Population Counts 1 km

WorldPop — version R2025A_V1 (2025-09-01)

Description

This dataset provides gridded estimates of population counts at 1 km spatial resolution, with global coverage for the period 2015-2030.

Dataset ID
0273552c
Category
Demographic
Type
Raster
CRS
EPSG:4326
Spatial coverage
Global
Spatial resolution
1 km
Temporal coverage
2015-2030
Temporal resolution
Annual

Usage notes

Coverage spans 242 countries and territories. Nine uninhabited or static-population territories are excluded, including Bouvet Island, Vatican City, and the Spratly Islands. For some countries where recent censuses are unavailable, population data is sourced from US Census Bureau subnational projections or UN Common Operational Datasets, which carry greater uncertainty.

Variables

population_count

NoData-99999

Description

Estimated number of people per pixel. Data is produced by disaggregating subnational census-based population counts into grid cells using a random forest dasymetric approach, including geospatial covariates and a built settlement growth model.

Usage notes

National totals are aligned to the 2024 Revision of the UN World Population Prospects. Uncertainty increases for years further from the input census timepoints (c.2010 and c.2020 for most countries). Comparisons between time points should be made with care, particularly at small area scales, due to multi-temporal demographic data sources and modelling assumptions. Population estimates do not account for rapid onset events such as conflict or natural disasters, or seasonal population movement between administrative units.

Pricing

This dataset has no data acquisition cost.

Resources

Provider

WorldPop

www.worldpop.org

WorldPop is an interdisciplinary applied research programme based at the University of Southampton (United Kingdom). WorldPop develops peer-reviewed research and replicable methods for the construction of open, high-resolution geospatial data on population distributions, demographics, and dynamics.