Free Health and Education Facility GIS Data Sources

Health and education facility location data is essential for humanitarian response, accessibility analysis, health system planning, and development research. Here are the best free global datasets.

WHO Health Facilities Database

The WHO Health Facilities Database provides a comprehensive global directory of hospitals, clinics, and health centers with geographic coordinates, facility type, ownership, and service capacity data.

• Coverage: Global (WHO member states)
• Best for: Health facility mapping and health system planning

UNICEF Global Schools Map

The Global Schools Map by UNICEF provides geolocated school locations for over 100 countries with education level, enrollment estimates, and operational status data.

• Coverage: 100+ countries
• Best for: Education infrastructure mapping and accessibility analysis

HDX Health Facilities

The Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX) hosts community-curated health facility data from humanitarian partners, governments, and OSM community mappers, with the most detailed coverage for humanitarian contexts.

• Coverage: 100+ countries
• Best for: Humanitarian health mapping and field hospital planning

Malaria Atlas Project

The Malaria Atlas Project provides global malaria endemicity maps at 5km resolution for Plasmodium falciparum and P. vivax, along with vector distribution and intervention coverage data.

• Coverage: Malaria-endemic countries
• Resolution: 5km
• Best for: Public health mapping and vector control planning

Healthsites.io

Healthsites.io maintains a curated global database of health facilities sourced from OpenStreetMap with standardized schema and quality assurance, focusing on developing countries.

• Coverage: Global (strongest in developing countries)
• Best for: Community-maintained health facility data

Using Facility Data in GIS

1. Combine health facilities with population grids for catchment area and accessibility analysis.
2. Use transportation data for travel time modeling to the nearest facility.
3. Overlay with conflict data for humanitarian access assessment.
4. Visualize all layers in GeoDataViewer Studio.