Abstract
The spatial distribution of populations and settlements across a country and their interconnectivity and accessibility from urban areas are important for delivering healthcare, distributing resources and economic development. However, existing spatially explicit population data across Africa are generally based on outdated, low resolution input demographic data, and provide insufficient detail to quantify rural settlement patterns and, thus, accurately measure population concentration and accessibility. Here we outline approaches to developing a new high resolution population distribution dataset for Africa and analyse rural accessibility to population centers. Contemporary population count data were combined with detailed satellite-derived settlement extents to map population distributions across Africa at a finer spatial resolution than ever before. Substantial heterogeneity in settlement patterns, population concentration and spatial accessibility to major population centres is exhibited across the continent. In Africa, 90% of the population is concentrated in less than 21% of the land surface and the average per-person travel time to settlements of more than 50,000 inhabitants is around 3.5 hours, with Central and East Africa displaying the longest average travel times. The analyses highlight large inequities in access, the isolation of many rural populations and the challenges that exist between countries and regions in providing access to services. The datasets presented are freely available as part of the AfriPop project, providing an evidence base for guiding strategic decisions.
Highlights
Geography plays a significant role in the development process [1]
While assessments were only undertaken for a few countries, they showed that the modelling method described here produced consistently more accurate datasets than the methods used in the construction of existing largescale gridded population data products, Global Rural Urban Mapping Project (GRUMP), Gridded Population of the World (GPW), LandScan and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Rural accessibility remains a priority for poverty reduction and economic development in Africa [2,3,4]
Summary
Geography plays a significant role in the development process [1]. Three spatial features influence the economic development of a region: the density (e.g. agglomeration, scale economies), the distance (e.g. spatial mobility and access) and division (e.g. the spatial integration of economies). Improving access to people and markets is a key driver for development and plays an important role in poverty reduction. The lack of a reliable transport system forces rural populations to spend a significant amount of time in travelling to meet basic needs and increases the transport costs incurred to access these services [2,3,4]. These factors often mean that isolation is seen as the main contributor to poverty according to the poor people themselves [4]. The measurement of accessibility of populations and settlements is of importance in measuring progress towards achieving these goals
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