__ Take Our Survey and Help Shape What Comes Next A new study by an international team led WorldPop postgraduate researcher Qianwen Duan has revealed a significant “urban exodus” across the globe during the COVID-19 pandemic. By analysing high-resolution data from 35 countries, the research team found that while many people fled dense city centres for rural or suburban areas, these shifts varied significantly based on a nation’s level of development. The research, published in npj Urban Sustainability, used anonymised and aggregated mobile location data from Meta to track population movements between 2020 and 2022. This allowed the team to monitor near-real-time shifts that traditional census data often fails to capture. Researchers from the WorldPop group and the School of Geography and Environmental Science identified two distinct phases of the pandemic. During the early response phase, more than 70% of the countries studied showed a trend of people moving away from highly urbanised areas. However, as the pandemic eased, roughly 20% of these urban-to-rural shifts reversed, with many people returning to city centres. The study highlights a clear divide between nations. Very high Human Development Index countries experienced more sustained urban depopulation. In contrast, low- and middle-development countries largely continued their trajectories of urban growth, as cities remained the primary hubs for jobs and services. Qianwen Duan, lead author at the University of Southampton, comments: “Our findings reveal a potential misalignment between where people relocate and existing urban infrastructure. As development continues worldwide, more countries are likely to experience similar shifts in settlement preference, meaning we need adaptive planning strategies to address the associated sustainability challenges.” The researchers stress the urgency of using accurate, high-resolution, and up-to-date data to inform decision-making in a rapidly changing world. A clear understanding of where people are living – and how populations are shifting over time – is essential for effective humanitarian and development outcomes. This includes supporting evidence-based infrastructure planning, anticipating and responding to demographic change in rural areas, strengthening disaster preparedness and relief efforts, and ensuring that resources and essential services are allocated efficiently and equitably during times of crisis. This work was supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the ESRC South Coast Doctoral Training Partnership. * The study, COVID-19 and urban exodus: diverging population redistribution patterns across countries from 2020 to 2022, is published in npj Urban Sustainability. * WorldPop is a research group based at the University of Southampton specialising in high-resolution mapping of global populations. * For further information or to interview Professor Tatem or Qianwen Duan, please contact the University of Southampton Press Office (+44 23 8059 3212). Image credit: Moving Daze, Kayla Allen, 2012 CC BY-NC-SA 2.0 __ __ 0:00 / 0:00 ____ ____ Researchers reveal global patterns of ‘urban exodus’ - audio summary We’re trialling the ‘Deep Dive’ audio summary feature of Google’s NotebookLM. This feature uses AI to create a podcast-like audio conversation between two AI-derived hosts that summarise key points of the document - in this case the full journal article linked above. As Google acknowledge that NotebookLM outputs may contain errors, we have been careful to check, edit and validate this audio. Please contact us to let us know what you think. Music: My Guitar, Lowtone Music, Free Music Archive (CC BY-NC-ND) __ Audio download (mp3) __ Transcript download (pdf) ### Learn more * WorldPop Learning Resources __ __ __ __

We’re thrilled to celebrate a major milestone in our mission to ensure that everyone, everywhere is counted in decision-making. Since 2019, our open spatial demographic datasets have reached over 1 million downloads from our own site – adding to the hundreds of thousands more from our data hosting partners including HDX, ESRI’s Living Atlas, and Google Earth Engine. This achievement reflects the strong global demand for high-resolution, contemporary population data to support health and development applications. WorldPop is an interdisciplinary applied research programme at the University of Southampton, bringing together geographers, data scientists, and technical experts. Since our founding in 2013, we’ve grown into a global, multi-sector team with a clear purpose: to provide open, accessible, demographic data that supports progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals. Governments, UN agencies, researchers, and NGOs around the world use our data to plan services, respond to crises, and measure development. The WorldPop home page live open data download counter has reached over 1,000,000 downloads since 2019. Our work involves integrating diverse data sources, including those from satellites, surveys, and mobile networks to create high-resolution population estimates. We provide a wide range of peer-reviewed datasets through our Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI), including: * **Population Distributions** : High spatial resolution estimates of where populations live. * **Demographics** : Detailed datasets on subnational age and sex structures, births, and pregnancies. * **Development Indicators** : Mapping of critical factors like literacy, poverty, and malnutrition. * **Population Dynamics** : Tracking migration flows and global settlement growth. A recent advance in our data offering is the Global 2 annual population data covering 2015–2030, launched in September 2025. These future-looking datasets help decision-makers analyse trends and plan ahead in a rapidly changing world. 