To provide tabular data to researchers without GIS capabilities who need data on population and land area by country across a range of physical characteristics. These include measures such as the number of persons living within coastal zones, the percent of a region within specific elevation strata, or the number of persons living within different climate zones.

To provide quantitative metrics for evaluating a country's environmental performance in different policy categories relative to clearly defined targets.

To provide populated place (point) data with consistent population estimates.

To assist in the country selection process for the Millennium Challenge Corporation by providing indicators of natural resource management and child health that complements the governance, social, and economic indicators used by MCC as country selection criteria.

To provide quantitative metrics for evaluating a country's environmental performance in different policy categories relative to clearly defined targets.

To assist in the country selection process for the Millennium Challenge Account by providing indicators of natural resource management that complements the governance, social, and economic indicators.

To provide tabular data on the trends of chlorophyll-a concentration on a pixel by pixel basis for identifying areas with improving, declining, and stable coastal water quality that can provide guidance for decision making in the context of coastal management.

To provide an assessment of potential climate change impacts on world crop production.

To provide quantitative metrics for evaluating a country's environmental performance in different policy categories relative to clearly defined targets.

To provide estimates of urban and rural populations and land areas in the low elevation coastal zone.

To make the acquisition, comparison and analysis of sustainability indicators easier by compiling them in a single database, incorporating multiple country codes, and condensing the indicator descriptions into short methodological summaries in an accompanying data dictionary.

To provide tabular data on environmental conditions (elevations, climate, coastal) in which people reside.

To provide population estimates, gross domestic product, and surface area data to be used in conjunction with the sustainability indicators included in the compendium.

To provide quantitative metrics for evaluating a country's environmental performance in different policy categories relative to clearly defined targets.

To help assess a country's demand on and supply of biological capital.

To create a comparative index of national-level environmental sustainability and to provide a mechanism for making environmental management more quantitative, empirically grounded and systematic.

To provide tabular data on human appropriation of net primary productivity by country.

To provide tabular data on environmental conditions (elevations, climate, coastal) in which people reside.

To provide data to gauge broad similarities and differences of national progress on sustainability of countries, over time and relative to other nations.

To provide a comparative index of national-level environmental sustainability covering a number of sustainability dimensions.