GPW: Global Population Grids for 1990 and 1995

Global Population of the World (GPW) translates census data from over 127,000 administrative units into a global latitude-longitude grid for cross-disciplinary studies. It provides UN-adjusted and unadjusted population counts and densities for the reference years 1990 and 1995, integrating data from multiple national sources. The spatial and attribute precision of the dataset varies by country due to differences in source data detail and accuracy.

Use Cases

• Modeling human-environment interactions based on gridded population density.
• Cross-disciplinary studies requiring population data in a standard geospatial format.
• Analyzing population distribution changes between 1990 and 1995 using UN-adjusted counts.
• Integrating demographic data with other global datasets using a common latitude-longitude grid.

Strengths

• Integrates data from over 127,000 administrative units for comprehensive global coverage.
• Provides both raw and UN-adjusted population estimates for two reference years (1990, 1995).
• Data is transformed into a standardized geospatial grid, facilitating cross-disciplinary use.

Limitations

• Spatial and attribute precision is variable across countries due to reliance on multiple, heterogeneous source datasets.
• Conflicting metadata: the last_updated date differs significantly between platforms (1995 vs. 2026).
• Key technical details like specific column names and grid resolution are not provided in the available metadata.

Provenance

Source

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

Collection Method

Census population data from various national sources were collected, integrated, adjusted to UN national estimates, and transformed into gridded data.

Time Range

1990, 1995

Freshness

1995-12-31 23:59:59.999000

Geography

Global