This dataset contains statistics on urban centres based on data from the Global Human Settlement Layer (GHSL) produced at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, unit E.1 (Disaster Risk Management). This release is based on the GHSL Data Package 2023, the Degree of Urbanisation to delineate spatial entities, and geospatial data integration from a variety of open source datasets to characterise them. The result is the most complete information system on cities to date with data for 11,422 quality-controlled urban centres across 15 thematic domains, 471 indicators, and 2600 attributes. The UCDB has two data streams, one based on a fixed delineation of urban centres in 2025, and a second version based on multi-temporal delineation of urban centres, traceable over time.
The UCDB integrates data from Copernicus Services (including Emergency, Land Monitoring, Marine and Climate), peer-reviewed datasets (i.e. from the scientific literature), and institutional information systems (i.e. from the United Nations).
Alessandra Carioli
; Alfredo Branco; Claudio Belis; Daniel Githira; Daniele Ehrlich; Dennis Mwaniki; Diego Guizzardi; Duarte Jacome Felix Oom; Edwin Kochulem; Enrico Pisoni; Ines Mari Rivero; Johannes H Uhl; Katarzyna Goch; Lewis Dijkstra; Luca Maffenini; Marcello Schiavina; Martino Pesaresi; Michele Melchiorri; Monica Crippa; Panagiotis Politis; Patrizia Sulis; Pierpaolo Tommasi; Pietro Florio; Thomas Kemper
Mari Rivero, Ines; Melchiorri, Michele; Florio, Pietro; Schiavina, Marcello; Goch, Katarzyna; Politis, Panagiotis; Uhl, Johannes H; Pesaresi, Martino; Maffenini, Luca; Sulis, Patrizia; Crippa, Monica; Guizzardi, Diego; Pisoni, Enrico; Belis, Claudio; Jacome Felix Oom, Duarte; Branco, Alfredo; Mwaniki, Dennis; Kochulem, Edwin; Githira, Daniel; Carioli, Alessandra; Ehrlich, Daniele; Tommasi, Pierpaolo; Kemper, Thomas; Dijkstra, Lewis (2026): GHS-UCDB R2024A - GHS Urban Centre Database 2025. European Commission, Joint Research Centre [Dataset] doi: 10.2905/JRC.05RDPR0; 10.2905/1a338be6-7eaf-480c-9664-3a8ade88cbcd PID: http://data.europa.eu/89h/1a338be6-7eaf-480c-9664-3a8ade88cbcd
Built-up per capitaBuilt-up surfaceDegree of urbanisationGHS-BUILT-SGHS-LANDGHS-POPGHS-SMODGHSLGlobal mapPopulation
GHS urban centre statistics based on delineation by Degree of Urbanisation and geospatial data integration from a variety of open source datasets to characterise the urban centres for target years 1975-2030. The compressed ZIP file contain xlsx and geopackage file for UN regions and short documentation.
GHS urban centre statistics based on delineation by Degree of Urbanisation and geospatial data integration from a variety of open source datasets to characterise the urban centres for target years 1975-2030. The compressed ZIP file contain csv, xlsx, and geopackage file for main thematic domains and short documentation.
GHS statistics disaggregated by Degree of Urbanisation Stage I, Level 1 (grid, GHS-SMOD) and by country as delineated by the Global ADMinistrative layer version 4.1 (GADM41) for target years 1975-2030 (5 years timestep). The compressed ZIP file contain xlsx and geopackage file and short documentation.
GHS urban centre statistics based on delineation by Degree of Urbanisation and geospatial data integration from a variety of open source datasets to characterise the urban centres. The compressed ZIP file contain csv, xlsx, and geopackage file with the data produced by external contributors and short documentation.
GHS urban centre statistics based on delineation by Degree of Urbanisation and geospatial data integration from a variety of open source datasets to characterise the urban centres for target years 1975-2030. The compressed ZIP file contain csv, xlsx, and geopackage file for urban centres with changing boundaries over time and short documentation.
This dataset contains statistics on urban centres based on data from the Global Human Settlement Layer (GHSL) produced at the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, unit E.1 (Disaster Risk Management). This release is based on the GHSL Data Package 2023, the Degree of Urbanisation to delineate spatial entities, and geospatial data integration from a variety of open source datasets to characterise them. The result is the most complete information system on cities to date with data for 11,422 quality-controlled urban centres across 15 thematic domains, 471 indicators, and 2600 attributes. The UCDB has two data streams, one based on a fixed delineation of urban centres in 2025, and a second version based on multi-temporal delineation of urban centres, traceable over time.
The UCDB integrates data from Copernicus Services (including Emergency, Land Monitoring, Marine and Climate), peer-reviewed datasets (i.e. from the scientific literature), and institutional information systems (i.e. from the United Nations).
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The Global Human Settlement Layer (GHSL) project produces new global spatial information, evidence-based analytics and knowledge describing the human presence on Earth. It operates in a fully open and free data and methods access policy. The knowledge generated with the GHSL is supporting the definition, the public discussion and the implementation of European policies and the monitoring of international frameworks such as the 2030 Development Agenda. GHSL data continue to support the GEO Human Planet Initiative that is committed to developing a new generation of measurements and information products providing new scientific evidence and a comprehensive understanding of the human presence on the planet and that can support global policy processes with agreed, actionable and goal-driven metrics.
This document describes the public release of the GHSL Urban Centre Database 2025 (GHS P2024). This release provides is based on the GHSL Data Package 2023, the Degree of Urbanisation to delineate spatial entities, and geospatial data integration from a variety of open source datasets to characterise them. The result is the most complete information system on cities to date with data for 11,422 quality controlled urban centres across 15 thematic domains, 100+ indicators, and 2500+ attributes. The UCDB has two data streams, one based on the fixed delineation of the 2025 boundaries, the other based on a multi-temporal delineation of entities and their tracking over time.
The UCDB integrates data from Copernicus Services (including Emergency, Land Monitoring, Marine and Climate), peer-reviewed datasets (i.e. from the scientific literature), and institutional information systems (i.e. from the United Nations).
This document serves as a documentation to the dataset and includes indicator fact sheets to navigate the database.
| From date | To date |
|---|---|
| 1970-01-01 | 2070-12-31 |
