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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

Location
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
Number of Files/Granules
2
Processing Level
4
Published
Updated
Science Keywords
Population Estimates

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: 2026-05-11

Documents

Publications Citing This Dataset

Filters
Title Year Author Topic
Climate Shocks, Cyclones and Economic Growth: Bridging the Micro-Macro Gap Bakkensen, Laura A, Barrage, Lint Population Estimates
A Systematic Review of Oceanic-Atmospheric Variations and Coastal Erosion in Continental Latin America: Historical Trends, Future Projections, and Management ... Vallarino-Castillo, Ruby, Negro-Valdecantos, Vicente, del Campo, Jose Maria Population Estimates
Climate projections of oceanographic variables in the Exclusive Economic Zone of Ecuador: A 21st century perspective to inform impact and adaptation assessment Winckler, Patricio, Farias, Laura, Vicuna, Sebastian, Esparza, Cesar, Mora, Javiera, Chubretovic, Rosario, Cabrera, Francisco, Zambrano-Sanchez, Nicolas, Caza, Pablo, Gonzalez, Rosa Ana Population Estimates
Virus-blocking mosquitoes take flight in the fight against dengue Crawford, Jacob E. Population Estimates
Regulation and Protection of Urban Wetlands: A Comparative Analysis in Chile, Colombia, and Peru Moschella, Paola, Rojas Quezada, Carolina, Aldana-Dominguez, Juanita, Stamm, Caroline, Velasquez, Carlos Javier, Capera, Ingrid Population Estimates
Trajectories of COVID-19: A longitudinal analysis of many nations and subnational regions Burg, David, Ausubel, Jesse H. Population Estimates
The contribution of armed conflict to vulnerability to disaster: Empirical evidence from 1989 to 2018 Caso, Nicolas, Hilhorst, Dorothea, Mena, Rodrigo Population Estimates
Hydric Vegetation Communities Across Rural, Peri-urban, and Urban Zones within the Prairie Pothole Region Wanek, Alexis (Steinman), Hargiss, Christina L.M., Norland, Jack Population Estimates
Site Selection via Learning Graph Convolutional Neural Networks: A Case Lan, Tian, Cheng, Hao, Wang, Yi, Wen, Bihan Population Estimates
Systemic vulnerability of coastal territories to erosion and marine flooding: A conceptual and methodological approach applied to Brittany (France) Le Berre, Iwan, Meur-Ferec, Catherine, Cuq, Veronique, Guillou, Elisabeth, Lami, Thibaud, Le Dantec, Nicolas, Letortu, Pauline, Lummert, Caroline, Philippe, Manuelle, Rouan, Mathias, Nous, Camille, Henaff, Alain Population Estimates
Hydro-morphodynamics 2D modelling using a discontinuous Galerkin discretisation Clare, Mariana C.A., Percival, James R., Angeloudis, Athanasios, Cotter, Colin J., Piggott, Matthew D. Population Estimates
Estimating population and urban areas at risk of coastal hazards, 19902015: how data choices matter MacManus, Kytt, Balk, Deborah, Engin, Hasim, McGranahan, Gordon, Inman, Rya Boundaries, Population Distribution, Population Size, Population Estimates, Sustainability, Electricity, Energy Production/Use, Human Settlements, Sustainable Development, Land Use/Land Cover, Surface Water, Water Resources
Comparing Tropical Cyclone and King Tide Impacts on a South Carolina Coastal Dune System Harris, Michelle E., Ellis, Jean T. Population Estimates
Understanding the relationship among factors influencing rural tourism: a hierarchical approach Kumar, Suneel, Valeri, Marco, Shekhar Population Estimates
Evidence of climate-driven changes on atmospheric, hydrological, and oceanographic variables along the Chilean coastal zone Winckler Grez, Patricio, Aguirre, Catalina, Farias, Laura, Contreras-Lopez, Manuel, Masotti, Italo Population Estimates
Land tenure and urban climate resilience in the South Pacific McEvoy, Darryn, Mitchell, David, Trundle, Alexei Population Estimates
Towards a multi-hazard analysis of infrastructure in a seismic coast subjected to climate change, with a focus on the Chilean coastline Winkler, Patrico Population Estimates
The role of land use conversion in shaping the land cover of the Central American Dry Corridor Gotlieb, Yosef, Garcia Giron, Jorge Daniel Human Settlements, Urbanization/Urban Sprawl, Infrastructure, Population Estimates
Assessing future coastline change in the vicinity of tidal inlets via reduced complexity modelling Bamunawala, Janaka, Ranasinghe, Roshanka, van der Spek, Ad, Maskey, Shreedhar, Udo, Keiko Population Estimates
Environment, Nationalism and Sustainability: Racial minorities of Ganges Delta Vedi, Puranjay K. Population Estimates
Climate Change Adaptation in Small Island Developing States Bush, Martin J. Population Estimates
Sea-level rise and archaeological site destruction: An example from the southeastern United States using DINAA (Digital Index of North American ... Anderson, David G., Bissett, Thaddeus G., Yerka, Stephen J., Wells, Joshua J., Kansa, Eric C., Kansa, Sarah W., Myers, Kelsey Noack, DeMuth, R. Carl, White, Devin A. Population Size, Population Estimates
Policy: Hurricane Katrina's lessons for the world Barbier, Edward B. Population Estimates
Present and future challenges of coastal erosion in Latin America Silva, Rodolfo, Martinez, M. Luisa, Hesp, Patrick A., Catalan, Patricio, Osorio, Andres F., Martell, Raul, Fossati, Monica, Miot da Silva, Graziela, Marino-Tapia, Ismael, Pereira, Pedro, Cienguegos, Rodrigo, Klein, Antonio, Govaere, Georges Population Estimates
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