Skip to main content
Research group

World Pop

Image of a busy street with lots of people and traffic.

Regularly updating data on population numbers and characteristics to help with effective governance and efficient allocation of resources.

About

We work to ensure that everyone is mapped and counted in decision making. We develop geospatial integration methods to make detailed demographic datasets. Our work features in Nature, Science, and the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Our datasets are used by governments, international agencies, academia, NGOs and the private sector. We work closely with the United Nation agencies and national statistical offices in low and middle-income countries. Our approaches are designed to maximise uptake and impact, and to strengthen local capacity.

Our work focus areas for development and implementation cover population distributions, demographics and dynamics in resource-poor settings. Our geostatistical modelling integrates data from traditional sources including censuses, and satellite and cellphone datasets.

We produce high resolution maps of:

  • age/sex structures
  • births
  • poverty
  • access to services
  • vaccination coverage

We also develop modelling frameworks for subnational migration flows, urban change and disease spread.

WorldPop is made up of more than 30 members of staff, including demographers, geographers, ecologists, statisticians, epidemiologists and computer scientists.

Principal funders and collaborators include:

  • the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
  • UK Department for International Development
  • the World Bank

Research highlights

People, projects and publications

People

Professor Andrew Tatem

Personal Chair

Connect with Andrew

Email: a.j.tatem@soton.ac.uk

Address: B39, West Highfield Campus, University Road, SO17 1BJ (View in Google Maps)

Doctor Assane Gadiaga

Research Fellow

Connect with Assane

Doctor Attila Lazar PhD, MSc, BEng

Principal Research Fellow GRID3 Project

Connect with Attila

Email: a.lazar@soton.ac.uk

Address: B39, West Highfield Campus, University Road, SO17 1BJ (View in Google Maps)

Doctor Carla Pezzulo

Senior Research Fellow

Connect with Carla

Email: c.pezzulo@soton.ac.uk

Address: B39, West Highfield Campus, University Road, SO17 1BJ (View in Google Maps)

Doctor Chris Nnanatu

Senior Research Fellow

Accepting applications from PhD students

Connect with Chris

Doctor Christopher Lloyd MSci, MSc, PhD, FGS

Research Fellow

Connect with Christopher

Email: c.t.lloyd@soton.ac.uk

Address: B39, West Highfield Campus, University Road, SO17 1BJ (View in Google Maps)

Miss Duygu Cihan PhD

Research Fellow

Connect with Duygu

Mx Édith Darin

Enterprise Fellow GRID3 programme

Connect with Édith

Doctor Edson Utazi

Lecturer

Accepting applications from PhD students

Connect with Edson

Email: c.e.utazi@soton.ac.uk

Address: B39, West Highfield Campus, University Road, SO17 1BJ (View in Google Maps)

Doctor Eimear Cleary

Research Fellow

Connect with Eimear

We have a range of different datasets, and one of the richest sources comes from mobile phones. We layer this information together to get information about each location on the planet.
Personal Chair

Contact information

Contact information

Useful links

Back to top