A global poverty map derived from satellite data

Christopher D. Elvidge; Paul C. Sutton; Tilottama Ghosh; Benjamin T. Tuttle; Kimberly E. Baugh; Budhendra Bhaduri; Edward Bright

doi:10.1016/j.cageo.2009.01.009

A global poverty map derived from satellite data

Christopher D. Elvidge, Paul C. Sutton, Tilottama Ghosh, Benjamin T. Tuttle, Kimberly E. Baugh, Budhendra Bhaduri, Edward Bright

National Security Sciences Directorate

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

382 Scopus citations

Abstract

A global poverty map has been produced at 30 arcsec resolution using a poverty index calculated by dividing population count (LandScan 2004) by the brightness of satellite observed lighting (DMSP nighttime lights). Inputs to the LandScan product include satellite-derived land cover and topography, plus human settlement outlines derived from high-resolution imagery. The poverty estimates have been calibrated using national level poverty data from the World Development Indicators (WDI) 2006 edition. The total estimate of the numbers of individuals living in poverty is 2.2 billion, slightly under the WDI estimate of 2.6 billion. We have demonstrated a new class of poverty map that should improve over time through the inclusion of new reference data for calibration of poverty estimates and as improvements are made in the satellite observation of human activities related to economic activity and technology access.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1652-1660
Number of pages	9
Journal	Computers and Geosciences
Volume	35
Issue number	8
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cageo.2009.01.009
State	Published - Aug 2009

Funding

This study was funded in part by the NASA carbon cycle research program.

Funders	Funder number
National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Keywords

DMSP
Nighttime lights
Poverty
World development indicators

Access to Document

10.1016/j.cageo.2009.01.009

Cite this

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title = "A global poverty map derived from satellite data",

abstract = "A global poverty map has been produced at 30 arcsec resolution using a poverty index calculated by dividing population count (LandScan 2004) by the brightness of satellite observed lighting (DMSP nighttime lights). Inputs to the LandScan product include satellite-derived land cover and topography, plus human settlement outlines derived from high-resolution imagery. The poverty estimates have been calibrated using national level poverty data from the World Development Indicators (WDI) 2006 edition. The total estimate of the numbers of individuals living in poverty is 2.2 billion, slightly under the WDI estimate of 2.6 billion. We have demonstrated a new class of poverty map that should improve over time through the inclusion of new reference data for calibration of poverty estimates and as improvements are made in the satellite observation of human activities related to economic activity and technology access.",

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AU - Elvidge, Christopher D.

AU - Sutton, Paul C.

AU - Ghosh, Tilottama

AU - Tuttle, Benjamin T.

AU - Baugh, Kimberly E.

AU - Bhaduri, Budhendra

AU - Bright, Edward

PY - 2009/8

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AB - A global poverty map has been produced at 30 arcsec resolution using a poverty index calculated by dividing population count (LandScan 2004) by the brightness of satellite observed lighting (DMSP nighttime lights). Inputs to the LandScan product include satellite-derived land cover and topography, plus human settlement outlines derived from high-resolution imagery. The poverty estimates have been calibrated using national level poverty data from the World Development Indicators (WDI) 2006 edition. The total estimate of the numbers of individuals living in poverty is 2.2 billion, slightly under the WDI estimate of 2.6 billion. We have demonstrated a new class of poverty map that should improve over time through the inclusion of new reference data for calibration of poverty estimates and as improvements are made in the satellite observation of human activities related to economic activity and technology access.

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A global poverty map derived from satellite data

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