The biological production of calcium carbonate (CaCO<sub>3</sub>), a process termed calcification, is a key term in the marine carbon cycle. A major planktonic group responsible for such pelagic CaCO<sub>3</sub> production (CP) are the coccolithophores, single-celled haptophytes that inhabit the euphotic zone of the ocean. Satellite-based estimates of areal CP are limited to open-ocean waters, with current algorithms utilising the unique optical properties of the cosmopolitan bloom-forming species <i>Emiliania huxleyi</i>, whereas little understanding of the optical properties and environmental responses by species other than <i>E. huxleyi</i> are currently available to parameterise algorithms or models. To aid future areal estimations and validate future modelling efforts we have constructed a database of 2765 CP measurements, the majority of which were measured using 12 to 24 h incorporation of radioactive carbon (<sup>14</sup>C) into acid-labile inorganic carbon (CaCO<sub>3</sub>). We present data collated from over 30 studies covering the period from 1991 to 2015, sampling the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic and Southern oceans. Globally, CP in surface waters (< 20 m) ranged from 0.01 to 8398 µmol C m<sup>-3</sup> d<sup>-1</sup> (with a geometric mean of 16.1 µmol C m<sup>-3</sup> d<sup>-1</sup>). An integral value for the upper euphotic zone (herein surface to the depth of 1 % surface irradiance) ranged from < 0.1 to 6 mmol C m<sup>-2</sup> d<sup>-1</sup> (geometric mean 1.19 mmol C m<sup>-2</sup> d<sup>-1</sup>). The full database is available for download from PANGAEA as doi: <a href="https://doi.org/doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.888182" target ="_blank"> https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.888182</a>.