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A new method to estimate global population by age, sex and settlement type

A new JRC Technical Report addresses the lack of a comprehensive global population dataset disaggregated by age, sex and three settlement types—cities, towns and rural areas.

  • News | 18 Sep 2026

The proposed methodology provides population data for 237 countries or areas for the period 1950‑2050, allowing users to obtain, for any year, the number of people of a given age and sex living in each settlement category.

The methodology generates over two million individual data points. 

Analysing the data show, for example, that younger age cohorts tend to dominate rural areas relative to cities. In cities, relatively more people appear to be of middle age. This finer‑grained population information is intended to support more effective, targeted policymaking and to help advance scientific research.

The report is available here.

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