The World Data Centre (WDC) system was created to archive and distribute data collected from the observational programmes of the 1957-1958 International Geophysical Year by the International Council of Science (ICSU). The WDCs were funded and maintained by their host countries on behalf of the international science community.Originally established in the United States, Europe, Soviet Union, and Japan, the WDC system expanded to other countries and to new scientific disciplines.