Global Calendar of Statistical Events

Organizer(s): UNSD EU JRC Eurostat UN Habitat

Description: On 10 July 2023, the Demographic and Social Statistics Branch organized a hybrid meeting on the above topic, in collaboration with the European Commission Joint Research Center, Eurostat and UN-Habitat. The meeting discussed the Degree of Urbanisation-DEGURBA method as a geospatial approach to the definition of cities, urban and rural areas in a harmonised manner across countries, which is particularly important for monitoring SDG 11 indicators on “Sustainable Cities and Communities”. The method was endorsed by the UN Statistical Commission in 2020, for international and regional comparison purposes. UN-Habitat, European Commission and UNSD are working towards building member states’ capacity for the implementation of this methodology as recommended by the Statistical Commission. Discussants from the Statistics Division, UNFPA and Eurostat exchanged lessons learned and the progress made in building capacity on the methodology. Data experts from UN-Habitat and the Joint Research Centre presented with examples how geospatial data are used to monitor human settlements and support census activities. Overall, the meeting highlighted the power of geospatial information to assess the urbanisation process and contribute to the localisation of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Topics: Geospatial data (CSA 608) Population and housing censuses (CSA 60401) Population (CSA 101) Human settlements and housing (CSA 108) Human settlements and env. health (CSA 305)