WorldPop, open data for spatial demography

Abstract

High resolution, contemporary data on human population distributions, their characteristics and changes over time are a prerequisite for the accurate measurement of the impacts of population growth, for monitoring changes and for planning interventions. WorldPop aims to meet these needs through the provision of detailed and open access spatial demographic datasets built using transparent approaches. The Scientific Data WorldPop collection brings together descriptor papers on these datasets and is introduced here.

Figure 1. Examples of WorldPop datasets.

(a) Population distribution in 2010 across south America from Sorichetta et al.; (b) Population distributions mapped in southern China in 1990 (top) and 2010 (bottom) from Gaughan et al.; (c) Internal migration flow estimates across sub-Saharan Africa from Sorichetta et al.; (d) Stack of geospatial data layers that form a central component to WorldPop population mapping, from Lloyd et al.