GHS-BUILT-S - R2022A

The use of products included the GHSL Data Package 2022 (GHS P2022) is currently not recommended.

Although tests with independent reference data show that GHSL R2022A matches or outperforms other data sources for accuracy in epochs 2018 and 2020 and matches or outperforms also all the other single epochs (1975, 1990, 2000, and 2015) included in the previous release GHSL R2019, the accuracy of the time series and its change rate are lower, especially in the rural domain. According to the JRC internal tests, the anomaly is expected to introduce a positive bias in predicted change rates of built-up surfaces and built-up volumes after the year 2000. The positive bias is especially remarkable in the rural domain as set by the GHS-SMOD R2022A. Previous GHSL R2019 was affected by larger omission errors in rural areas compared to R2022A, therefore generating an underestimation of the change rates in the rural domain

Thus, the use of the GHSL Data Package 2022 (GHS P2022) is currently not recommended for supporting multi-temporal studies and indicators including built-up surfaces, built-up volumes, and population, especially if stratified by GHS-SMOD grid class. Applications relying on data for epochs 2018 and 2020 are not affected.

The products, based on the new multi-temporal model that has been developed, have been processed at global level and are available as part of the GHSL release R2023A. Please browse the updated version of the GHSL datasets list to get the new data.

We thank all GHSL users for your continued support and apologize for the inconvenience.