dataset · Global
GHSL gridded population estimates (GHS-POP)
These gridded datasets depict the distribution of residential population, expressed by number of persons per 100-m and 1-km cell, in 5-year steps from 1975 to 2030, Residential population estimates between 1975 and 2020 and short-term spatially explicit projections to 2025 and 2030 are derived from CIESIN GPWv4.11 data which were disaggregated from census or administrative units to grid cells, informed by the distribution, volume, and classification of built-up areas as mapped in the Global Huma
Visit source ↗Source details
Licence: GHSL data are provided under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license.
Evidence quality: 42.3
Listed in aws-odr public catalogue API on 2026-10-16; relevance/value screened (haiku).
Metadata checked: 2026-10-14T13:20:00.000Z
What's in it
- Data offered docs-verified
- residential population counts per grid cell · population grid at 100 m · population grid at 1 km
- Coverage docs-verified
- Global · 1975 to 2030 in 5-year steps (1975-2020 estimates; 2025 and 2030 projections)
- Resolution docs-verified
- 100 m and 1 km grid cells (spatial); 5-year time steps (temporal)
- Formats llm-inferred
- GeoTIFF
- Access docs-verified
- Free and open: no AWS account needed (anonymous S3 access with --no-sign-request); licence CC BY 4.0
Useful for
- Use cases llm-inferred
- Population exposure counts within flood extents from the 100 m grid · Socio-economic context for FRA or drainage strategy reports at catchment scale · Population-weighted baselines for water-supply or environmental impact assessments
- Audience llm-inferred
- flood consultants · hydrologists · GIS analysts · planners
Limitations
- Constraints llm-inferred
- Modelled estimates disaggregated from census or administrative units, not observed counts · 2025 and 2030 values are short-term projections, so less reliable than the 1975-2020 estimates · Global dataset with no UK-specific tuning or validation stated · No update frequency stated · Two grids are provided (World Mollweide and WGS84), so reprojection is needed before combining with UK datasets
Evidence
- arn:aws:s3:::jrc-ghsl/ghs-pop, arn:aws:sns:eu-central-1:291461994469:jrc-ghsl-object_created
- https://registry.opendata.aws/ghs-pop/
Check upstream coverage, uncertainty and licence before use. Station observations are not forecasts or design levels.