Are these counts or estimates?

Estimates. They are modelled from census data, satellite imagery and other covariates. Their value lies in places where a reliable count does not exist, which is also where they are least verifiable.

Humanitarian agencies planning responses, epidemiologists estimating exposure, and infrastructure planners — anyone who needs population figures at a finer grain than administrative boundaries provide.

Yes. It comes from WorldPop at the University of Southampton, refreshed through this site's pipeline. Nothing is invented or simulated, and if the source cannot be reached the saver reports that instead of drawing something plausible.

Does it cost anything or need an account?

No. Every screensaver here is free, runs in the browser and needs no sign-up. This one uses a public API that requires no key.

Counting From Orbit Screensaver

The Counting From Orbit screensaver lists the population datasets WorldPop publishes — counts, densities, births, pregnancies, age and sex structure, migration and development indicators. It runs in the browser with nothing to install; press ESC to exit.

How the Counting From Orbit screensaver works

The saver reads WorldPop at the University of Southampton, refreshed through this site's pipeline.

No account and no key: the request goes straight from your browser, or from this site's own refreshed copy of the feed where the source does not permit browser access.

Values are drawn on a canvas that resizes with the window, so it works on a laptop or a wall display.

If the source is unreachable the saver says so on screen rather than showing stale numbers as though they were current.

A worked example

Each entry names a dataset and describes what it models. WorldPop estimates where people live at hundred-metre resolution by combining census returns with satellite imagery, which matters most precisely where the census is weakest — and where the modelling is also hardest to check.

Settings & tips

Accent and Background recolour the display without changing the data.
Add it to a Multi-view grid to watch it alongside other live savers.
Press ESC at any time to leave fullscreen.

Frequently asked questions

Are these counts or estimates?: Estimates. They are modelled from census data, satellite imagery and other covariates. Their value lies in places where a reliable count does not exist, which is also where they are least verifiable.
Who uses this data?: Humanitarian agencies planning responses, epidemiologists estimating exposure, and infrastructure planners — anyone who needs population figures at a finer grain than administrative boundaries provide.
Is this real data?: Yes. It comes from WorldPop at the University of Southampton, refreshed through this site's pipeline. Nothing is invented or simulated, and if the source cannot be reached the saver reports that instead of drawing something plausible.
Does it cost anything or need an account?: No. Every screensaver here is free, runs in the browser and needs no sign-up. This one uses a public API that requires no key.

← All Science & Research screensavers