Tim O'Riordan

Photo of man wearing mask in street.

Lessons from COVID-19: How Data and Modelling Evolved During the Pandemic 

WorldPop News /

A new MOnitoring Outbreaks for Disease surveillance in a data science context (MOOD) Horizon 2020 study published this week offers an insightful look at how disease modelling and data use changed throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The research, led by Dr Esther van Kleef, Technical Consultant for the World Health Organization (WHO), with WorldPop’s Professor Andy […]

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Photo of Dr Chris Nnanatu speaking at Data Science Nigeria AI Bootcamp 2025

The Future is Geospatial: Powering Africa’s Growth with Location Intelligence

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On Tuesday, October 21, Senior Research Fellow Dr. Chris Nnanatu delivered a keynote presentation at the 2025 Data Science Nigeria AI Bootcamp, where he spoke on a topic shaping Africa’s digital future: “The Future is Geospatial: Powering Africa’s Growth with Location Intelligence.” Dr. Nnanatu explored how geospatial and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies are transforming decision-making

The Future is Geospatial: Powering Africa’s Growth with Location Intelligence Read More »

Photo of street scene in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Advancing Wastewater Surveillance and Population Mapping at Dhaka Stakeholder Engagement Meeting

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Dr Somnath Chaudhuri, Research Fellow at WorldPop, recently visited Dhaka to participate in a key stakeholder engagement meeting for the Gates Foundation-funded project Blue Line Tracing and Wastewater Surveillance in Dhaka. The initiative, a multi-institutional collaboration involving icddr,b (formerly known as the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh), the University of Virginia, Imperial College

Advancing Wastewater Surveillance and Population Mapping at Dhaka Stakeholder Engagement Meeting Read More »

Photo of Dr Jessica Espey, Deputy Director (Research) delivering the Day 2 keynote address at Evidence25, Cotonou, Benin

Highlighting African Leadership in Evidence-Informed Policymaking at Evidence25

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At the Africa Evidence Network Evidence 2025 conference in Cotonou, Benin last week, our Deputy Director (Research) Dr Jessica Espey delivered a keynote highlighting how Africa’s Regional Economic Communities (RECs) are using data and research to shape smarter policy decisions across the continent. Dr Espey, co-author of a forthcoming paper with four Sub-Saharan African colleagues

Highlighting African Leadership in Evidence-Informed Policymaking at Evidence25 Read More »

Photo of the flooded areas of Borno State after the Alau dam collapsed, triggered extensive floods.

How WorldPop Data Powers Google’s Global Flood Forecasting Revolution

WorldPop News /

As climate change drives more extreme weather patterns, the need for accurate and timely flood forecasting has never been greater. A global leader in this effort, Google’s Flood Hub, uses artificial intelligence to predict riverine floods1, and behind the scenes, WorldPop’s Global Project Population dataset is playing a pivotal role in shaping the tool’s impact.

How WorldPop Data Powers Google’s Global Flood Forecasting Revolution Read More »

Photo of Dr Sarchil Qader leading a workshop for the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics

WorldPop: Sharpening Pakistan’s Survey Tools with Geospatial Know-How

WorldPop News /

We’re excited to be working side by side with Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS) and UNFPA to modernise survey planning and sampling in Pakistan, through a strategic training programme focused on Advanced Sampling for Complex Integrated Specialized Household and Economic Surveys run by Senior Research Fellows, Dr Sarchil Qader and Dr Gianluca Boo. Dr Qader

WorldPop: Sharpening Pakistan’s Survey Tools with Geospatial Know-How Read More »

Screen capture from webinar

Mapping People, Powering Response: WorldPop’s Work in Focus

WorldPop News /

Last month, Principal Enterprise Fellow, Dr Natalia Tejedor Garavito showcased WorldPop’s innovative work at CrisisReady’s Café Catastrófico webinar series. Dr Tejedor Garavito spoke on how WorldPop helps countries, especially those with limited resources, to answer a critical question: where are people, and how many are there? Using satellite imagery, mobile data, and advanced statistical models,

Mapping People, Powering Response: WorldPop’s Work in Focus Read More »

Map showing building and population counts observed in the 213 micro-census clusters located within the modelling environment categorised by settlement class

Further Improvement for Public Health Planning: WorldPop Brings High-Resolution Population Estimates to DRC

WorldPop News /

A new study led by Senior Research Fellow, Dr Gianluca Boo has introduced a powerful new Bayesian model to estimate population distribution in Kasaï-Oriental province, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), offering critical insights in a region where public health data has long been scarce. At the heart of this advanced research is a method

Further Improvement for Public Health Planning: WorldPop Brings High-Resolution Population Estimates to DRC Read More »

Screen capture of The Power of Population Data webinar, showing Dr Maksym Bondarenko, Dr Jessica Espey and Professor Andy Tatem

New Global Population Dataset Unveiled at Packed WorldPop Webinar

WorldPop News /

Over 350 people from across the globe tuned in this week to our live webinar as we launched our most advanced population dataset yet – Global 2. Held on 4 September and hosted by Deputy Director, Dr Jessica Espey, The Power of Population Data event showcased how forward-looking data science is transforming our understanding of

New Global Population Dataset Unveiled at Packed WorldPop Webinar Read More »

Animation showing population growth in Lagos, Nigeria, modelled for 2015-2030.

WorldPop Unveils Global 2: Next-Generation Global Population Dataset

WorldPop News /

In a major leap forward for global population mapping, WorldPop today are releasing its much-anticipated Global 2 (2015-2030) population dataset, a high-resolution, open-access trove of demographic data that provides a clearer picture of population distribution worldwide. Spanning 242 countries and covering the years 2015 to 2030, the new dataset delivers 100-meter resolution estimates that are

WorldPop Unveils Global 2: Next-Generation Global Population Dataset Read More »

About Us

The WorldPop research programme, based in the School of Geography and Environmental Sciences at the University of Southampton, is a multi-sectoral team of researchers, technicians and project specialists that produces data on population distributions and characteristics at high spatial resolution.

Initiated in October 2013 to combine The AfriPop Project, AsiaPop and AmeriPop projects, we have a diverse portfolio of projects, including large multi-million-pound collaborative projects with partner organisations, commercial data providers and international development organisations.

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  • University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton, SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom
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