Swaraj1313/Big-Data-Spatiotemporal-Dynamics-of-Economic-Activity-in-Member-State

Satellite-derived night-time luminosity and WorldPop analysis on Google Earth Engine to map sub-national economic development, spatial inequality and conflict impact across Ethiopia (2014–2022) # EThio-Nightlights ### Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Economic Activity in Ethiopia #### A Big Data Analytics Approach Using Satellite Night-time Luminosity, 2014–2022 --- ## Overview This work includes the application of **big data analytics and remote sensing** to development economics, producing sub-national evidence on spatial inequality and economic trajectory that is directly relevant to **country-level reporting frameworks** — including the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 7, SDG 10, SDG 11), World Bank country diagnostics and UNDP Human Development country reports. Traditional country reports on development access rely on household surveys (DHS, MICS) which may be expensive, infrequent and spatially coarse. Satellite-derived night-time luminosity (NTL) offers a scalable, high-frequency, high-resolution alternative that can monitor development dynamics between survey cycles at a granularity no conventional data collection method can match. Crucially, these methods remain operational even in contexts in **member states where traditional data systems break down—such as conflict-affected regions, fragile states, or disaster-hit areas where field surveys are delayed, incomplete, or unsafe to conduct.** In such settings, satellite data provides a consistent and impartial lens to track changes in human activity, infrastructure disruption, and recovery patterns in near real time. Ethiopia is an analytically significant case: the country undertook substantial infrastructure expansion between 2014 and 2022, while also experiencing conflict (Tigray, 2020–2022), climate stress (Horn of Africa drought), and administrative restructuring. This combination makes it an ideal setting for evaluating NTL as a responsive and spatially explicit development indicator. ## please scroll down for visualisations. --- ## Big Data Dimensions The scale of computation in this analysis: | Dimension | Detail | |---|---| | Spatial coverage | 1.1 million km² (Ethiopia) | | Temporal …