Population Data

Photo of a Fruit Stall in Dakar, Senegal

Mapping Africa’s hidden food access gap with open data

WorldPop News /

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 »

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

Strengthening statistical capacity at CISON 2026

WorldPop News /

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 Professor Samir KC presenting at WorldPop

Building the next generation of population futures: Samir KC visits WorldPop

WorldPop News /

How can we move beyond national population projections to understand how populations may change in individual regions, cities and communities? That question was at the heart of a recent visit to WorldPop by Samir KC, one of the world’s leading demographers, professor at the Asian Demographic Research Institute (ADRI), Shanghai University, and a Senior Research

Building the next generation of population futures: Samir KC visits WorldPop Read More »

Photo of someone sleeping under mosquito net.

How human expertise and AI can support vector-borne disease control

WorldPop News /

As climate change, urban growth and human movement reshape the world around us, the diseases carried by mosquitoes are changing too. Malaria, dengue and other mosquito-borne illnesses are appearing in new places, putting more communities at risk than ever before. A new Perspective paper in Environmental Change and Disease Dynamics and co-authored by WorldPop visitor

How human expertise and AI can support vector-borne disease control Read More »

Photo of Dr Jessica Espey with Emily Cole at the QRMG Annual Lecture, 2026.

From local knowledge to global decisions: advancing inclusive data science

WorldPop News /

How do we make sure data reflects the people and places it is meant to represent? And how can cities make better decisions in an increasingly complex world? These were some of the questions explored by Dr Jessica Espey, Deputy Director (Research) at WorldPop, during recent engagements at the Royal Geographical Society Annual Conference in

From local knowledge to global decisions: advancing inclusive data science Read More »

Graphic showing components of the bottom–up approach to small area population estimation.

New Ways to Count Populations When the Census Falls Short

WorldPop News /

Reliable population data is one of the foundations of effective decision-making. Governments use it to plan schools, hospitals and infrastructure. Humanitarian agencies rely on it to deliver aid. Health organisations need it to estimate how many vaccines, medicines and health workers are required in different communities. Yet for many countries, obtaining accurate and up-to-date population

New Ways to Count Populations When the Census Falls Short Read More »

Photo of four children in a small village in Senegal

The World Isn’t Aging Evenly. How National Averages Are Hiding the Story.

WorldPop News /

Répondez à notre enquête de satisfaction et contribuez à façonner la suite WorldPop Director Professor Andy Tatem argues that national averages can hide big differences between communities, making detailed local population data essential for ensuring schools, healthcare, housing, and other services are delivered where people need them most. Many news stories on global population trends

The World Isn’t Aging Evenly. How National Averages Are Hiding the Story. Read More »

Photo of Qianwen Duan presenting at DEBIAS 2026

WorldPop Research Informs New Standards for Bias-Adjusted Digital Data at DEBIAS 2026

WorldPop News /

Répondez à notre enquête de satisfaction et contribuez à façonner la suite Dr Qianwen Duan, Research Assistant at WorldPop, recently joined international experts at the DEBIAS Workshop and Symposium to develop rigorous new standards for correcting bias in digital mobility data. This partnership works to ensure that the digital trace data used for global policy and humanitarian interventions is both representative and

WorldPop Research Informs New Standards for Bias-Adjusted Digital Data at DEBIAS 2026 Read More »

Impact map of Venezuela earthquake 24-06-2026

WorldPop Open population data supports humanitarian response after Venezuela earthquakes

WorldPop News /

Répondez à notre enquête de satisfaction et contribuez à façonner la suite When two powerful earthquakes struck near Yumare, Venezuela, on 24 June, humanitarian responders needed to understand quickly how many people had been affected and where support would be needed most. Open population data from WorldPop helped provide those critical early insights.  The earthquakes, measuring magnitude 7.2 and 7.5 just

WorldPop Open population data supports humanitarian response after Venezuela earthquakes 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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