Global Human Settlement Layer (GHSL)
Follow Us: Twitter Follow Us on Facebook YouTube Flickr | Share: Twitter FacebookThe location and intensity of human presence on Earth can be characterized in multiple ways. Population data is often reported in decadal census at aggregate levels. Earth observations from the Landsat program and the Copernicus Sentinel missions provide high frequency imagery of the planet's surface which are useful for characterizing changes in infrastructure over time, and for providing more precision for population disaggregations. Settlement patterns and densities are yet another way to characterize human presence over time.
The Global Human Settlement Layer (GHSL) data collection currently contains the Population and Built-Up Estimates, and Degree of Urbanization Settlement Model Grid, v1 (1975, 1990, 2000, 2014, 2015) data set which is based on the R2018 (built) and R2019a (population and settlement) releases of the GHSL from the European Commission's Joint Research Center (JRC). The data are provided in user friendly formats and packages to enable broad usage across data communities.