How this atlas is built
Every record lists its sources. Missing values are explicit null and are never invented; estimated values are flagged with *_estimated: true.
What a record means
This inventory includes source-mapped features, campuses, cloud regions and compute systems. Several buildings can belong to one campus, and one region can span several sites. Record counts are not a census of physical data centers or a measure of market share. Use the record-scope filter to inspect each unit separately.
Confidence and status
An operator or another specific source documents the record's existence. This includes documented construction projects. Each field still needs its own evidence.
A community map, structured knowledge item or incomplete seed suggests a data center. Current operation and exact site identity may need review.
A speculative or insufficiently evidenced proposal. An officially announced project need not fall in this tier merely because it is planned.
Confidence describes existence. Status separately describes reported operation, construction, planning or closure. An OSM building tag alone leaves status and facility type unknown.
Sources and review dates
- OpenStreetMap features tagged
telecom=data_centerorbuilding=data_center, retrieved September 17, 2026. - Wikidata data center items with coordinates, retrieved September 17, 2026. Inception dates do not necessarily identify the opening of a facility.
- 179 curated entries from operator pages, announcements and other cited sources. Numerical and location corrections were reviewed on October 1, 2026. Original values and URLs remain available for traceability.
Retrieval dates belong to individual sources. Rebuilding the files does not refresh a source or verify its claims. A reachable URL is not proof that every field is correct. Country assignment uses source-provided codes first, then Natural Earth country polygons; unmatched points stay unknown. Generalized boundaries can still be inaccurate near borders and small islands.
Identity and merging
The pipeline merges an explicit shared campus identity or matching names and operators within 100 metres. An operator match alone is insufficient. Approximate region or campus markers cannot match physical map features by proximity. This conservative rule retains some duplicates, especially unnamed features and separate buildings. Source identifiers remain attached to merged records.
Capacity and electricity
The operational MW total includes only documented facility or campus capacity reported as operational. Announced buildout limits and computer-system power stay separate. Missing capacity is unknown, not zero. Original unsourced MW values remain in the review history and are excluded from totals.
The dashboard's energy scenario multiplies documented operational MW by an explicitly selected average load and 8,760 hours. This is hypothetical electricity for that small subset. It is neither measured consumption nor a global estimate. No PUE multiplier is added to gross facility capacity.
For broader context, the IEA Energy and AI report estimates 415 TWh of worldwide data center electricity use in 2024. That sector estimate has a different scope and method and cannot be derived from this inventory.
Opening years and coverage
The opening-year chart includes sourced facility or campus years through the current year. It excludes region launches, knowledge-item inception dates, future years and unsupported seed dates. Missing years and uneven mapping make it unsuitable for measuring industry growth. Country and operator rankings describe this inventory only.
Cloud markers and curated campus locations are approximate. Most records lack capacity, area and cooling data. The dataset retains unknown values instead of inferring a business model from an operator name. Older source snapshots and the records marked for review still need field-specific research.
Contributing
Found an error or a missing site? Records can be added or corrected through pull requests. See CONTRIBUTING.md. The dataset is open and the source is on GitHub.