Ecological Footprint of Consumption Compared to Biocapacity

This map compares each country's total consumption Footprint with the biocapacity available within its own borders.

Many countries rely, in net terms, on the biocapacity of other nations to meet domestic demands for goods and services. For example: Japan imports Ecuadorian wood to make paper; Europe imports meat fed on Brazilian soy; the United States imports Peruvian cotton; and China obtains lumber from Tanzania.

• World Total Biocapacity: 1.78 gha per capita
• World Ecological Footprint of Consumption: 2.7 gha per capita (i.e. we are using more resources than the Earth can provide.)

Currently less than 20 percent of the world's population living in countries that can keep up with their own demands.

What is a global hectare (gha)?

A global hectare is a common unit that encompasses the average productivity of all the biologically productive land and sea area in the world in a given year. Biologically productive areas include cropland, forest and fishing grounds, and do not include deserts, glaciers and the open ocean.

Data source: Global Footprint Network's 2010 Edition.