How many people live in the same square mile as you? How do the demographics of your area compare to the demographics of the rest of your country? How has your area’s population changed over time?

These questions are important for scientists who study patterns of human settlement. Information from NASA’s Earth Data archives allows researchers to track the movements of communities over time and assess the factors that cause people to live in particular areas, as well as the impact of these settlements on the environment. Understanding the distribution of people across the globe helps decision-makers pinpoint where resources are most needed and how to better serve the world's shifting communities.

Our data provide information useful to the study of population distribution, such as statistics about the population of different areas, urban extent grids, and maps of the boundaries between different geographical and municipal areas. Projects made possible by these data resources include studies of living standard inequality, assessments of earthquake impacts on communities, and forecasts of urban expansion.