Figure 1: Earth Overshoot Days over the years. It shows global overshoot, starting in 1973, growing over time to cover over 5 months of the year in 2026. The red surface corresponds to the accumulated ecological debt due to global overshoot. It gets bigger every year by the additional overshoot. Visuals can be freely used as long as they are credited with “Global Footprint Network www.overshootday.org”. Choose file size to view/download:
English: small (0.2 MB jpg) | large (0.9 MB jpg)
To determine the date of Earth Overshoot Day for each year, Global Footprint Network calculates the number of days of that year that Earth’s biocapacity suffices to provide for humanity’s Ecological Footprint. The remainder of the year corresponds to global overshoot. Earth Overshoot Day is computed by dividing the planet’s biocapacity (the amount of ecological resources Earth is able to regenerate that year), by humanity’s Ecological Footprint (humanity’s demand for that year), and multiplying by 365, the number of days in a year (or 366 days in a leap year, as for 2024 or 2028):
(Planet’s Biocapacity / Humanity’s Ecological Footprint) x 365 = Earth Overshoot Day
Global Ecological Footprint and biocapacity metrics are calculated each year in the National Footprint and Biocapacity Accounts. Using UN statistics, these accounts incorporate the latest data and the most updated accounting methodology (the National Footprint and Biocapacity Accounts 2026 Edition up t0 2023 and estimates till 2025, plus additional data to estimate the latest years) To estimate this year’s Earth Overshoot Day, Ecological Footprint and biocapacity are “nowcasted” to the current year using the latest data from additional sources, such as the Global Carbon Project.
To maintain consistency with the latest reported data and science, the Ecological Footprint metrics for all past years since 1961 (the earliest year data is available) are recalculated every year, so each year’s metrics share a common data set and the exact same accounting method. The annual dates of Earth Overshoot Day are recalculated accordingly.
Consequently, it is inaccurate to simply look at media accounts from previous years to determine past Earth Overshoot Days. Indeed, a true apples-to-apples comparison of Earth Overshoot Days can only be made using the same edition of the National Footprint and Biocapacity Accounts. For instance, it would make no sense to compare the date of Earth Overshoot Day 2007 as it was calculated that year—and reported by the media at the time—with the date of Earth Overshoot Day 2026, because improved historical data and new findings such as lower net carbon sequestration by forests have slightly shifted the results. Even a few percentage points change can shift the date of Earth Overshoot Day by a good number of days. Therefore, for time trends, consult the Footprint Data Platform.
Given the cumulative effect of overshoot, which leads to a build-up of this deficit into a debt, the precise Earth Overshoot Day date for each year is less significant than the magnitude of the ecological overshoot. The overall trend of the date progression year over year—which, as you now understand, is identical to that of the ratio of humanity’s Ecological Footprint to our planet’s biocapacity. Over the last decade, the date has been staying more steady. This means that humanity is adding further damage to the biosphere at constant rate.
The recalculated dates of past Earth Overshoot Days, as determined with and extended from the National Footprint and Biocapacity Accounts 2026 Edition, are:
Sunday, December 31, 1972
Sunday, December 16, 1973
Thursday, December 12, 1974
Friday, December 12, 1975
Thursday, December 2, 1976
Sunday, November 27, 1977
Saturday, November 18, 1978
Wednesday, November 7, 1979
Saturday, November 29, 1980
Tuesday, December 1, 1981
Wednesday, December 8, 1982
Thursday, December 15, 1983
Tuesday, November 27, 1984
Sunday, November 17, 1985
Thursday, November 13, 1986
Thursday, November 5, 1987
Monday, October 24, 1988
Sunday, October 22, 1989
Tuesday, October 23, 1990
Sunday, October 27, 1991
Saturday, November 7, 1992
Wednesday, November 3, 1993
Wednesday, October 26, 1994
Tuesday, October 17, 1995
Friday, October 11, 1996
Sunday, October 12, 1997
Tuesday, October 13, 1998
Saturday, October 2, 1999
Saturday, September 23, 2000
Tuesday, September 18, 2001
Thursday, September 26, 2002
Thursday, September 18, 2003
Tuesday, September 7, 2004
Thursday, September 1, 2005
Monday, August 28, 2006
Monday, August 20, 2007
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Friday, August 28, 2009
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Saturday, August 9, 2014
Wednesday, August 12, 2015
Sunday, August 14, 2016
Tuesday, August 8, 2017
Saturday, August 4, 2018
Tuesday, August 6, 2019
Tuesday, August 18, 2020
Thursday, August 5, 2021
Tuesday, August 2, 2022
Wednesday, August 2, 2023
Thursday, August 1, 2024
Friday, August 1, 2025
Thursday, July 30, 2026