A curated directory of free geospatial datasets
14 trusted, official data sources for basemaps, boundaries, satellite imagery, elevation, population, and more — all free to download, no paywalls.
Showing 14 of 14 datasets
OpenStreetMap
Crowd-sourced global basemap of roads, buildings, land use, points of interest, and administrative boundaries, continuously updated by a worldwide mapping community.
License: Open Data Commons Open Database License (ODbL)
Natural Earth
Free public domain map dataset featuring cultural, physical, and raster basemap layers at 1:10m, 1:50m, and 1:110m scales — ideal for cartography and small-scale mapping.
License: Public Domain
USGS EarthExplorer
USGS portal for searching and downloading satellite imagery, aerial photography, and elevation data, including the full Landsat archive dating back to 1972.
License: Public Domain (U.S. Government Work)
NASA Earthdata
NASA's Earth Observing System Data and Information System (EOSDIS) — a vast archive of satellite-derived climate, atmosphere, land, and ocean datasets from MODIS, VIIRS, and other missions.
License: Public Domain (U.S. Government Work)
ESA Copernicus (Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem)
European Space Agency's Copernicus program data hub — free access to Sentinel-1, -2, -3, and -5P satellite imagery for land, ocean, atmosphere, and emergency monitoring.
License: Copernicus Open Data License
OpenTopography
High-resolution topography data facility providing global and regional LiDAR point clouds, digital elevation models (DEMs), and derived terrain products.
License: Varies by dataset (mostly open/public domain)
geoBoundaries
Open, versioned database of political administrative boundaries (ADM0–ADM5) for every country, built for reproducible research and free of restrictive licensing terms.
License: Open (CC BY 4.0 / ODbL, varies by source)
GADM
Database of global administrative areas providing high-resolution country and sub-national boundary data (down to district/village level for many countries).
License: Free for non-commercial and academic use
DIVA-GIS
Free spatial data by country, covering administrative boundaries, roads, rivers, elevation, land cover, and population — packaged for quick country-level downloads.
License: Varies by source dataset (mostly free for use)
Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX)
OCHA-managed open platform for sharing humanitarian data — population displacement, conflict, health, food security, and infrastructure datasets from NGOs and UN agencies.
License: Varies by dataset (mostly CC BY / open)
WorldPop
High-resolution, gridded population estimates and demographic datasets for every country, widely used in public health, disaster response, and development planning.
License: CC BY 4.0
Microsoft Building Footprints
AI-extracted building footprint polygons derived from satellite imagery, covering the globe with billions of individually delineated structures.
License: CDLA Permissive 2.0
NOAA (National Centers for Environmental Information)
U.S. government archive of climate, weather, oceanic, and atmospheric data — including historical weather records, sea surface temperature, and storm tracking datasets.
License: Public Domain (U.S. Government Work)
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