TechnicalGIS

Free DEM, LiDAR and elevation data by country

Theme
Elevation / DEM
Countries
76
National sources
158
Global datasets
21
Last verified

National LiDAR and terrain models from mapping agencies, alongside the free global DEMs (Copernicus GLO-30, NASADEM, SRTM, ALOS AW3D30, FABDEM) that cover everywhere else. This page lists all 158 national elevation sources in the catalogue, country by country, after the 21 global datasets.

Global elevation / dem datasets

  • ALOS World 3D 30 m (AW3D30) (opens in a new tab)

    Download Cost: Free with registration

    JAXA · Global

    30 m digital surface model from PRISM stereo imagery (2006–2011), version 4.1; free registration required to download tiles.

    • Elevation / DEM
    Licence
    Free use incl. commercial (JAXA AW3D30 terms; registration)
    Formats
    GeoTIFF
    Link
    eorc.jaxa.jp

    Verified

  • ArcticDEM (opens in a new tab)

    Download Cost: Free

    Polar Geospatial Center (University of Minnesota) · Arctic (north of 60°N)

    2 m stereo-derived surface models of all land north of 60°N, as time-stamped strips and 2 m/10 m/32 m mosaics; also on AWS.

    • Elevation / DEM
    Licence
    CC BY 4.0 (except Alaska data from June 2022)
    Formats
    COG, GeoTIFF, STAC
    Link
    pgc.umn.edu

    Verified

  • ETOPO 2022 Global Relief Model (opens in a new tab)

    Download Cost: Free

    NOAA NCEI · Global

    Seamless land and ocean relief at 15 arc-seconds, 30 arc-seconds and 60 arc-seconds, with ice-surface and bedrock versions.

    • Elevation / DEM
    • Marine & coastal
    Licence
    Public domain (US Gov)
    Formats
    GeoTIFF, NetCDF
    Link
    ncei.noaa.gov

    Verified

  • FABDEM (Forest And Buildings removed Copernicus DEM) (opens in a new tab)

    Download Cost: Free

    University of Bristol / Fathom · Global

    Bare-earth 30 m DTM made by removing trees and buildings from Copernicus GLO-30 (v1-2); popular for flood modelling, non-commercial only.

    • Elevation / DEM
    Licence
    CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
    Formats
    GeoTIFF
    Link
    research-information.bris.ac.uk

    Verified

  • NASADEM (opens in a new tab)

    Download Cost: Free with registration

    NASA JPL / LP DAAC · Global (60°N–56°S)

    Reprocessed SRTM (February 2000) at 1 arc-second (about 30 m) with fewer voids, 60°N–56°S; free Earthdata Login needed.

    • Elevation / DEM
    Licence
    Public domain (NASA open data policy)
    Formats
    HGT, NetCDF
    Link
    earthdata.nasa.gov

    Verified

  • Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica (REMA) (opens in a new tab)

    Download Cost: Free

    Polar Geospatial Center (University of Minnesota) · Antarctica

    2 m stereo-derived surface model of Antarctica as strips and 2 m/10 m/32 m mosaics; also on the AWS Open Data registry.

    • Elevation / DEM
    Licence
    CC BY 4.0
    Formats
    COG, GeoTIFF, STAC
    Link
    pgc.umn.edu

    Verified

  • SRTM GL1 (1 arc-second) (opens in a new tab)

    Download Cost: Free with registration

    NASA / USGS LP DAAC · Global (60°N–56°S)

    The classic Shuttle Radar Topography Mission DEM at 30 m, captured in February 2000; superseded for most uses by NASADEM and Copernicus DEM.

    • Elevation / DEM
    Licence
    Public domain (NASA open data policy)
    Formats
    HGT
    Link
    earthdata.nasa.gov

    Verified

  • TanDEM-X 90 m DEM (opens in a new tab)

    Download Cost: Free with registration

    German Aerospace Center (DLR) · Global

    Global 3 arc-second (about 90 m) radar DEM from the TanDEM-X mission (2010–2015); free after registration for scientific use.

