West Africa
Where people lived below five metres in coastal West Africa
In the 2015 dataset, 7.25% of Benin’s population lived at elevations below five metres, compared with 7.03% in Senegal and 3.53% in Nigeria. Benin’s share of land below that threshold was just 1.14%.
Sources checked
- Benin7.25%
- Côte d’Ivoire3.27%
- Ghana2.13%
- Nigeria3.53%
- Senegal7.03%
Natural Earth land outlines and dashed land boundaries.
Switch between the share of national population and share of national land. Pins indicate countries using capital locations.
Benin had the largest population share in this group
Benin’s share was 7.25% in 2015, compared with 1.14% of land. The population fraction was more than six times the land fraction. The difference shows how population density within the low-elevation band compares with the national average. Source 1 Source 2
Senegal had the largest share of land below five metres
The 2015 land share was 4.35% in Senegal, compared with 2.11% in Nigeria and 1.14% in Benin. Senegal’s population share was 7.03%. The land and population rankings are separate and use different denominators. Source 1 Source 2
Benin’s share fell while Nigeria’s edged up
The estimated population share for Benin went from 8.87% in 1990 to 7.25% in 2015. Nigeria moved from 3.42% to 3.53%. A smaller share does not establish a fall in the number of people in the elevation band because total population can grow. Source 1
Elevation alone cannot estimate who will flood
The source combines gridded elevation and population data. An elevation threshold does not account for local drainage, waves, sea defences, rainfall or the chance that water reaches a specific location. The last snapshot is 2015 and does not measure current settlement. Source 3 Source 2