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Description

The Low Elevation Coastal Zone (LECZ) Urban-Rural Population and Land Area Estimates, Version 3 data set contains land areas with urban, quasi-urban, rural, and total populations (counts) within the LECZ for 234 countries and other recognized territories for the years 1990, 2000, and 2015. This data set updates initial estimates for the LECZ population by drawing on a newer collection of input data, and provides a range of estimates for at-risk population and land area. Constructing accurate estimates requires high-quality and methodologically consistent input data, and the LECZv3 evaluates multiple data sources for population totals, digital elevation model, and spatially-delimited urban classifications. Users can find the paper "Estimating Population and Urban Areas at Risk of Coastal Hazards, 1990-2015: How data choices matter" (MacManus, et al. 2021) in order to evaluate selected inputs for modeling Low Elevation Coastal Zones. According to the paper, the following are considered core data sets for the purposes of LECZv3 estimates: Multi-Error-Removed Improved-Terrain Digital Elevation Model (MERIT-DEM), Global Human Settlement (GHSL) Population Grid R2019 and Degree of Urbanization Settlement Model Grid R2019a v2, and the Gridded Population of the World, Version 4 (GPWv4), Revision 11. This data set is produced by the Columbia University Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN) and the City University of New York (CUNY) Institute for Demographic Research (CIDR).

