A population density grid of the European Union

Population data in the European Union (EU) are available at commune level. This paper describes the method used to produce a finer scale population density grid combining commune population data with CORINE Land Cover (CLC), a thematic map available for all countries of the EU. The results are distributed by the European Environment Agency (EEA). The information provided by the point survey LUCAS (Land Use/Cover Area frame Survey) has been integrated to improve the downscaling methods. A few European countries have also recorded population data as grids of 1 km resolution. An assessment, carried out for 5 countries with the help of a more accurate 1-km population density grid, suggests that CLC allows reducing roughly by 50% the inaccuracy of the homogeneous representation of population density per commune. A method based on logit regression gives the best results among the approaches tested, but the accuracy is very similar for different approaches.

GALLEGO PINILLA Francisco; 

2010-07-22

KLUWER ACADEMIC-HUMAN SCIENCES PRESS

JRC47485

0199-0039,   

http://www.springerlink.com/content/h22617v812p51014/,    https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC47485,   

10.1007/s11111-010-0108-y,