National Mapping

Worldwide national mapping is found in a wide range of conditions. While the portion of the Earth that is still not well-mapped decreases with each passing year, a surprisingly large number of countries do not have complete large-scale mapping at all. It is not just a problem of impoverished states, or extremely large countries. Geography itself plays a role - a country's equatorial proximity may result in near-permanent cloudy conditions making remote sensing more difficult and hence map-making. In many cases the status of mapping remains as a legacy of colonial and military involvement of world empires and superpowers.

Another important factor of national mapping is secrecy or distribution restrictions applied by local governments. The maps are the classic "dual-use" technology, of critical import to both military and civilian organizations. Nearly every country of the world has to some degree classified its maps, both those of its own territory and those of its neighbors' territories. Restrictions imposed by some governments are relatively mild (such as restrictions for map distribution over certain areas only), however in some cases the restrictions are more comprehensive.

Also in the realm of public policy is the issue of the copyright status of a country's maps. In some countries the base data upon which their core users rely are to large degree free of copyright. On the other side of the fence some countries apply strict copyright and license restrictions prohibiting any derivative work and reproduction of their cartographic materials.

Finally the vintage and the quality of nationally produced topographic maps also need to be considered. There are still some significant areas even in industrialized countries where mapping is severely outdated. Africa remains one of the most problematic areas. For the majority of African countries the colonial mapping has not been updated; therefore on top of the problem of incomplete mapping there is an issue of obsolete materials.