2001 Environmental Sustainability Index for 122 Countries

A composite index measuring national progress toward environmental sustainability for 122 countries. The index was developed by the World Economic Forum, Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy, and Columbia University's CIESIN. It was unveiled in January 2001.

Use Cases

• Analyze relationships between a country's ESI score and its constituent indicators like environmental system status and pressures.
• Rank and compare the environmental sustainability performance of 122 countries using the composite index value.
• Assess national capacity for environmental response and vulnerability to environmental change across different regions.
• Model contributions to global environmental stewardship as a function of other national socio-economic or policy metrics.

Strengths

• Covers 122 countries, providing a broad international comparison.
• Based on a refined methodology from a prior pilot study, incorporating new data sets and indicator adjustments.

Limitations

• Data is from 2001 and is not current for analyzing modern environmental trends.
• The specific indicators, columns, and underlying raw data values are not detailed in the provided description.

Provenance

Source

World Economic Forum (WEF), Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy (YCELP), Columbia University Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN).

Collection Method

Composite index constructed from multiple indicators measuring environmental systems, pressures, vulnerability, response capacity, and global stewardship.

Time Range

2001

Freshness

Data reflects the 2001 assessment; no update frequency is specified.

Geography

Global coverage for 122 countries.