In the context of the current health crisis, the importance of reliable and timely population data is more apparent than ever – we need to know where people are located, what conditions they are facing, what infrastructure is available, and what basic services they can access.

With 10 years left to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, it is essential to understand where people are located, what conditions they are facing, what infrastructure is available and what basic services they can access.

The world’s population has nearly quintupled in the past 100 years, yet our understanding of our fellow global citizens is often still limited and out of date.