Skip to main content

Description

The Low Elevation Coastal Zone (LECZ) Urban-Rural Population and Land Area Estimates, Version 2 data set consists of country-level estimates of urban population, rural population, total population and land area country-wide and in LECZs for years 1990, 2000, 2010, and 2100. The LECZs were derived from Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), 3 arc-second (~90m) data which were post processed by ISciences LLC to include only elevations less than 20m contiguous to coastlines; and to supplement SRTM data in northern and southern latitudes. The population and land area statistics presented herein are summarized at the low coastal elevations of less than or equal to 1m, 3m, 5m, 7m, 9m, 10m, 12m, and 20m. Additionally, estimates are provided for elevations greater than 20m, and nationally. The spatial coverage of this data set includes 202 of the 232 countries and statistical areas delineated in the Gridded Rural-Urban Mapping Project version 1 (GRUMPv1) data set. The 30 omitted areas were not included because they were landlocked, or otherwise lacked coastal features. This data set makes use of the population inputs of GRUMPv1 allocated at 3 arc-seconds to match the SRTM elevations, and at 30 arc-seconds resolution in order to reflect uncertainty levels in the product resulting from the interplay of input population data resolutions (based on census Units) and the elevation data. Urban and rural areas are differentiated by the GRUMPv1 Urban Extents. This data set is produced by the Columbia University Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN).

Product Summary

Platforms
MODELS
Instruments
Computer
Spatial Extent
N: 85 S: -58 E: 180 W: -180
Geographic Region
GLOBAL,
AMERICAN SAMOA,
ANGUILLA,
ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA,
ARUBA,
BAHAMAS,
BARBADOS,
BERMUDA,
BRUNEI,
CAPE VERDE,
CAYMAN ISLANDS,
COOK ISLANDS,
CUBA,
CYPRUS,
DOMINICA,
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC,
FAEROE ISLANDS,
FALKLAND ISLANDS,
FIJI,
FRENCH POLYNESIA,
GRENADA,
GUADELOUPE,
GUAM,
HAITI,
INDONESIA,
ISLE OF MAN,
JAMAICA,
KIRIBATI,
MADAGASCAR,
MALAYSIA,
MALDIVES,
MALTA,
MARSHALL ISLANDS,
MARTINIQUE,
MAURITIUS,
MAYOTTE,
MICRONESIA,
MONTSERRAT,
NAURU,
NETHERLANDS ANTILLES,
NEW CALEDONIA,
NIUE,
NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS,
PALAU,
PAPUA NEW GUINEA,
PHILIPPINES,
PITCAIRN ISLANDS,
PUERTO RICO,
REUNION,
SAMOA,
SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE,
SEYCHELLES,
SINGAPORE,
SOLOMON ISLANDS,
SRI LANKA,
ST HELENA,
ST KITTS AND NEVIS,
ST LUCIA,
ST PIERRE AND MIQUELON,
ST VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES,
SVALBARD AND JAN MAYEN,
TIMOR-LESTE,
TOKELAU,
TONGA,
TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO,
TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS,
TUVALU,
VANUATU,
VIRGIN ISLANDS,
WALLIS AND FUTUNA ISLANDS,
ALBANIA,
ALGERIA,
ANGOLA,
ANGOLA,
ARGENTINA,
AUSTRALIA,
BAHRAIN,
BAHRAIN,
BANGLADESH,
BELARUS,
BELGIUM,
BELIZE,
BENIN,
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA,
BRAZIL,
BULGARIA,
CAMBODIA,
CAMEROON,
CANADA,
CHILE,
CHINA,
COLOMBIA,
CONGO,
CONGO, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC,
COSTA RICA,
COTE D'IVOIRE,
CROATIA,
DENMARK,
DJIBOUTI,
ECUADOR,
EGYPT,
EL SALVADOR,
EQUATORIAL GUINEA,
ERITREA,
ESTONIA,
ETHIOPIA,
FINLAND,
FRANCE,
FRENCH GUIANA,
GABON,
GAMBIA,
GEORGIA,
GERMANY,
GHANA,
GIBRALTAR,
GREECE,
GREENLAND,
GUATEMALA,
GUINEA,
GUINEA-BISSAU,
GUYANA,
HONDURAS,
INDIA,
IRAN,
IRAQ,
IRELAND,
ISRAEL,
ITALY,
JAPAN,
JORDAN,
KENYA,
KUWAIT,
LAO PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC,
LATVIA,
LEBANON,
LIBERIA,
LIBYA,
LITHUANIA,
LUXEMBOURG,
MACAU,
MALAWI,
MALI,
MAURITANIA,
MEXICO,
MOLDOVA,
MONACO,
MOROCCO,
MOZAMBIQUE,
MYANMAR,
NAMIBIA,
NETHERLANDS,
NEW ZEALAND,
NICARAGUA,
NIGERIA,
NORWAY,
OMAN,
PAKISTAN,
PALESTINE,
PANAMA,
PERU,
POLAND,
PORTUGAL,
QATAR,
ROMANIA,
RUSSIAN FEDERATION,
SAUDI ARABIA,
SENEGAL,
SIERRA LEONE,
SLOVENIA,
SOMALIA,
SOUTH AFRICA,
SOUTH KOREA,
SPAIN,
SUDAN,
SURINAME,
SWEDEN,
SWITZERLAND,
SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC,
TAIWAN,
TANZANIA,
THAILAND,
TOGO,
TUNISIA,
TURKEY,
UKRAINE,
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES,
UNITED KINGDOM,
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
URUGUAY,
VENEZUELA,
VIETNAM,
YEMEN
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
CARTESIAN
Temporal Extent
1990-01-01
2000-01-01
2010-01-01
2100-01-01
Data Partner
Earth Science Data Information System (ESDIS)
Concept ID
c3550196903-esdis
Data State
COMPLETE
Processing Level
4
Published
Updated

Citation

Citation is critically important for dataset documentation and discovery. This dataset is openly shared, without restriction, in accordance with the EOSDIS Data Use and Citation Guidance.

Copy Citation

Center For International Earth Science Information Network-CIESIN-Columbia University. (2013). Low Elevation Coastal Zone (LECZ) Urban-Rural Population and Land Area Estimates, Version 2 (Version 2.00) [Data set]. Palisades, NY: NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). https://doi.org/10.7927/H4MW2F2J Date Accessed: 2025-07-04

Data Center Citation

Center for International Earth Science Information Network - CIESIN - Columbia University. 2013. Low Elevation Coastal Zone (LECZ) Urban-Rural Population and Land Area Estimates, Version 2. Palisades, NY: ESDIS. https://doi.org/10.7927/H4MW2F2J.

Documents

GENERAL DOCUMENTATION Data Set Documentation
GENERAL DOCUMENTATION Data Set Documentation

Learning Resources

View All Learning Resources
Filters
No Results