Research Guides: Sustainability: Data Sources

Data Sources

Data.gov This link opens in a new window
Primary source for datasets generated and held by the U.S. government. Includes raw datasets, their descriptions, information on access, and a catalog of sites with tools for data mining and extraction. Relevant sustainability topics include agriculture, climate, ecosystems, energy, ocean, science & research, and more.

Environmental Dataset Gateway (EPA)
The Environmental Protection Agency's official open data catalog
World Bank Open Data
Explore the World Bank's free (open access) data repository for access to global development data. Search or browse Country or topically by Indicator, including agriculture, climate change, economy, energy & mining, environment, infrastructure, science & technology, among others.
OECD Data
Explore environmental data and indicators provided by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), an intergovernmental economic organization. Data categories include air and climate, biodiversity, environmental expenditures and revenues, forest resources, green growth, material resources, waste, water, and others.
United Nations Environmental Statistics & Data
The Environment Statistics Section of the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) is engaged in the development of methodology, data collection, capacity development, and coordination in the fields of environmental statistics and indicators. Available data includes environmental indicators, country snapshots, country files, and questionnaires.

Data Guide from Princeton
This fantastic guide categories data sites by subject and region. Use the Data Catalog (left bar) to find specific sources.

ICPSR (datasets) This link opens in a new window
The Inter-University Consortium for Political & Social Research (ICPSR) maintains a dataset archive of research in the social and behavioral sciences. It hosts 21 specialized collections of data in education, aging, criminal justice, substance abuse, terrorism, and other fields.
Each study's dataset provides documentation (e.g. codebook), and a bibliography of published articles that used the data. Data offered in many formats.
Must create an ICPSR account to download data. Coverage: 1700s-present.

Economic Policy Institue DataZone (EPI)
Browse through a compilation of data, including current and historical statistics on wage trends, unemployment rates for different demographic groups, and much more, all in spreadsheet form.