Chinese MapA release today by the Chinese State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping (SBSM) puts the value of the Chinese geographic information industry at 50 billion yuan (roughly 6.9 billion USD). SBSM reports that there were 2,400 kinds of maps produced, including surveying and mapping books, atlases, digital and online maps, with a total of 150 million paper maps produced.

This agency undertook several large-scale projects in 2007, including the second national land survey, preservation of the Great Wall, Arctic exploration, and preparation for the Beijing Olympic games.

The agency completed 600,000 maps (61 percent more than the year prior) and developed significant software and geographic information systems (up 25 percent over the prior year). SBSM also provided 1.54 million land survey results, digital maps and aerial photos to 20 sectors in the country, including land and resources, petroleum, communications and environmental protection.

These figures are fascinating for their comprehensive look at one country’s mapping efforts. There aren’t many countries that could quantify this activity in this way due to private sector involvement. In the United States the picture gets much harder to quantify given the various levels of government producers of geographic information. My sense is that the number of maps and the value is much greater in the United States.

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