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Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC)

SEDAC is operated by the Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), a unit of the Earth Institute at Columbia University based at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in Palisades, New York. SEDAC's missions are to synthesize Earth science and socioeconomic data and information in ways useful to a wide range of decision makers and other applied users, and to provide an "Information Gateway" between the socioeconomic and Earth science data and information domains.

Gridded Population of the World
Photo: Gridded Population of the World provides estimates of human population density for each 2.5-arc-minute quadrilateral for the year 2000.

Available Data

  • Gridded Population of the World (GPW)
    (Resolution: 2.5-arc-minute grid | Availability: 1990, 1995, 2000, and 2015 (estimated) | Coverage: Global, continental, and national)

    In the GPW data set, the distribution of human population is converted from national or subnational units to a series of georeferenced quadrilateral grids. Land area, population counts, and densities for each 2.5-arc-minute grid cell are available for the globe and six continental regions. Also, land data and population counts are available for each country. GPW raster (grid) data are available via FTP in three formats: ASCII text, ArcInfo interchange files (.e00), and binary band interleaved by line (BIL). Maps of administrative boundaries and population density are in portable document format (.pdf) and may be printed.

  • Global Rural Urban Mapping Project (GRUMP)
    (Resolution: 30 arc-second grid | Availability: 1990, 1995, and 2000 | Coverage: Global, continental, and national)

    The Global Rural Urban Mapping Project (GRUMP) data collection consists of three databases that build upon population datasets mostly from national statistical offices, satellite data and other representations of settlements. GRUMP Human Settlements is a global database of cities and towns of 1,000 persons or more, each represented as a point, and includes information on population and latitude and longitude coordinates. Populations were estimated for 1990, 1995, and 2000. The GRUMP Urban Extent Mask is the first systematic global-scale attempt to portray the boundaries of urban areas with defined populations of 5,000 and larger. The GRUMP Population Grid represents the distribution of human population across the globe, accounting for urban population concentration more precisely than previous efforts. In addition to the data, printable maps of human settlements (continents only) and urban extents are available.

  • Population, Landscape, and Climate Estimates (PLACE)
    (Resolution: National | Availability: 1990, 1995, and 2000 | Coverage: Global)

    In the PLACE data set, population and territorial extent are overlaid with biophysical parameters such as biome, climate, coastal proximity, elevation, population density, and slope. The resulting data set consists of an estimate of population and area (expressed as counts and percentages) for each of these parameters and is suitable for researchers who require tabular data aggregated to the national level.

  • China Dimensions Data Collection
    (Resolution: Includes administrative regions of China at 1:1,000,000 | Availability: Varies by data set, from 1949 to 1991 | Coverage: National, provincial, and county levels)

    China Dimensions is a rich collection of data resources for the People's Republic of China. Highlights include digital administrative boundaries, fundamental GIS layers, and county-level data on population, agriculture, economics, and hospitals.

  • Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI)
    (Resolution: National | Availability: Reports issued in 2000, 2001, 2002, and 2005 | Coverage: Global)

    The ESI provides a benchmark for the ability of nations to protect the environment over the next several decades. It does so by integrating data sets related to tracking natural resource endowments, past and present pollution levels, environmental management efforts, and a society's capacity to improve its environmental performance--into a set of indicators of environmental sustainability. The indicators permit comparison across the following fundamental components of sustainability: Environmental Systems, Environmental Stresses, Human Vulnerability to Environmental Stresses, Societal Capacity to Respond to Environmental Challenges, and Global Stewardship. Variable, indicator, component and index data are available.

  • Human Footprint and Last of the Wild
    (Resolution: Subnational | Availability: Circa 1990s | Coverage: Global)

    Human influence on Earth's land surface is a global driver of ecological processes. The Human Footprint and Last of the Wild data sets are the result of a mapping project showing how humans directly influence the land surface. The Human Footprint map is based on geographic proxies for drivers of human impact such as human population density, land cover and land use mapping, lights regularly visible from a satellite at night, locations of roads, rivers and coasts, and settlement patterns. Based on the Human Footprint data, the Last of the Wild maps are of areas representing the largest and relatively wildest places in each of their biomes.

Interactive Applications

Information Resources

  • Assessments of Impacts and Adaptations to Climate Change (AIACC) in Multiple Regions and Sectors
    The AIACC Web site provides access to data, software, and bibliographies related to climate impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability across multiple sectors. The Data, Methods, and Synthesis Activity is part of the AIACC Program. The Web site synthesizes information on the sectors, systems, and groups studied; methods utilized; and results of the 24 AIACC projects

  • Thematic Guides on the Human Dimensions of Global Environmental Change
    Thematic Guides offer overviews of several issues that pertain to human interactions in the environment and global change. They give researchers, policy makers, educators, and the public quick access to background materials on global change issues, and to locate data sets and information resources. Guides are available for Social Science Applications of Remote Sensing; Land-Use and Land-Cover Change; and Global Population Projections.

  • Urban Remote Sensing Studies
    The following web page groups together SEDAC-sponsored publications and reports that focus on remote sensing applications in urban areas, and provides links to other useful resources.

Data Access

SEDAC Data and Information Catalog Services

SEDAC has developed an electronic gateway to provide access to the catalogs of a diverse international group of data archives and other institutions.

For assistance or additional information, contact:
SEDAC User Services
CIESIN at Columbia University
Phone: +1 845-365-8920
Fax: +1 845-365-8922
E-mail: sedac@eos.nasa.gov or ciesin.info@ciesin.columbia.edu