The authors of the new paper from IIASA and their colleagues focused on data from unlit areas to estimate
Researchers have been using satellite images of the Earth at night for nearly 30 years: they can reveal economic growth, poverty and inequality, especially in places where data is otherwise lacking.
In developing countries, areas that are not lit at night do worse than those that are brightly lit.
The researchers used the indexgeospatial welfare to explore homes in Africa, Asia and the Americas. It was calculated by the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS). The algorithm classifies neighborhoods and houses as poorer or richer.
The authors then combined this data with nighttime satellite photographs. It turned out that 19% of populated areas on Earth do not have lighting. The majority are located in Africa (39%) and Asia (23%).
If we consider only the rural unlitinfrastructure, the value rises to 65% for Africa and 40% for Asia. In almost all countries, the results point to a clear link between an increase in the proportion of unlit buildings in a country and a decline in economic well-being.
The authors predicted the wealth of approximately 2.4 million homes in 49 countries located in Africa, Asia and the Americas. The forecast accuracy was 87%.
Even in developed countries, particularly in Europe,there was also a relatively large number of unlit settlements. This may be due to the fact that the lights there are turned on only after midnight, or because of the energy saving policy.
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