The impact of climate change will be felt disproportionately in the Caribbean compared to other regions due to sea-level rise and the increasing frequency of extreme weather events. The exposed location, relative isolation and small size of Caribbean islands means the most vulnerable populations will have their lives and livelihoods significantly affected if immediate steps are not taken to mitigate its worst impacts and put systems in place that leave no one behind.

The aim of the project is to develop a regional approach to modelled demographic data and its characteristics. This would not only provide consistent, timely and inclusive data that could underpin development policy, but it would also provide a framework through which countries could request support for modelled population estimates and build sustainable capacity to be able to replicate the outputs.

Alongside this regional approach, the project will work with the national statistical offices (NSOs) of a number of countries to support their census activity. The support for each country will be tailored to their user requirements, but could include modelling census under-coverage, modelled population estimates for areas that cannot be enumerated, supporting census enumeration activity, or supporting the adoption and publication of existing modelled estimates.

The project will implement the expertise of the WorldPop Research Group at the University of Southampton who have been integrating geospatial and statistical data into methodologies for modelling population for over a decade, the Office for National Statistics who provide peer-to-peer support for the NSOs of developing countries through their International Development Programme, and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) who provide technical and financial support to countries to help them conduct a national census, and so will have an important role in facilitating engagement in the Caribbean and providing local context to activities.

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EU solidarity: helping Central America recover after hurricanes ETA and IOTA by © Alianza por la Solidaridad, 2020 licensed to EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid CC BY-ND 2.0