China City-Level Nighttime Light and Socioeconomic Data, 2005-2024

Keqing Tantai compiled this panel dataset for 278 Chinese prefecture-level cities from 2005 to 2024. It integrates satellite-derived nighttime light data, estimated CO2 emissions, urban construction statistics, and official socioeconomic indicators from city statistical yearbooks. The dataset is shared under the CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication via Harvard Dataverse.

Use Cases

• Modeling economic activity based on satellite-derived nighttime light intensity.
• Analyzing trends in urban carbon emissions based on estimated CO2 data.
• Studying correlations between infrastructure development and socioeconomic indicators like GDP and population.
• Tracking long-term urbanization patterns across Chinese cities from 2005 to 2024.

Strengths

• Covers 278 prefecture-level cities across all provinces of China.
• Provides a 20-year time series from 2005 to 2024.
• Integrates data from multiple public sources including satellite remote sensing and official yearbooks.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data freshness should be verified as the last metadata update was 2026-07-17.

Provenance

Source

Compiled from multiple public sources including satellite remote sensing data, the China City Statistical Yearbook, and official government releases.

Collection Method

Derived and estimated from source data; specific methodology not detailed in provided description.

Time Range

2005–2024

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-17 20:59:56; freshness should be verified.

Geography

278 Prefecture-level cities across all provinces of China.