WorldPop News

Photo of keynote address at STATCOM 2026

From Addis Ababa: helping shape the future of census modernisation in Africa

WorldPop News /

Last week I had the privilege of representing WorldPop at the Tenth Session of the Statistical Commission for Africa (StatCom-Africa) in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Bringing together leaders from national statistical offices, governments, regional organisations and development partners, the event provided an important opportunity to discuss how high-quality data and modern statistical systems can support development […]

From Addis Ababa: helping shape the future of census modernisation in Africa Read More »

Map showing population distribution in Nepal

WorldPop data helps reveal 300,000 people at risk in the Himalayas

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A new study published in Scientific Reports and featured by BBC News finds that rapid development in parts of the Himalayas is exposing at least 300,000 people to flooding and other climate-related hazards. Built-up land in high-risk areas of northern Nepal, south-eastern Tibet, and India’s Uttarakhand region grew by around 45% between 2016 and 2023,

WorldPop data helps reveal 300,000 people at risk in the Himalayas Read More »

Graphic with text: Geography in Practice: mapping population distributions, demographics and dynamics

Mapping with WorldPop: How Geospatial Data Is Filling Global Population Data Gaps

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How do you plan health services, disaster response or vaccination campaigns when you do not know exactly where people live? That was the challenge explored by Professor Andy Tatem, Director of WorldPop at the University of Southampton, during a recent Royal Geographical Society (RGS) Geography in Practice webinar. WorldPop combines satellite imagery, building footprint data,

Mapping with WorldPop: How Geospatial Data Is Filling Global Population Data Gaps Read More »

Photo of a Fruit Stall in Dakar, Senegal

Mapping Africa’s hidden food access gap with open data

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What happens when reaching the nearest food market takes hours rather than minutes? New research led by doctoral researcher, Robert Benassai-Dalmau at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, Barcelona, reveals that for millions of people across Africa, this is a daily reality, with important consequences for food security, economic opportunity and inequality. In their assessment of

Mapping Africa’s hidden food access gap with open data Read More »

graphic promoting IUSSP-PAA webinar on AI & Demography

From Missing Censuses to Smarter Decisions: How AI Is Reshaping Population Data

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Can artificial intelligence help governments plan services when census data is decades out of date? That question was at the heart of a recent IUSSP-PAA Webinar on AI and Demography, where leading researchers explored both the promise and pitfalls of AI for population science. Among them was WorldPop’s Andrew Tatem, alongside contributors including Emilio Zagheni,

From Missing Censuses to Smarter Decisions: How AI Is Reshaping Population Data Read More »

Photo of Dr Edson Utazi presenting a pre conference workshop at CISON 2026

Strengthening statistical capacity at CISON 2026

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Last week, I had the privilege of attending the 3rd International Conference of the Chartered Institute of Statisticians of Nigeria (CISON) in Abuja, Nigeria. The conference provided an important platform for discussions on the future of statistics, data science and evidence-based policymaking, bringing together experts from academia, government and industry to share ideas and experiences.

Strengthening statistical capacity at CISON 2026 Read More »

Photo of Locals in Tebikenikora, a village in the Pacific island nation of Kiribati.

Mapping Coastal Communities Across the Pacific with Better Population Data

WorldPop News /

For many Pacific Island nations, life happens close to the coast. Understanding how many people live near shorelines is essential for planning services, preparing for hazards, and responding to the impacts of climate change. Using WorldPop open data, a new regional assessment is now providing a clearer picture than ever before. The updated 2026 coastal

Mapping Coastal Communities Across the Pacific with Better Population Data Read More »

Photo of boy being vaccinated by nurse.

New modelling approach could strengthen global immunisation estimates

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Reliable vaccination data can mean the difference between disease outbreaks being prevented or missed entirely. Researchers led by WorldPop’s Dr Edson Utazi have developed a new statistical framework that combines multiple sources of vaccination data to produce more accurate estimates of national immunisation coverage, helping policymakers make better informed decisions about vaccination programmes worldwide. The

New modelling approach could strengthen global immunisation estimates Read More »

Photo of Dr Ortis Yankey supporting participants of workshop for Malawi’s 2028 Census, September 2026.

Building Stronger Foundations for Malawi’s 2028 Census

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Accurate population data can make the difference between a census that reaches every community and one that leaves people unseen. That is why experts from the Malawi National Statistical Office (NSO), the UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) and WorldPop recently came together in Blantyre for a five-day technical training workshop focused on the future

Building Stronger Foundations for Malawi’s 2028 Census Read More »

graphic promoting a UNECA geospatial Population Modelling Webinar

Counting Everyone: How Geospatial Innovation Could Transform Africa’s 2030 Census Round

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How do you count people who live in conflict zones, move with livestock across vast landscapes, or live in communities that census teams cannot safely reach? As African countries prepare for the 2030 census round, these questions are becoming increasingly urgent. During a recent United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) webinar, researchers, statisticians and

Counting Everyone: How Geospatial Innovation Could Transform Africa’s 2030 Census Round 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.

WorldPop develops and publishes open, high-resolution population datasets to support social, economic, and environmental development, humanitarian response, and the Sustainable Development Goals. This data is not intended, and should not be used, for purposes that discriminate against, exploit, surveil, or otherwise harm individuals or vulnerable populations; users are expected to apply it responsibly, assess the risks of their own analyses (particularly when combining it with other datasets) and are solely responsible for how they use it.

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