100-m resolution Age-Stratified Population Estimation from the 2020 China Census by Township (ASPECT)

<b>Introduction</b>: Gridded population datasets are instrumental for modeling the interactions between human and the environment at fine spatial scales. Here, we introduce an Age-Stratified Population Estimation from the 2020 China Census by Township (ASPECT), estimating total population and population by age groups (0-14, 15-59, 60-64, ≥65 years old) at 100m spatial resolution as of year 2020. We used a dasymetric mapping approach to downscale township-level population data (n=40,718 townships) from the 2020 China Census to 100 by 100 m grid cells. The study area is <b>mainland China</b>.<b>Data records</b>: ASPECT includes GEOTIFF files on <b>population dens</b><b>ity</b><b> (persons per hectare) </b>at 100 m spatial resolution. No data areas indicate townships missing the 2020 Census data (n=590) and areas fall outside our study area, mainland China. The files are:population_total_pop: gridded estimates on total populationpopulation_age0_14: gridded estimates on population between 0 and 14 years oldpopulation_age15_59: gridded estimates on population between 15 and 59 years oldpopulation_age60_64: gridded estimates on population between 60 and 64 years oldpopulation_age65above: gridded estimates on population ≥65 years oldpopulation_total_pop_sum: gridded estimates on total population, summed with age-group specific estimates (file 2-5). This file is used to calculate the proportion of each age group.ASPECT also includes GEOTIFF files on <b>the proportion (%) of population by age groups</b> at 100 m spatial resolution. No data areas indicate townships missing the 2020 Census data, places fell outside our study area, and places with zero population. Proportion of a population age group is calculated by dividing its population counts by the sum of population from all age groups (i.e., grid cell values from the “population_total_pop_sum.zip” file). The files are:proportion_age0_14: the proportion of population between 0 and 14 years oldproportion_age15_59: the proportion of population between 15 and 59 years oldproportion_age60_64: the proportion of population between 60 and 64 years oldproportion_age65above: the proportion of population ≥65 years oldAll GEOTIFF files are projected with WGS 1984 geographic coordinate system (EPSG: 4326). The files are compressed in zip format. Once uncompressed, the GEOTIFF files can processed by GIS software such as ArcGIS, and by programing language packages such as Rasterio in Python.<b>Reference</b>: 100-m resolution Age-Stratified Population Estimation from the 2020 China Census by Township (ASPECT), published by Scientific Data [link]<b>Citation</b>: Ju, Y., Liang, Y., Kong, J., Wang, X., Wen, S., Shang, H., &amp; Wang, X. (2025). 100-m resolution Age-Stratified Population Estimation from the 2020 China Census by Township (ASPECT). <i>Scientific Data</i>, <i>12</i>(1), 1058. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-05401-1