# Population density map of the world

By [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com) · 2023-03-20

china, columbia-university, european-commission, interactive-map, population-density, shanghai, toronto, urbanism, yangtze-river-delta

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![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/59f241bd9ea05ee3da9d0acc19de43e8.png)

I came across [this interactive world population density map](https://luminocity3d.org/WorldPopDen/#3/12.00/10.00) over the weekend and I immediately thought to myself, "this is going on the blog." It uses data from the [Global Human Settlement Layer](https://ghsl.jrc.ec.europa.eu/index.php) (GHSL) produced by the European Commission and by CIESIN (super long name) at Columbia University. And it's a fascinating way to explore how our world is urbanizing.

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/119583c77df5b5a05e43ff2ba5ead5b9.png)

What you will want to do is make sure that you head over to China and check out regions like the [Yangtze River Delta](https://luminocity3d.org/WorldPopDen/#8/31.225/121.459) (shown above). If you hover over a location, it will also bring up a graph and table showing you how that place has evolved from 1975 to 2015. Note: Shanghai's peak population density in 2015 was 104,400 people per square kilometer!

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*Originally published on [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com/population-density-map-of-the-world)*