05.04.23 - Mapping application representing population data by a grid of 1 km²

Population grids are a powerful tool to describe our society and to study the interrelationships between human activities and the environment. They are particularly useful for analyzing phenomena, and their causes, which are independent of administrative boundaries, such as flooding, commuting and urban sprawl.
 
Eurostat, the official statistics site of the European Union, has put online end of March a mapping application representing population data by a grid of 1 km². The total EU population measured on the 1 km2 population grid in the census reference year 2021 was 443.2 million residents.

The grid data can be consulted in the interactive visualization :
https://lnkd.in/eqvtHhMW

 These are the 2021 harmonized data, available for the European Union and as well as Switzerland, Norway and Liechtenstein. A comparison with the 2011 data is also available.

Some initial interesting findings:
 
- Of the 4.4 million 1 km2 cells covering the territory of the EU, 1.8 million cells were populated, while 2.6 million cells were uninhabited. Spain and Sweden had the highest number of uninhabited cells (426 thousand and 362 thousand, respectively)
- Compared to the population grid data from 2011, it appears that population counted on the grid cells increased the most in absolute terms in Germany (a rise of more than 3 million persons), while the largest growth rate was observed in Malta (24.5 %).
-  Compared to 2011, total population on the grid fell most significantly in absolute terms in Romania (a drop of over one million persons) and in relative terms in Bulgaria (a decrease of 11.5 %).
 
An harmonized dataset for all Europe, ready to be used and combined with other data for further analysis.
 
#geodata #population #demographics #eu #mapping #society