Dataset Abstract/Summary
Demographic information is usually provided on a national basis. But
we know that countries are ephemeral phenomena. As an
alternate scheme one might use ecological zones rather
than nation states. But there is no agreement as to what
these zones should be. By way of contrast global environmental
studies using satellites as collection devices yield results
indexed by latitude and longitude. Thus it makes sense
to assemble the terrestrial arrangement of people in a
compatible manner. This alternative is explored here,
using latitude/longitude quadrilaterals as bins for population
information. This data format also has considerable advantages
for analytical studies.
For additional information, please see NCGIA Technical Report TR-95-6
Dataset Variables
There are four files in this dataset. Each file contains one
variable. The variables are:
- population counts (i.e., the number of people in each 5' x 5' cell), unsmoothed
- with the file name gpxxx or countrawxxx
- population density (i.e., people per square kilometer), unsmoothed
- with the file name gppdxxx or densrawxxx
- global population (counts, smoothed)
- with the file name gppycxxx or countsmooxxx
- global population (population density, smoothed)
- with the file name gppycpdxxx or denssmooxxx
The data are available as ASCII files or as pkzip compressed
ArcInfo Export files.
The ArcInfo Export files are in three formats:
- ArcInfo GRID, 0.083 x 0.083 degree cell size (GRIDDD).
- ArcInfo GRID, 5 x 5 minute cell size (GRIDDM).
- ArcInfo polygon format, created from GRIDDM (POLYDM).
The GRIDDD files are the original files. The GRIDDM are files
created to get around certain problems
that occur with these data when used with certain ArcInfo
processes. The POLYDM files are for use with ArcView or
for other polygon based GIS packages.
Each format is available as a global coverage, or as
one of five subsets: North and
Central America, Latin America
and the Caribbean, Africa and
Europe, Asia, and Australia, New Zealand, and Oceania.
Archival and Access Information
GPW is archived by CIESIN
and is available via ftp. It
can also be ordered through CIESIN's Gateway.
Data Acquisition/Collection Summary
These data were collected and compiled by NCGIA
staff. The data were processed using ArcInfo
and ERDAS. For additional
details, please see NCGIA
Technical Report TR-95-6.
Contacts and References
NCGIA,
David Simonett Center for Spatial Analysis, University
of California, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106-4060, USA. Voice:
(805) 893-8224, fax: (805) 893-8617 (fax), e-mail: ncgia@ncgia.ucsb.edu
CIESIN User Services
Keywords
Demographics, Demography, Population
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