    • Elevation / DEM
    Licence
    Non-commercial (scientific use) DLR licence; registration
    Formats
    GeoTIFF
    Link
    geoservice.dlr.de

    Verified

  • Copernicus DEM (GLO-30 / GLO-90) (opens in a new tab)

    Download Cost: Free

    ESA / Airbus (Copernicus) · Global

    Global 30 m (GLO-30) and 90 m (GLO-90) digital surface model from TanDEM-X (2011–2015) as Cloud Optimised GeoTIFFs on AWS; used in our raster tutorials.

    • Elevation / DEM
    Licence
    Copernicus DEM licence (free, incl. commercial; attribution)
    Formats
    COG
    Link
    registry.opendata.aws

    Verified

  • GEBCO gridded bathymetry (opens in a new tab)

    Download Cost: Free

    GEBCO / IHO / IOC · Global

    Global terrain model for ocean and land at 15 arc-second (about 450 m) resolution, updated annually; download by area as GeoTIFF or NetCDF.

    • Elevation / DEM
    • Marine & coastal
    Licence
    Public domain (GEBCO terms; attribution requested)
    Formats
    NetCDF, GeoTIFF
    Link
    gebco.net

    Verified

  • OpenTopography (opens in a new tab)

    API Cost: Free with registration

    OpenTopography (NSF) · Global

    High-resolution LiDAR point clouds and global DEMs (SRTM, ALOS, Copernicus, NASADEM) with a REST API; free API key needed for global DEMs.

    • Elevation / DEM
    Licence
    Per dataset (global DEMs mostly open; some LiDAR restricted)
    Formats
    GeoTIFF, LAZ
    Link
    opentopography.org

    Verified

  • Registry of Open Data on AWS (opens in a new tab)

    Download Cost: Free

    Amazon Web Services · Global

    Directory of 600+ public datasets in S3 (Sentinel, Landsat, NAIP, Copernicus DEM, ERA5, NOAA), free to access without an account.

    • Open data portal
    • Imagery
    • Elevation / DEM
    • Climate & weather
    Licence
    Per dataset
    Formats
    COG, Zarr, NetCDF, GeoParquet
    Link
    registry.opendata.aws

    Verified

  • EMODnet (European Marine Observation and Data Network) (opens in a new tab)

    Download Cost: Free

    European Commission (DG MARE) · European seas

    European seas bathymetry (about 115 m DTM), seabed habitats, geology, human activities and chemistry from one portal.

    • Marine & coastal
    • Elevation / DEM
    • Environment
    Licence
    Free and open (EMODnet; mostly CC BY 4.0)
    Formats
    GeoTIFF, NetCDF, Shapefile, WMS, WFS
    Link
    emodnet.ec.europa.eu

    Verified

  • Google Earth Engine Data Catalog (opens in a new tab)

    API Cost: Mixed

    Google · Global

    Catalogue of 1,000+ public raster and vector datasets; analysis runs in Earth Engine, which requires a registered Cloud project.

    • Imagery
    • Land cover
    • Elevation / DEM
    • Climate & weather
    Licence
    Per dataset; Earth Engine free for non-commercial use, paid for commercial
    Formats
    API, GeoTIFF
    Link
    developers.google.com

    Verified

  • MERIT Hydro (opens in a new tab)

    Download Cost: Free with registration

    Yamazaki Lab, University of Tokyo · Global

    Global 3 arc-second (about 90 m) flow direction, flow accumulation, river width and HAND; free registration form for the password.

    • Hydrology
    • Elevation / DEM
    Licence
    CC BY-NC 4.0 or ODbL 1.0 (dual licence)
    Formats
    GeoTIFF
    Link
    global-hydrodynamics.github.io

    Verified

  • USGS EarthExplorer (opens in a new tab)

    Portal Cost: Free with registration

    US Geological Survey · Global

    Search and order Landsat, Sentinel-2, SRTM, aerial photography and declassified satellite imagery; free USGS login needed to download.

    • Imagery
    • Elevation / DEM
    Licence
    Public domain (US Gov)
    Formats
    GeoTIFF, HDF
    Link
    earthexplorer.usgs.gov

    Verified

  • Copernicus Data Space Ecosystem (opens in a new tab)

    API Cost: Free with registration

    European Space Agency / European Commission · Global

    Official free access to the full Sentinel-1, -2, -3 and -5P archives (10–300 m) with STAC, OData, openEO and S3 APIs; free account needed for downloads.

