UN-GGIM

What UN-GGIM does

UN-GGIM (United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management) is the apex intergovernmental mechanism on geospatial information management, established by the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). It operates as the Committee of Experts on Global Geospatial Information Management, convening Member States through annual sessions, expert group meetings, regional committees, functional groups, and thematic networks to coordinate global geospatial standards and practices. Its mandate is to strengthen national geospatial information arrangements in support of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, climate resilience, land administration, and marine geospatial information.

The substantive product portfolio centers on the United Nations Integrated Geospatial Information Framework (UN-IGIF), a comprehensive roadmap that guides Member States in strengthening their national geospatial information management capacities. UN-GGIM operates two Centres of Excellence: the UN Global Geodetic Centre of Excellence (UN-GGCE) in Bonn, Germany, which coordinates the Global Geodetic Reference Frame underpinning satellite-based positioning, critical infrastructure, and national defence systems; and the UN Global Geospatial Knowledge and Innovation Centre (UN-GGKIC) in Deqing, China, an office away from headquarters under DESA focused on knowledge development, innovation, and capacity building. The organization also convenes the United Nations World Geospatial Information Congress as its flagship global forum.

UN-GGIM does not operate a commercial business model. It is funded through assessed contributions from UN Member States as part of the broader UN system budget under the Department of Economic and Social Affairs. There is no pricing structure, no paying customer base, and no revenue disclosed. Its go-to-market is event-driven: annual sessions of the Committee of Experts, regional and thematic workshops, capacity development seminars, and quadrennial World Geospatial Information Congresses (the third edition scheduled for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in November 2026). Distribution to Member States occurs through direct engagement at intergovernmental meetings, the regional committee structure (e.g., UN-GGIM: Africa), the Centres of Excellence network, and formal UN communication channels.

Name

UN-GGIM

Legal name

United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management

Website

https://ggim.un.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

UN-GGIM is the UN Economic and Social Council's apex intergovernmental mechanism on global geospatial information management, serving 193 Member States through the UN-IGIF framework, two Centres of Excellence, and annual sessions to coordinate geospatial standards for the 2030 Agenda.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Geospatial Information Management

NAICS

International Affairs (928120), Space Research and Technology (927110), Other General Government Support (921190)

SIC

International Affairs (9721)

akta.pro primary industry

Environment, Climate & Sustainable Development IGOs (BPADAAAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

United Nations System & Specialized Agencies (BPADAAAA), Geospatial Data Management & Enterprise GIS (Geodatabases, Web GIS, Spatial Analytics) (EUAHAKAC)

Keywords

• Geospatial information management
• Intergovernmental cooperation
• Geodetic infrastructure
• Sustainable development monitoring
• Spatial data frameworks

Headquarters

HQ city

New York, NY

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Intergovernmental Contributions: UN-GGIM operates as a UN intergovernmental mechanism under ECOSOC, funded through assessed contributions from Member States to support the work of the Committee of Experts and its subsidiary bodies including Centres of Excellence.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

UN-GGIM provides global coordination of geospatial information management through the UN Integrated Geospatial Information Framework (UN-IGIF) and operates two Centres of Excellence (UN-GGCE for geodesy and UN-GGKIC for knowledge and innovation). It convenes annual sessions, expert group meetings, regional committees, and the United Nations World Geospatial Information Congress to support Member States in implementing geospatial information arrangements aligned with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Product overview

UN-GGIM (United Nations Global Geospatial Information Management) is an intergovernmental mechanism established by ECOSOC as the apex body on geospatial information management. It operates through a portfolio of initiatives including the United Nations Integrated Geospatial Information Framework (UN-IGIF) as the guiding strategic framework, two Centres of Excellence (UN-GGCE and UN-GGKIC) for specialized expertise and capacity development, and convenes the United Nations World Geospatial Information Congress as a global forum for dialogue on geospatial technology advances.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• United Nations Integrated Geospatial Information Framework (UN-IGIF)

Quantifiable outcome

• Supports implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development through integrated geospatial information frameworks across all Member States

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• International Hydrographic Organization (IHO)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 May 2026Joint Working Group on Marine Geospatial Information established to address geospatial information for marine and inland waters covering approximately 70% of Earth's surface, impacting climate adaptation, global trade, food and energy security, and ecosystem health.
• UN Department of Economic and Social AffairscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParent UN department providing substantive guidance and supervision to UN-GGKIC, establishing the Centre as an office away from headquarters.
• UN-GGIM Regional CommitteescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRegional committees including UN-GGIM: Africa actively contribute to enhancing the Committee of Experts' effectiveness through regional workshops on UN-IGIF implementation.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• UN-Habitat: UN programme working on sustainable urbanization and human settlements, including land administration and geospatial tools for urban planning. Comparable as a UN system body whose work directly depends on and feeds into UN-GGIM's land administration and geospatial frameworks.
• United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP): UN system body's environment pillar with growing reliance on geospatial data for ecosystem monitoring and climate resilience. Closely comparable as a UN entity whose downstream programmatic work depends on the same geospatial infrastructure UN-GGIM helps coordinate.
• Group on Earth Observations (GEO): Intergovernmental partnership of 100+ governments and organizations coordinating Earth observation data and the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS). Closely comparable to UN-GGIM in mandate — global coordination of geospatial/Earth observation standards and data — though organized as a voluntary partnership rather than a UN body.
• International Hydrographic Organization (IHO): Intergovernmental organization coordinating nautical charting and hydrographic standards. Directly comparable as an intergovernmental geospatial-adjacent body, and an explicit UN-GGIM strategic partner through the Joint Working Group on Marine Geospatial Information (announced 2026-05-04).
• UN Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA): UN office coordinating international cooperation in peaceful uses of outer space. Most direct peer within the UN system — both are ECOSOC/DESA-aligned bodies convening Member States on space- and geospatial-related policy, with overlapping stakeholder communities in national mapping and space agencies.

Broad incumbents

• Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO): UN specialized agency whose work on land use, forestry, and food security heavily relies on national geospatial capacities and collaborates with UN-GGIM on land administration. Comparable as a larger UN system entity whose operational success is partly contingent on UN-GGIM's framework adoption.
• Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC): International standards body (500+ member organizations) developing open geospatial interoperability standards. Comparable as the de facto technical standards setter for geospatial interoperability; UN-GGIM often references OGC standards in UN-IGIF implementation guidance, creating a complementary public-private standards relationship.

Emerging players

• World Geospatial Industry Council (WGIC): Industry coalition of geospatial companies advancing private-sector engagement with UN and government geospatial initiatives. Comparable as the principal private-sector counterpart to UN-GGIM's public-sector mandate, frequently engaged through UN-GGIM events and consultations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/un
• YouTubeyoutube.com/unitednations
• Facebookfacebook.com/unitednations
• Instagraminstagram.com/unitednations
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/un-ggim

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about UN-GGIM