In a new global survey, users of WorldPop’s 2015-2030 Demographic Data Beta version are overwhelmingly giving the data and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affair’s (OCHA) Humanitarian Data Exchange (HDX) platform high marks for satisfaction, accessibility, and quality.
The survey, conducted by the HDX reveals that users of new WorldPop data hosted on the HDX site are largely satisfied with their experience, with a significant majority rating it positively. The new WorldPop gridded population estimate data covers 242 countries worldwide from 2015 to 2030 and has been available as a Beta version on HDX since earlier this year. Conducted over 4 months from mid-March, the survey gathered insights from a diverse global user base. It aimed to discover how WorldPop data are being used, the affiliations of its users, and their overall satisfaction levels. Results paint a vivid picture of our expanding global footprint as we prepare to launch the final stable release of the data in September.
The survey captures responses from 179 users from 63 countries worldwide. This broad geographic representation spans from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, indicating the wide reach of WorldPop.
Users who responded to the survey were predominantly academic (52%) but also included users from other sectors; the private sector (13%), personal users (11%), non-profit organisations (9%), international bodies (8%) and government entities (7%).
Reported academic and research use included researchers in Kenya examining the link between forest cover and population shifts, in Afghanistan the new WorldPop data is being used for immunisation analysis, in Cameroon researchers are interested in the exact number of population distributed in all 10 regions of the country, in China our data is being applied to the study of the factors driving urban carbon sinks, and in the U.S., our data is supporting wildfire risk studies and social vulnerability mapping.
Data users expressed a high degree of satisfaction, with 88.4% of 179 respondents rating their experience as satisfied (score 4) or highly satisfied (score 5). Specifically, 58.01% (105 users) were highly satisfied (score 5), and 30.39% (55 users) were satisfied (score 4).
Factors most influencing this high satisfaction include the ease of finding, accessing, and downloading data. Users frequently described the HDX platform as intuitive, clean, clear, and easy to navigate. The quality and availability of the data, including its organised and structured nature with good metadata, were also widely appreciated. The free and open access to data was explicitly highlighted as a significant positive aspect by several users.
While satisfaction is high, some users pointed out areas where improvements could be made. These include, addressing data gaps for specific regions or particular data types and the lack of options for bulk downloads or the need to download individual variations instead of global datasets.
With insights from this survey, the WorldPop team will continue to refine their data platform functionality as they prepare to launch the full stable release dataset in September.
Contact us to find out more about our upcoming global data launch event.
Further information
- Beta Test Our New Global Population Data – 2015 to 2030
- Explore WorldPop Beta version datasets (HDX)
NB: Datasets for some countries are currently undergoing updates to address issues identified during the Beta review process.
