GIS technology has transformed spatial data handling capabilities and made it necessary for governments to re-examine their roles with respect to the supply and availability ofgeographicalinformation. This paper reviews the experiences of eleven national initiatives which together constitute the first generation of national spatial data infrastructures and it also considers what lessons might be learnt for the next generation that will come into being over the next ten years. The presentation is divided into three sections. The first of these consists of a short profile of each of the eleven strategies for Australia, Canada, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Netherlands, Portugal, Qatar, United Kingdom and United States. These are evaluated in the second section in relation to the driving forces behind them and their main features in terms of status, scope, access, approach to implementation and resources. The last section considers what lessons might be learnt from this experience and discusses the changing context within which the next generation of national spatial data infrastructures are likely to be formulated. It concludes with some thoughts on which countries are most likely to be candidates for the next generation of national spatial data infrastructures.