"a measure of how much productive land and water an individual, a city, a country, or humanity requires to produce all the resources it consumes and to absorb all the waste it generates, using prevailing technology. This land could be anywhere in the world. The Ecological Footprint is measured in global hectares*."  (Glossary)
(*also in global acres - on this site we refer only to hectares)

The calculation of a footprint takes in a range of components:  built land, CO2 absorption, nuclear, wood fuel, timber, fisheries, pasture and cropland - or to put it another way:  nourishment, shelter, mobility, goods and services.  

The footprints of many countries, especially industrialised and industrialising countries, have increased rapidly and alarmingly over the past few decades.  The world is already in deficit:  overall, on average we use 2.2 global hectares per person, which is 0.4 more than the world's capacity - so we are already living off our 'ecological capital'.  

• A quarter of the world's countries - one in five of the population - has a global footprint of 3 or more global hectares per person
• A third of the world's population lives in countries with a footprint of around the average.
• But almost half the world - 75 countries, encompassing 47% of the world's population - has a global footprint of 1.5 global hectares per person or less.
• Not surprisingly, the more developed the country, the larger the footprint!   

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This site is developed and maintained by Cathy Aitchison, Aitchison Media & Development, 2006