Spatial Poverty Mapping

Spatial poverty mapping visualises and analyses the geographic distribution of poverty using geographic information systems and spatial statistics, turning poverty estimates into maps that reveal where the poor live at fine spatial scales. It combines small-area poverty estimates with spatial covariates — remote-sensing data, night-time lights, accessibility, and terrain — examines spatial patterns and autocorrelation, and supports the geographic targeting of resources. Consolidated through the World Bank programme documented by Bedi, Coudouel, and Simler and energised by data such as the satellite night-lights series analysed by Henderson, Storeygard, and Weil, it has become a standard tool for evidence-based geographic targeting.