Product Summary

Platforms
MODELS
Instruments
Computer
Spatial Extent

N: 85 S: -58 E: 180 W: -180

Spatial Resolution
0.00083 Decimal Degrees x 0.00083 Decimal Degrees
Location
GLOBAL ,
AMERICAN SAMOA ,
ANGUILLA ,
ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA ,
ARUBA ,
BAHAMAS ,
BARBADOS ,
BERMUDA ,
BONAIRE ,
BOUVET ISLAND ,
BRITISH INDIAN OCEAN TERRITORY ,
BRUNEI ,
CAPE VERDE ,
CAYMAN ISLANDS ,
COMOROS ,
COOK ISLANDS ,
CUBA ,
CURACAO ,
CYPRUS ,
DOMINICA ,
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC ,
FAEROE ISLANDS ,
FALKLAND ISLANDS ,
FIJI ,
FRENCH POLYNESIA ,
FRENCH SOUTHERN TERRITORIES ,
GRENADA ,
GUADELOUPE ,
GUAM ,
HAITI ,
HEARD AND MCDONALD ISLANDS ,
INDONESIA ,
ISLE OF MAN ,
JAMAICA ,
KIRIBATI ,
MADAGASCAR ,
MALAYSIA ,
MALDIVES ,
MALTA ,
MARSHALL ISLANDS ,
MARTINIQUE ,
MAURITIUS ,
MAYOTTE ,
MICRONESIA ,
MONTSERRAT ,
NAURU ,
NEW CALEDONIA ,
NORFOLK ISLAND ,
NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS ,
PALAU ,
PAPUA NEW GUINEA ,
PHILIPPINES ,
PITCAIRN ISLANDS ,
PUERTO RICO ,
REUNION ,
SAMOA ,
SAO TOME AND PRINCIPE ,
SEYCHELLES ,
SINGAPORE ,
SOLOMON ISLANDS ,
SOUTH GEORGIA ISLAND ,
SPRATLY ISLANDS ,
SRI LANKA ,
ST BARTHELEMY ,
ST HELENA ,
ST KITTS AND NEVIS ,
ST LUCIA ,
ST MAARTEN ,
ST MARTIN ,
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 ,
WALLIS AND FUTUNA ISLANDS ,
AFGHANISTAN ,
ALAND ISLANDS ,
ALBANIA ,
ALGERIA ,
ANDORRA ,
ANGOLA ,
ARGENTINA ,
ARMENIA ,
AUSTRALIA ,
AUSTRALIA ,
AUSTRIA ,
AZERBAIJAN ,
BAHRAIN ,
BANGLADESH ,
BELARUS ,
BELGIUM ,
BELIZE ,
BENIN ,
BHUTAN ,
BOLIVIA ,
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA ,
BOTSWANA ,
BRAZIL ,
BULGARIA ,
BURKINA FASO ,
BURUNDI ,
CAMBODIA ,
CAMEROON ,
CANADA ,
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC ,
CHAD ,
CHILE ,
CHINA ,
COLOMBIA ,
CONGO ,
CONGO ,
CONGO, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC ,
COSTA RICA ,
COTE D'IVOIRE ,
CROATIA ,
CZECHIA ,
DENMARK ,
DJIBOUTI ,
ECUADOR ,
EGYPT ,
EL SALVADOR ,
EQUATORIAL GUINEA ,
ERITREA ,
ESTONIA ,
ETHIOPIA ,
FINLAND ,
FRANCE ,
FRENCH GUIANA ,
GABON ,
GAMBIA ,
GEORGIA ,
GERMANY ,
GHANA ,
GIBRALTAR ,
GREECE ,
GREENLAND ,
GUATEMALA ,
GUERNSEY ,
GUINEA ,
GUINEA-BISSAU ,
GUYANA ,
HONDURAS ,
HONG KONG ,
HUNGARY ,
ICELAND ,
INDIA ,
IRAN ,
IRAN ,
IRAQ ,
IRELAND ,
ISRAEL ,
ITALY ,
JAPAN ,
JORDAN ,
KAZAKHSTAN ,
KENYA ,
KOSOVO ,
KUWAIT ,
KYRGYZSTAN ,
LAO PEOPLE'S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC ,
LATVIA ,
LEBANON ,
LESOTHO ,
LIBERIA ,
LIBYA ,
LIECHTENSTEIN ,
LITHUANIA ,
LUXEMBOURG ,
MACAU ,
MALAWI ,
MALI ,
MAURITANIA ,
MEXICO ,
MOLDOVA ,
MONACO ,
MONGOLIA ,
MONTENEGRO ,
MOROCCO ,
MOZAMBIQUE ,
MYANMAR ,
NAMIBIA ,
NEPAL ,
NETHERLANDS ,
NEW ZEALAND ,
NICARAGUA ,
NIGER ,
NIGERIA ,
NORTH KOREA ,
NORTH KOREA ,
NORTH MACEDONIA ,
NORWAY ,
OMAN ,
PAKISTAN ,
PALESTINE ,
PANAMA ,
PARAGUAY ,
PERU ,
POLAND ,
PORTUGAL ,
QATAR ,
ROMANIA ,
RUSSIAN FEDERATION ,
RWANDA ,
SAN MARINO ,
SAUDI ARABIA ,
SENEGAL ,
SERBIA ,
SIERRA LEONE ,
SLOVAKIA ,
SLOVENIA ,
SOMALIA ,
SOUTH AFRICA ,
SOUTH KOREA ,
SOUTH SUDAN ,
SPAIN ,
SUDAN ,
SURINAME ,
SWEDEN ,
SWITZERLAND ,
SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC ,
TAIWAN ,
TAJIKISTAN ,
TANZANIA ,
TANZANIA ,
THAILAND ,
TOGO ,
TUNISIA ,
TURKEY ,
TURKMENISTAN ,
UGANDA ,
UKRAINE ,
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES ,
UNITED KINGDOM ,
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ,
URUGUAY ,
UZBEKISTAN ,
VATICAN CITY ,
VENEZUELA ,
VENEZUELA ,
VIETNAM ,
WESTERN SAHARA ,
YEMEN ,
ZAMBIA ,
ZIMBABWE
Coordinate System
CARTESIAN
Granule Spatial Representation
CARTESIAN
Temporal Extent
1990-01-01 ,
2000-01-01 ,
2015-01-01
Data Partner
Earth Science Data Information System (ESDIS)
Concept ID
C3540930157-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. (2021). Low Elevation Coastal Zone (LECZ) Urban-Rural Population and Land Area Estimates, Version 3 (Version 3.00) [Data set]. Palisades, NY: NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). https://doi.org/10.7927/D1X1-D702 Date Accessed: 2026-05-13

