How many Earths? How many countries?

Humanity is using nature 1.7 times faster than our planet’s biocapacity can regenerate. That’s equivalent to using the resources of 1.7 Earths. How many Earths would we need if everyone on the planet lived like the residents of your country? Here’s how we calculate that, using the United States as an example:

The Ecological Footprint for the United States is 8.1 gha per person (in 2018) and global biocapacity is 1.6 gha per person (in 2018). Therefore, we would need (8.1/ 1.6) = 5.1 Earths if everyone lived like Americans.

Here’s another interesting way to look at the data. How many Japans does Japan need to meet its residents’ demand on nature?

The Ecological Footprint for Japan is 4.6 gha per person (in 2018) and Japan’s biocapacity is 0.6 gha per person (in 2018). Therefore, it would take (4.6/ 0.6) = 7.8 Japans to meet its residents’ demand on nature.

Find the answers for more countries in the table below! The 2022 edition (with data for 2018) of the National Footprint and Biocapacity Accounts was used to produce the figures and data table. For more updated numbers, check out the 2023 edition which stretches all the way to 2022, with the last three years being estimates. You can download the latest numbers here.

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CountryNumber of Countries requiredNumber of Earths required
Afghanistan2.00.4
Albania1.91.2
Algeria4.11.5
Angola0.50.5
Antigua and Barbuda5.42.9
Argentina0.52.1
Armenia3.11.2
Aruba8.02.8
Australia0.64.5
Austria2.33.8
Azerbaijan2.61.3
Bahamas0.52.7
Bahrain17.65.2
Bangladesh2.20.6
Barbados21.32.5
Belarus1.52.8
Belgium9.04.3
Belize2.25.0
Benin1.71.0
Bermuda43.03.3
Bhutan1.03.3
Bolivia0.22.0
Bosnia and Herzegovina1.92.5
Botswana0.71.5
Brazil0.31.6
British Virgin Islands1.21.5
Brunei Darussalam2.03.4
Bulgaria1.12.3
Burkina Faso1.30.8
Burundi1.50.5
Cabo Verde3.91.2
Cambodia1.30.9
Cameroon0.80.8
Canada0.55.1
Cayman Islands10.91.9
Central African Republic0.20.8
Chad1.01.0
Chile1.32.7
China4.12.4
Colombia0.51.2
Comoros3.40.8
Congo0.10.6
Congo, Democratic Republic of0.40.5
Cook Islands5.95.2
Costa Rica1.61.5
Côte d'Ivoire0.80.9
Croatia1.42.5
Cuba2.31.1
Cyprus18.72.4
Czech Republic2.53.6
Denmark1.84.2
Djibouti3.41.5
Dominica2.21.6
Dominican Republic2.61.1
Ecuador0.91.1
Egypt5.01.2
El Salvador3.41.3
Equatorial Guinea0.61.3
Eritrea0.40.5
Estonia0.95.1
Eswatini2.61.6
Ethiopia1.80.6
Fiji1.11.7
Finland0.54.1
France1.92.8
French Guiana01.2
French Polynesia3.12.5
Gabon0.11.2
Gambia2.00.7
Georgia1.81.5
Germany3.13.0
Ghana1.51.3
Greece3.52.6
Grenada1.21.6
Guadeloupe7.02.3
Guatemala1.91.1
Guinea0.91.2
Guinea-Bissau0.60.9
Guyana02.2
Haiti2.60.4
Honduras0.91.0
Hungary1.52.4
India2.70.8
Indonesia1.41.1
Iran, Islamic Republic of4.52.1
Iraq11.31.1
Ireland1.73.3
Israel25.42.9
Italy5.22.7
Jamaica3.91.0
Japan7.82.9
Jordan11.71.1
Kazakhstan1.43.1
Kenya2.10.6
Korea, Democratic People's Republic of2.10.7
Korea, Republic of9.84.0
Kuwait15.85.0
Kyrgyzstan1.31.0
Lao People's Democratic Republic1.11.2
Latvia0.84.0
Lebanon11.71.9
Lesotho1.91.0
Liberia0.40.8
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya5.52.1
Lithuania1.33.8
Luxembourg10.78.2
Madagascar0.40.6
Malawi1.30.6
Malaysia2.02.7
Mali0.91.0
Malta11.23.4
Martinique8.62.2
Mauritania0.61.6
Mauritius4.82.0
Mexico2.11.5
Mongolia0.54.6
Montenegro1.72.7
Montserrat3.42.7
Morocco2.21.1
Mozambique0.50.5
Myanmar0.91.0
Namibia0.41.6
Nepal1.90.8
Netherlands7.33.6
New Zealand0.63.3
Nicaragua0.70.9
Niger1.21.0
Nigeria1.60.7
Norway0.83.6
Oman4.44
Pakistan2.30.5
Panama1.21.8
Papua New Guinea0.51.1
Paraguay0.31.9
Peru0.71.5
Philippines2.90.9
Poland2.53.0
Portugal3.52.9
Qatar15.59.0
Republic of Moldova1.51.2
Republic of North Macedonia2.12
Réunion26.42.9
Romania1.12.3
Russian Federation0.83.4
Rwanda1.90.5
Saint Lucia7.11.4
Samoa1.51.7
Sao Tome and Principe1.70.8
Saudi Arabia12.13.1
Senegal1.30.9
Serbia1.81.9
Sierra Leone1.10.7
Singapore104.63.7
Slovakia1.73.0
Slovenia2.43.4
Solomon Islands0.51.1
Somalia1.20.6
South Africa3.82.4
South Sudan0.91.0
Spain2.92.8
Sri Lanka3.31.0
State of Palestine11.90.7
Sudan1.10.9
Suriname01.9
Sweden0.74.0
Switzerland4.42.7
Syrian Arab Republic2.70.8
Tajikistan2.40.7
Tanzania, United Republic of1.20.7
Thailand1.91.5
Timor-Leste0.40.4
Togo1.80.7
Tonga2.71.8
Trinidad and Tobago5.04.7
Tunisia3.01.3
Turkey2.62.1
Turkmenistan2.13.1
Uganda2.30.7
Ukraine0.91.5
United Arab Emirates15.75.1
United Kingdom4.12.6
United States of America2.45.1
Uzbekistan3.11.3
Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of0.91.5
Viet Nam2.41.4
Yemen1.40.3
Zambia0.70.8
Zimbabwe2.00.8