The Geospatial Information Section has launched a new publication: Mapping for a Sustainable World.

The aims of the publication are to share cartographic best practices, support the decision-making processes of the SDG community through geo-visualization, and promote public awareness of the SDGs and other global issues. 

The benefits of Mapping for a Sustainable World include:

  • introducing the SDGs and connections to geospatial data;

  • describing foundational design decisions in cartography;

  • introducing common map types and diagrams for representing the SDG indicators; and

  • discussing consideration for map use environments.

The publication is in line with the Secretary-General’s Data Strategy as it aims to maximize the value of our data (SDGs and geospatial data) to unlock our potential to build a whole-of-UN data ecosystem.

It integrates data from the , which is maintained by the Statistics Division in the Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), and UNmap, which is maintained by the UN Geospatial Team.

The UN Geospatial team within OICT and the  provides geospatial services to the Secretariat. The team piloted a virtual online training on how to map SDGs to statistical colleagues in the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) in September 2020.

The UN Geospatial team is contributing to the Data Strategy by utilizing lessons learned and experiences in integrating the Global Goals and geospatial data to build SDG use cases.

Visit the UN Geospatial website today to download the publication or access the and UNmap data (log in using UNITE ID credentials) to become the next SDG mapper.

Contact the UN Geospatial team for more details.


The Geospatial Information Section (UNGIS) is in the Office of Information and Communications Technology (OICT).

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