Documents

Publications Citing This Dataset

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Title Year Author Topic
Coastal flood risk to European surface transport infrastructure at different global warming levels Nawarat, Khin, Reyns, Johan, Vousdoukas, Michalis I., Mulholland, Eamonn, van Ginkel, Kees, Feyen, Luc, Ranasinghe, Roshanka Population Estimates
A machine learning-based evidence map of ocean-related options for climate change mitigation and adaptation Veytia, Devi, Mariani, Gael, Marti Barclay, Vicky, Airoldi, Laura, Claudet, Joachim, Cooley, Sarah, Magnan, Alexandre, Neill, Simon, Sumaila, U. Rashid, Thebaud, Olivier, Voolstra, Christian R., Williamson, Phillip, Bonnin, Marie, Langridge, Joseph, Comte, Adrien, Viard, Frederique, Shin, Yunne-Jai, Bopp, Laurent, Gattuso, Jean-Pierre Population Estimates
Development of an Integrated Natural and Socioeconomic Indicators Monitoring System for Bulacan Using Earth Intelligence Tools School of Graduate Studies, AMA Computer University, Villa Arca Ave., Project 8, Quezon City, Philippines, Pascual, Mark Neil, Leonen, Jeffrey Urban Lands, Land Use/Land Cover, Urbanization/Urban Sprawl, Infrastructure, Poverty Levels, Environmental Health Factors, Population Distribution, Sustainability, Population Estimates, Human Settlements
The association between total precipitation and diarrhea morbidity: A multicountry study across diverse climate zones Pan, Rui, Chua, Paul L. C., Madaniyazi, Lina, Ng, Chris Fook Sheng, Tobias, Aurelio, Guo, Qiang, Phung, Vera Ling Hui, Hossain, Nasif, Lynch, Victoria, Jung, Chau-Ren, Salazar, Miguel Antonio, Roye, Dominic, Phung, Dung, Coelho, Micheline de Sousa Zanotti Stagliorio, Saldiva, Paulo Hilario Nascimento, Hales, Simon, Huang, Cunrui, Semenza, Jan C., Hashizume, Masahiro Population Estimates, Poverty Levels, Environmental Health Factors, Population Distribution, Sustainability, Population Density
Vertical accuracy assessment of freely available global DEMs (FABDEM, Copernicus DEM, NASADEM, AW3D30 and SRTM) in flood-prone environments Meadows, Michael, Jones, Simon, Reinke, Karin Population Estimates
Coastal hardening and what it means for the world's sandy beaches Nawarat, Khin, Reyns, Johan, Vousdoukas, Michalis I., Duong, Trang Minh, Kras, Etienne, Ranasinghe, Roshanka Boundaries, Population, Terrain Elevation, Climate Adaptation, Population Estimates
Are eruptions reliable precursors to marine volcano collapses? Furst, Severine, Urlaub, Morelia, Klein, Elisa, Bonanati, Christina Population Estimates
Safe and just Earth system boundaries Rockstrom, Johan, Gupta, Joyeeta, Qin, Dahe, Lade, Steven J., Abrams, Jesse F., Andersen, Lauren S., Armstrong McKay, David I., Bai, Xuemei, Bala, Govindasamy, Bunn, Stuart E., Ciobanu, Daniel, DeClerck, Fabrice, Ebi, Kristie, Gifford, Lauren, Gordon, Christopher, Hasan, Syezlin, Kanie, Norichika, Lenton, Timothy M., Loriani, Sina, Liverman, Diana M., Mohamed, Awaz, Nakicenovic, Nebojsa, Obura, David, Ospina, Daniel, Prodani, Klaudia, Rammelt, Crelis, Sakschewski, Boris, Scholtens, Joeri, Stewart-Koster, Ben, Tharammal, Thejna, van Vuuren, Detlef, Verburg, Peter H., Winkelmann, Ricarda, Zimm, Caroline, Bennett, Elena M., Bringezu, Stefan, Broadgate, Wendy, Green, Pamela A., Huang, Lei, Jacobson, Lisa, Ndehedehe, Christopher, Pedde, Simona, Rocha, Juan, Scheffer, Marten, Schulte-Uebbing, Lena, de Vries, Wim, Xiao, Cunde, Xu, Chi, Xu, Xinwu, Zafra-Calvo, Noelia, Zhang, Xin Population Size, Population Estimates
Uneven vulnerability: Characterizing population composition and change in the low elevation coastal zone in the United States with a climate justice lens, 19902020 Tagtachian, Daniela, Balk, Deborah 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
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