A database of satellite-derived urbanicity classes for nine Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) in Kenya, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Cameroon, and Zambia

The definition of urban and rural areas differs across countries, which is evident in household surveys conducted in  low- and middle-income countries. This lack of consistency and variation poses challenges for comparative analyses of the relationship between urbanization and health outcomes. Additionally, the binary urban-rural dichotomy fails to acknowledge the existence of an urban-rural continuum, encompassing remote rural areas, semi-urban suburbs, and core urban areas. By utilizing satellite-based datasets, it is possible to employ objective and continuous measures that quantify the level of urbanization with high spatial resolution. We utilize geospatial techniques to derive alternative classifications of the urban continuum from satellite data across nine household surveys conducted from 2005 to 2019 in six African countries and provide the database here