    • Imagery
    • Elevation / DEM
    • Land cover
    Licence
    Copernicus open licence (free, full and open; attribution)
    Formats
    SAFE, COG, STAC, OData
    Link
    dataspace.copernicus.eu

    Verified

  • Copernicus Land Monitoring Service (opens in a new tab)

    Download Cost: Free with registration

    European Environment Agency · Europe

    CORINE Land Cover (1990–2018), Urban Atlas, high-resolution layers, EU-DEM and global vegetation products; free login for some downloads.

    • Land cover
    • Environment
    • Elevation / DEM
    Licence
    Copernicus open licence (free, full and open; attribution)
    Formats
    GeoTIFF, GeoPackage
    Link
    land.copernicus.eu

    Verified

  • Earth Search STAC API (opens in a new tab)

    API Cost: Free

    Element 84 · Global

    Free, no-login STAC search over Sentinel-2 L2A COGs, Landsat Collection 2, Sentinel-1 GRD and Copernicus DEM on AWS; used in our Lake Mead tutorial.

    • Imagery
    • Elevation / DEM
    Licence
    Per collection (Sentinel: Copernicus open licence; Landsat: public domain)
    Formats
    COG, STAC
    Link
    earth-search.aws.element84.com

    Verified

  • Microsoft Planetary Computer (opens in a new tab)

    API Cost: Free

    Microsoft · Global

    Over 100 analysis-ready datasets (Sentinel, Landsat, NAIP, ERA5, land cover) behind a free STAC API; data access needs no account.

    • Imagery
    • Land cover
    • Elevation / DEM
    • Environment
    • Climate & weather
    Licence
    Per dataset (mostly open; shown on each collection page)
    Formats
    COG, Zarr, STAC
    Link
    planetarycomputer.microsoft.com

    Verified

  • NASA Earthdata Search (opens in a new tab)

    Portal Cost: Free with registration

    NASA · Global

    Search and download the full NASA EOSDIS archive (MODIS, VIIRS, SRTM, ICESat-2, GEDI, SMAP); downloads need a free Earthdata Login.

    • Imagery
    • Elevation / DEM
    • Environment
    • Climate & weather
    Licence
    Public domain (NASA open data policy)
    Formats
    HDF, NetCDF, GeoTIFF
    Link
    search.earthdata.nasa.gov

    Verified

Elevation / DEM sources by country

Africa 1 country

South Africa 1

Asia 16 countries

Bhutan 1
China 1
Hong Kong 2
India 4
Indonesia 2
Israel 1
Japan 4
Jordan 1
Malaysia 1
Mongolia 1
Nepal 1
Philippines 2
Saudi Arabia 1
South Korea 1
Taiwan 1
Türkiye 2

Europe 27 countries

Andorra 1
Austria 3
Belgium 4
Czechia 2
Denmark 2
Estonia 2
Finland 3
France 4
Germany 6
Iceland 1
Ireland 2
Italy 2
Kosovo 1
Latvia 2
Lithuania 1
Luxembourg 2
Netherlands 2
Norway 3
Poland 2
Portugal 1
Romania 1
Slovakia 2
Slovenia 3
Spain 2
Sweden 2
Switzerland 3
United Kingdom 10

North America 14 countries

Belize 1
Canada 3
Cayman Islands 1
Dominica 1
Dominican Republic 1
Greenland 3
Grenada 1
Mexico 1
Panama 1
Puerto Rico 1
Saint Lucia 1
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1
United States 8
United States Virgin Islands 1

South America 7 countries

Argentina 2
Brazil 1
Colombia 2
Ecuador 1
Peru 1
South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands 2
Uruguay 1

Oceania 8 countries

American Samoa 2
Australia 7
French Polynesia 1
Guam 2
New Caledonia 2
New Zealand 4
Northern Mariana Islands 2
Wallis and Futuna Islands 1

Antarctica 3 countries

Antarctica 4
French Southern and Antarctic Lands 1
Heard Island and McDonald Islands 1

Tutorials that use elevation / dem data