned to an IUCN category. Designating an area as protected does not always mean that protection is enforced. For small countries with protected areas smaller than 1,000 hectares, the size limit leads to underestimation of protected areas. Due to variations in consistency and methods of collection, data quality is highly variable. Some countries update their information more frequently than others, while others have have more accurate data.
Urban and Rural Development
Urban and Rural Population
There is no consistent and universally accepted standard for distinguishing urban from rural areas and, by extension, for calculating their populations. Most countries have adopted a classification which uses the size or characteristics of settlements. Some base the distinction between urban and rural on the presence of certain infrastructure and services, others on administrative arrangements. Because data conform to national definitions, cross-country comparisons should be made with caution. The United Nations Population Division compiles the proportion of the population living in urban and rural areas based on the World Urbanization Prospect 2014 revision. Urban population are people living in areas defined by national statistical offices as urban. The proportion of urban and rural population is estimated from the most recently available census or official population estimate of each country. If an estimate is only available for a period in the past, the urban proportion is extrapolated to the base year. Sometimes it has been necessary to incorporate other estimates.
Basic services
Data for access to electricity are collected mostly from nationally representative household surveys and national censuses. Survey sources include Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and Living Standards Measurement Surveys (LSMS), Multi-Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), the World Health Survey (WHS), other national surveys, and various government agencies. To get the historical evolution and starting point of electrification rates, a simple modeling approach was adopted to fill in missing data points around 1990, 2000, and 2010. A country can thus have a continuum of zero to three data points. The model keeps the original observation if data are available for any of the time periods. Data on drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene are produced by the Joint Monitoring Programme of the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) based on administrative sources, national censuses, and nationally representative household surveys.
Water and Sanitation
Freshwater resources
The FAO compiles data on freshwater resources derived from estimates of runoff into rivers and recharge of groundwater. The estimates are derived from a variety of sources and refer to different years, so cross-country comparisons should be made with caution. Data are collected intermittently and may hide substantial year-to-year variations in total renewable water resources. The data make no distinction between seasonal and geographic variations in water availability within countries. Data for small countries and countries in arid and semiarid zones are less reliable than data for larger countries and countries with more rainfall.
Water and sanitation access
Access to clean water and sanitation is vital for such aspects of sustainable development as the environment, health, and economic growth. Data on drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene are produced by the Joint Monitoring Programme of the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) based on administrative sources, national censuses, and nationally representative household surveys. To take a more comprehensive view of water and sanitation services, indicators for “safely managed” services have recently been introduced.
Safely managed drinking water is defined as an improved water source (e.g., piped) that is accessible on premises, available when needed, and free from fecal and priority chemical contamination. Safely managed sanitation facilities are defined as improved facilities (e.g., flush toilets connected to sewers) not shared with other households and where excreta are safely disposed of in situ or transported and treated offsite.