Area Database
Since March 2025, the Area Database is no longer offered on this website. It has been split into smaller datasets, each focusing on a particular theme. Links to the new datasets can be found below. The last version of the Area Database can also be downloaded from the archive.
Education and Work
Education and work related indicators for low and middle-income countries and subnational regions within these countries to monitor dynamics and progress across the globe
Health
Health indicators to monitor among other child stunting/wasting, underweight/overweight, mortality, and vaccination at subnational levels
Wealth
Compare variations in household wealth, poverty, and inequality across the developing world by means of asset indicators and one unified international wealth index
Gender
Address female empowerment and gender equality with data on marriage and patrilocality across the developing world
Demographics
Demographic indicators on urbanization, fertility, population, and the demographic window allowing analyses of population dynamics
Archive Downloads
To download the old Area Data in Excel or CSV format, a free-of-charge registration with GDL is necessary. Registration takes less than 5 minutes. Sub-samples as well as complete datasets can be downloaded.
How to cite us
For data retrieved from the Area Database, please refer to both the data and the accompanying paper:
- Data retrieved from the Area Database of the Global Data Lab, https://globaldatalab.org/areadata/, version v4.2.
- Smits, J. GDL Area Database. Sub-national development indicators for research and policy making. GDL Working Paper 16-101 (2016).