Such databases are useful for a variety of applications including strategic-level agricultural research and applications in the analysis of the human dimensions of global change.
Data sources vary by country.
In general we attempted to obtain population data from each census that has been carried out at the geographical level for which boundary data were available. Where official population estimates or projections were available from the national statistical office, these were used as well. The GRID database is maintained for the purpose of assisting individual nations and the international community in making sound decisions related to resource management and environmental planning, and where applicable providing data for scientific studies. In general, requests for data from the archive will be filled according to data availability, GRID workload and the nature of the data set being requested. Requests will be queued with priority given to requests related to joint activities with UNEP programme areas.