Population Density

Measures the number of people living per unit area, providing a spatial understanding of human settlement patterns and pressure on land.

availability

On Demand

Now

indicator tier

Silver

unit

People per square kilometer (people/km²) or people per hectare (people/ha)

spatial resolution

measurement frequency

measurement level

historic data availability

Forescast data availability

applicable crop types

applicable land type

No items found.

compliance frameworks

description

Provides spatially explicit estimates of population distribution, showing how people are spread across rural and urban landscapes. Using WorldPop’s globally harmonized dataset, it supports analyses of human pressure, infrastructure planning, and climate or ecosystem vulnerability. Data are available annually at resolutions up to 100 m.

methodology

WorldPop combines national census and administrative population counts with satellite-derived covariates such as land cover, settlement footprints, and nightlight intensity. Machine learning models disaggregate population data into gridded estimates, normalized to match UN and national totals. The result is a high-resolution global layer representing people per pixel or polygon.

validation