Population Data

Photo of Child fetching water in northwest Somalia

WorldPop Open Data Helps UNICEF Pinpoint Children’s Climate Vulnerability

WorldPop News /

Take Our Survey and Help Shape What Comes Next UNICEF is launching the Global Child Hazard Database (GCHD) at London Climate Action Week later this month. The GCHD initiative provides globally standardised datasets on children’s exposure to overlapping climate and environmental risks. The project aims to provide timely and accurate data to support informed decision-making and policy advocacy for the world’s youth.  Central to this […]

WorldPop Open Data Helps UNICEF Pinpoint Children’s Climate Vulnerability Read More »

Graphic showing geographic distribution of median area sizes of subnational units in the input population data for the Global Subnational Demographic Dataset 2010–2030

Mapping a World in Transition: New Study Lays Foundation for WorldPop Global 2 Population Data 

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Take Our Survey and Help Shape What Comes Next WorldPop researchers at the University of Southampton have published the methodology behind the massive subnational dataset used to power Global 2 – our latest high-resolution mapping of the human population.  The new article, published as a preprint in VeriXiv, details how the team harmonised and projected population data for more than 716,000 subnational administrative units across

Mapping a World in Transition: New Study Lays Foundation for WorldPop Global 2 Population Data  Read More »

Screen capture of Lagos, Nigeria population pyramid.

Open-access WorldPop data reveals hidden demographic trends across 10,000 cities

WorldPop News /

Take Our Survey and Help Shape What Comes Next High-resolution data from WorldPop is uncovering critical demographic shifts in over 10,000 cities that national averages often hide. The study, led by Dr Andrew Zimmer and published in Nature Cities, provides a globally consistent view of urban change between 2000 and 2020.  Researchers used WorldPop’s anonymised and aggregated gridded population distributions to track age and sex

Open-access WorldPop data reveals hidden demographic trends across 10,000 cities Read More »

Photo of Dr Chris Nnanatu presenting at the High Level Engagement meeting.

Mapping Nigeria’s Future: The Road to a Smart National Census

WorldPop News /

Take Our Survey and Help Shape What Comes Next An important leap toward a modern and credible national census took place recently in Abuja, Nigeria. On April 30, 2026, the Federal Government officially launched an 18-month initiative to consolidate and modernise Nigeria’s national geospatial database. This high-level event brought together key leaders from the National

Mapping Nigeria’s Future: The Road to a Smart National Census Read More »

DHIS2 webinar screen capture

New webinar showcases how geospatial data reaches zero-dose children in remote regions

WorldPop News /

Take Our Survey and Help Shape What Comes Next Last week, the DHIS2 community broadcast a significant webinar detailing how high-resolution WorldPop population data has been integrated into the DHIS2 platform. This digital integration is transforming how life-saving vaccines are delivered in low- and middle-income countries. With WorldPop’s 100m population grid cells now integrated in

New webinar showcases how geospatial data reaches zero-dose children in remote regions Read More »

Photo of health clinic for Congo refugees in Uganda

Refugee-hosting districts show stronger maternal health outcomes in Uganda, study finds

WorldPop News /

Take Our Survey and Help Shape What Comes Next Districts in Uganda that host refugees are seeing slightly better maternal and child health outcomes than those that do not, according to new research analysing routine health data from 2020 to 2023.  The Countdown to 2030 study, led by Rogers Nsubuga, PhD researcher at Makerere University, Uganda, found higher coverage in

Refugee-hosting districts show stronger maternal health outcomes in Uganda, study finds Read More »

Screen capture of Population Explorer interface

How Population Explorer Turns WorldPop Open Data into Action  

WorldPop News /

Take Our Survey and Help Shape What Comes Next Understanding where people live is critical in high-stakes situations. In humanitarian crises, it determines where aid goes; in commercial contexts, it shapes investment decisions. The core need is the same: accurate, granular population insight that can be used quickly. Co-founded by US-based data for development practitioner

How Population Explorer Turns WorldPop Open Data into Action   Read More »

Graphic with DHIS2 Strategic Technical Partner logo superimposed on population map

WorldPop joins the first cohort of DHIS2 Strategic Technology Partners

WorldPop News /

Take Our Survey and Help Shape What Comes Next Our mission as a digital public good is to make high-quality, open population data accessible and usable for better decision-making. Delivering on that mission increasingly depends on strong partnerships, particularly with platforms that sit at the core of national data systems. It is in this context

WorldPop joins the first cohort of DHIS2 Strategic Technology Partners Read More »

Photo of Dr Chris Nnanatu with Prince Adeyemi Adeniran, Statistician General, National Bureau of Statistics (pictured centre) and team members from the United Nations Population Fund Nigeria, National Population Commission, National Primary Health Care Development Agency, and Nnamdi Azikiwe University

Strengthening Population Data in Nigeria Through Co-developing Geospatial Innovation

WorldPop News /

Take Our Survey and Help Shape What Comes Next WorldPop Senior Research Fellow and Head of Spatial Statistics and Population Modelling (SSPM), Dr Chris Nnanatu recently completed a scoping visit to Nigeria as part of preparations for a new collaborative initiative focused on enhancing the country’s population data systems. The visit brought together key national

Strengthening Population Data in Nigeria Through Co-developing Geospatial Innovation Read More »

Photo of Somalia National Bureau of Statistics participants with workshop completion certificates, April 2026

Mapping Somalia’s Future: Inside WorldPop’s Data Workshop in Nairobi

WorldPop News /

Take Our Survey and Help Shape What Comes Next Researchers from WorldPop recently ran an intensive 10-day workshop in Nairobi, bringing together experts from the Somalia National Bureau of Statistics (SNBS) and the Somalia Country Office United Nations Population Fund. While the setting was Kenyan due to security concerns, the focus remained firmly on Somalia,

Mapping Somalia’s Future: Inside WorldPop’s Data Workshop in Nairobi 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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