The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently convened an Advisory Committee to help it begin the process of transferring Landsat from the government to the private sector. This advisory committee is to help NOAA determine the institutional arrangements, technical parameters and economic feasibility of such a transfer. One of the most important and least understood inputs into this process is the market for Landsat products and ground-station equipment. While at present the U.S. government represents a substantial portion of the users of Landsat data, the market for Landsat data and products in developing countries is expected to grow rapidly. However, the use of Landsat in developing countries is not well understood. This paper looks at the use of Landsat in developing countries by examining the match of remote-sensing technology to the resource information needs of these countries.