Skip to main content

Description

The 2001 Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI) utilizes a refined methodology based on the 2000 Pilot ESI effort, to construct an index covering 122 countries that measures the overall progress towards environmental sustainability. The index is a composite measure of the current status of a nation's environmental systems, pressures on those systems, human vulnerability to environmental change, national capacity to respond, and contributions to global environmental stewardship. The refinements included the addition and deletion of indicators, filling gaps in data coverage, new data sets, and the modification of the aggregation scheme. The index was unveiled at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting, January 2001, Davos, Switzerland. The 2001 ESI is the result of collaboration among the World Economic Forum (WEF), Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy (YCELP), and the Columbia University Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN).

Product Summary

Platforms
MODELS
Instruments
Computer
Spatial Extent
N: 90 S: -55 E: 180 W: -180
Geographic Region
GLOBAL,
CUBA,
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC,
FIJI,
HAITI,
INDONESIA,
JAMAICA,
MADAGASCAR,
MALAYSIA,
MAURITIUS,
PAPUA NEW GUINEA,
PHILIPPINES,
SINGAPORE,
SRI LANKA,
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO,
ALBANIA,
ALGERIA,
ARGENTINA,
ARMENIA,
AUSTRALIA,
AUSTRIA,
AZERBAIJAN,
BANGLADESH,
BELARUS,
BELGIUM,
BENIN,
BHUTAN,
BOLIVIA,
BOTSWANA,
BRAZIL,
BULGARIA,
BURKINA FASO,
BURUNDI,
CAMEROON,
CANADA,
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC,
CHILE,
CHINA,
COLOMBIA,
COSTA RICA,
CROATIA,
CZECHIA,
DENMARK,
ECUADOR,
EGYPT,
EL SALVADOR,
ESTONIA,
ETHIOPIA,
FINLAND,
FRANCE,
GABON,
GERMANY,
GHANA,
GREECE,
GUATEMALA,
HONDURAS,
HUNGARY,
ICELAND,
INDIA,
IRAN,
IRELAND,
ISRAEL,
ITALY,
JAPAN,
JORDAN,
KAZAKHSTAN,
KENYA,
KUWAIT,
KYRGYZSTAN,
LATVIA,
LEBANON,
LIBYA,
LITHUANIA,
MALAWI,
MALI,
MEXICO,
MOLDOVA,
MONGOLIA,
MOROCCO,
MOZAMBIQUE,
NEPAL,
NETHERLANDS,
NEW ZEALAND,
NICARAGUA,
NIGER,
NIGERIA,
NORTH MACEDONIA,
NORWAY,
PAKISTAN,
PANAMA,
PARAGUAY,
PERU,
POLAND,
PORTUGAL,
ROMANIA,
RUSSIAN FEDERATION,
RWANDA,
SAUDI ARABIA,
SENEGAL,
SLOVAKIA,
SLOVENIA,
SOUTH AFRICA,
SOUTH KOREA,
SPAIN,
SUDAN,
SWEDEN,
SWITZERLAND,
SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC,
TANZANIA,
THAILAND,
TOGO,
TUNISIA,
TURKEY,
UGANDA,
UKRAINE,
UNITED KINGDOM,
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
URUGUAY,
UZBEKISTAN,
VENEZUELA,
VIETNAM,
ZAMBIA,
ZIMBABWE
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
CARTESIAN
Temporal Extent
1980-01-01 to 2000-12-31
Data Partner
Earth Science Data Information System (ESDIS)
Concept ID
c3540910248-esdis
Data State
COMPLETE
Processing Level
4
Published
Updated

Citation

Citation is critically important for dataset documentation and discovery. This dataset is openly shared, without restriction, in accordance with the EOSDIS Data Use and Citation Guidance.

Copy Citation

World Economic Forum-WEF-Global Leaders For Tomorrow Environment Task Force, Yale Center For Environmental Law And Policy-YCELP-Yale University, & Center For International Earth Science Information Network-CIESIN-Columbia University. (2001). 2001 Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI) (Version 2001.00) [Data set]. Palisades, NY: NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). https://doi.org/10.7927/H4X34VDM Date Accessed: 2025-07-12

Data Center Citation

World Economic Forum - WEF - Global Leaders for Tomorrow Environment Task Force, Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy - YCELP - Yale University, and Center for International Earth Science Information Network - CIESIN - Columbia University. 2001. 2001 Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI). New Haven, CT: Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy (YCELP)/Yale University. https://doi.org/10.7927/H4X34VDM.

Documents

GENERAL DOCUMENTATION Data Set Documentation

Learning Resources

View All Learning Resources
Filters
No Results