30,000 downloads so far from the WorldPop site alone, shows how vital these estimates are – especially for governments and international agencies responding to challenges like rapid urbanisation, climate change, and public health emergencies. We believe in transparency and accessibility. Whether you are a researcher using our REST API, a developer utilizing the WOPR API, or a GIS specialist using our QGIS and ArcGIS plugins, we provide the tools you need to harness spatial demographic data. By partnering with organizations like UNFPA, GRID3 and the Countdown to 2030 initiative, we continue to co-develop solutions that empower communities worldwide. ### Share your WorldPop data stories As we celebrate one million downloads, we’d love to hear from you. How have you been using WorldPop open data? We’re planning a series of user stories for our website and would love to work with you to turn your experience into a short use case. Your stories help us understand the real-world impact of our data, improve what we offer, and inspire others in the community. 👉 Contact us to share your WorldPop open data story. Thank you for being part of our journey. We remain committed to providing the open data needed to understand change, plan effective action, and build a more inclusive future. ### Learn more * WorldPop Case Studies Our latest collection of case studies highlights the diverse global impact of our work. * WorldPop Data Portal Access high-resolution population data used for survey design, planning and SDG monitoring. * WorldPop Data Hub Explore and download open demographic and geospatial datasets from around the world. * Geospatial Tools & Services GIS services, APIs and plugins supporting national statistical offices and partners. * WorldPop data on HDX, Living Atlas, and Google Earth Engine. * WorldPop Learning Resources Build your geospatial skills with free, expert-led, self-paced materials. ### How to cite WorldPop Open Data **Suggested Citation for Global 2 Population Counts 2015-2030 ** Bondarenko M., Priyatikanto R., Tejedor-Garavito N., Zhang W., McKeen T., Cunningham A., Woods T., Hilton J., Cihan D., Nosatiuk B., Brinkhoff T., Tatem A., Sorichetta A. (2025). Constrained estimates of 2015-2030 total number of people per grid square at a resolution of 3 arc (approximately 100m at the equator) R2025A version v1. Global Demographic Data Project – Funded by The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (INV-045237). WorldPop – School of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Southampton. DOI:10.5258/SOTON/WP00839 __ __ __ __

How do you count everyone in a country where some communities are hard to reach because of geography, insecurity, or limited infrastructure? This is the challenge Cameroon is taking on as it prepares for its first national census in nearly two decades, and it’s doing so with an innovative hybrid approach. Earlier this week in Yaoundé, WorldPop launched a major new initiative supporting Cameroon’s 4th General Population and Housing Census (RGPH4) and the General Census of Agriculture and Livestock (RGAE). The work began with a seven-day workshop focused on technical training and capacity strengthening, bringing together participants from government, academia, and international partners including the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). This marks the start of Cameroon’s first-ever hybrid census and its first population census since 2005. Unlike traditional censuses that rely solely on door-to-door enumeration, a hybrid census combines on-the-ground data collection with modern tools such as satellite imagery, administrative data, surveys, and statistical modelling. This approach is especially important in areas affected by conflict or difficult terrain, where full coverage can be challenging. Dr Chris Nnanatu supporting hybrid census workshop participants. WorldPop’s Dr Chris Nnanatu and Dr Ortis Yankey are in Yaoundé providing hands-on training in spatial statistics and hybrid census methods. Working closely with UNFPA and Cameroon’s National Bureau of Statistics (BUCREP), they are supporting national teams to understand how modelled small-area population estimates can complement traditional census methods, helping ensure no communities are left out. The hybrid approach is being tested through pilot censuses in four diverse locations across the country, including areas in the North-West, South-West, West, and Far North regions. These pilots will inform how population estimates (for RGPH4) and earth observation–based methods (for RGAE) can be used together to fill data gaps while maintaining accuracy, transparency, and national ownership. Dr Ortis Yankey leading a hybrid census workshop. This work matters far beyond statistics. Reliable population, agricultural, and livestock data underpin decisions about schools, health services, food security, infrastructure, and emergency response. By integrating RGPH4 and RGAE, Cameroon is also strengthening the link between social, demographic, and agropastoral data, which are essential for national development planning and international commitments such as the Sustainable Development Goals. Cameroon’s geography and challenges are similar to those faced by many countries across West and Central Africa. By pioneering a hybrid census, the country is setting an important example for the region, and showing how modern data methods, combined with strong local capacity, can help ensure that everyone counts, and everyone is counted. ### Learn more * WorldPop methods and learning resources * WorldPop: Global Engagement __ __ __ __ __