Learn essential demographic data skills
Part 2: Data about people
In the previous section of this tutorial series , you learned about data: what it is, where it comes from, how it’s organized, and how to find it in ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World. In this section, you will focus on people- and population-centric data, also known as demographic data.
Demographic data
Demographic data centers around the human experience. It comes from the Greek word “dēmos,” or “the people,” and “graphē,” meaning “writing” or “drawing.”
In other words, demographic data describes people, populations, and communities.
Demographic data reflects characteristics of your social identity, such as age, gender, race, ethnicity, or language spoken at home. These characteristics are also referred to as data variables.
On the right, the map shows languages spoken around the world. Click on any country or region to learn more about the predominant language there.
Variables are the amounts and characteristics that are measured by collecting data.
These can take the form of categories and attributes (qualitative data) or numbers (quantitative data).
Data is what you can observe and measure, and variables are the most basic bins, or units, for organizing these pieces of data.
Demographic data also describes the systems and structures that shape how communities function.
These kinds of variables are often referred to as indicators. Indicators provide a basis for comparing within and across countries and regions, both at present and over time.
On the right, the map layer shows educational attainment by municipality in Mexico as indicated by the percentage of the population age 15 and older that is unschooled.
Dark areas represent places where a high percentage of the population is unschooled, and light areas represent a low percentage.
High-quality demographic data plays an essential role in shaping decisions related to business, public health, policy, development, and essentially any other sector that centers around people.
Monitoring a combination of demographic data variables can provide valuable insight into the overall well-being of communities.
The map layer on the right shows health rankings across U.S. counties.
Dark areas represent places where a high percentage of the population is in poor or fair health, and light areas represent a low percentage.
Indicator variables can also be used on a global scale.
On the right, the map layer shows pedestrian accessibility by country.
Shades of green indicate places where a high percentage of the population lives within a 15-minute walk of points of interest, such as hospitals, schools, supermarkets, restaurants, and schools.
Shades of red indicate a low percentage.
Data sources
Demographic data is often collected through surveys, such as a population census.
In the United States, the U.S. Census Bureau conducts a population census every 10 years.
This process aims to count every person residing in the U.S. (in all 50 U.S. states, the five U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia) while collecting information about each household and individual.
The map on the left shows the total population at the municipio (municipality) level of people in Puerto Rico who identified as two or more races in the 2020 decennial census.
Click on a municipio to learn more about the demographic composition of that area.
The American Community Survey (ACS) is another U.S. Census Bureau survey that involves sampling only a small subset of the U.S. population.
This survey gathers data about businesses, education, transportation, households, and other community infrastructure.
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Censuses around the world
Many other countries conduct population census surveys that are comparable to the U.S. Decennial Census.
These occur on similar timelines and collect data about the people that reside there.
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Brazil conducts a census every 10 years , with the first occurring in 1808.
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Malaysia has been conducting a decennial population census since the mid-1900s.
In 1970, a separate housing census was added on the same 10-year timeline.
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In 1981, Denmark became the first country to conduct a census of housing and population based on registers .
This method relies on indirect analysis of data that has already been collected and stored rather than obtaining individual responses one by one.
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Australia conducts a census every five years. In 2006, residents could complete their census online for the first time.
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In 2010, China recorded the largest population ever captured by a country’s census , surveying 1.3 billion people.
This process required employing nearly 10 million census workers, roughly equivalent to the population of Sweden.
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Jordan broke new ground in 2015 by using only digital technology to conduct a census .
Esri Location Data
Data is vital to every Esri product. Esri Location Data is a collection of datasets that center around people, places, landscapes, infrastructure, movement, and other subject matter that is connected to location.
Esri Location Data is up-to-date, accurate, and acquired from authoritative sources, saving users time that is often spent finding and preparing data before it can be analyzed.
Esri Demographic data is a subset of Esri Location Data.
This collection consists of both U.S. and non-U.S. demographic data.
It is organized into data categories, providing a wide array of variables for over 170 countries and regions around the world.
U.S. demographic data
U.S. demographic data is curated by the Esri data development team.
This team is made up of economists, statisticians, demographers, geographers, and analysts who develop exclusive demographic models and methodologies to create market-proven datasets.
Explore the Get started with U.S. Demographics tutorial series to learn more about this data collection.
Non-U.S. demographic data
Esri acquires non-U.S. demographic data from a variety of trusted data providers .
These providers are leaders in the industry of curating specialized types of demographic and location-based data.
Data availability
Data availability varies by country: some have more categories and variables available, and others have fewer.
Explore the interactive Esri Demographic Global Coverage map to learn more about the data available for each country.
Standard Demographics
Esri Demographics provides a baseline set of data for every country that is part of the collection.
This data, referred to as Standard Demographics , is sourced from Michael Bauer Research GmbH.
Standard Demographics provide a high-level overview of a country or region with variables such as total population and consumer expenditures.
Advanced Demographics
For a smaller subset of countries, Esri Demographics provides additional data categories.
These collections, known as Advanced Demographics , are sourced from an array of other data providers.
This data offers a more detailed view into a country or region with categories such as Health, Education, Business, and Behaviors.
Use the data browser
With thousands of variables to map and analyze, the data browser is a search tool that can help you find which variables are available for each country or region.
The data browser exists in two distinct forms. As a standalone interface, it allows you to search for variables by country and category. As an in-app interface in Map Viewer and other products, you can use the data browser to select and add demographic data variables to your map or project.
Let's take a look at the data browser in its standalone form to explore the data variables available for Hong Kong.
There are eight top-level categories available:
- Population
- Income
- Age
- Households
- Education
- Spending
- Marital Status
- Key Facts
Within each top-level category, there are data collections that specify the topic.
In this case, the Population data category is separated into three collections:
- Gender
- Key Global Facts
- Population Totals
Each data collection contains a list of individual variables.
Here, there are three variables available in the Population Totals collection:
- 2020 Total Population
- 2020 Population Density (Population per Square Kilometer)
- 2020 Population Per Mill
As indicated by the collection title, the data for all three variables is provided by Michael Bauer Research GmbH (MBR).
These variables provide specific insight into their corresponding category and can be mapped in Esri applications through a process called data enrichment .
The data enrichment process takes spatial boundaries, such as country borders, drive time rings, or hand-drawn areas, and fills them with related demographic data.
This allows you to visualize patterns that connect people and places.
Drag the slider button in the center of the map to view how Hong Kong's 18 district boundaries (left) can be enriched with population density data (right).
Dark areas represent places where the population is more concentrated, and light areas represent places where the people are more spread out.
To explore the full range of data categories and variables available in the Esri Demographics collection, check out the data browser .
What's next?
In this section, you learned about the basics of demographic data and Esri Demographics:
- Different approaches to collecting population data around the world
- How Esri Demographic Data is collected, organized, and made available for use
- Standard Demographics and Advanced Demographics and how these categories differ
- Data availability for various locations
In the next section of this tutorial series , you will delve into the spatial dimension of demographic data. This section will introduce working with different types of place-based data, layers, and other elements involved in constructing and interpreting maps.
