How to create population maps in ArcMap
Institute for Environmental and Spatial Analysis...University of North Georgia
Contents
1 How to create a world map
1.1 Download data
- Search for world shapefiles
- Download TM_WORLD_BORDERS-0.3.zip
- Extract TM_WORLD_BORDERS-0.3.zip into a folder you can remember
- Readme.txt: Metadata about this Shapefile
- TM_WORLD_BORDERS-0.3.shp: Main Shapefile
- TM_WORLD_BORDERS-0.3.*: Auxiliary files accompanying the main file; Should reside in the same folder with the corresponding shp file
1.2 Start ArcMap
- <Windows Key>, Type “ArcMap”
- Optionally, pin ArcMap to taskbar
- Start ArcMap
- Create a blank map
1.3 Add the Shapefile to the map
- Drag and drop TM_WORLD_BORDERS-0.3.shp into the blank map
1.4 Symbolize countries in different colors
- Right click on the layer title and go into the Properties
- Move to the Symbology tab
- Expand Categories under Show and select Unique values
- Select the NAME field under Value Field
- Click Add All Values and OK
1.5 World map
2 How to create a population-by-country map
2.1 Change the symbology
- Again, go to the Symbology tab under the Properties
- Expand Quantities under Show and select Graduated colors
- Select the POP2005 field under Fields => Value
- Type 10 in Classes under Classification and Classify; Hit OK in the Classification window
- Click OK
2.2 Population-by-country 2005 map
3 How to save the map
- Click the Save icon
- Browse to the folder where your Shapefile resides
- Name the output file as POP2005 (no .mxd)
- Click Save
4 How to add 2019 population data to the layer
4.1 Download 2019 population by country data
- Search for 2019 world population by country
- Download data.csv as pop2019.csv from the 2019 World Population by Country table into the same folder
4.2 Import the 2019 population table to ArcMap
- Click Add Data and go into Home
- Select pop2019.csv and add it.
4.3 Join the 2019 population table and the world layer
- Right click on the world layer
- Select the Join menu
- Select the NAME field in step 1
- Select the name field in step 3
- Click OK
4.4 Check if join worked
- Right click on the world layer
- Open the attribute table
- Scroll to the right and make sure that you can see all the fields from pop2019.csv including name and pop2019
- Note that there may be <Null> data in the table because some countries may have slightly different names in the CSV file; You can fix this issue by changing country names in the CSV file and re-joining it
- Also note that the new population fields are in thousands, not in ones; For example, the population of Algeria in 2019 is 42,679,018, not 42,679.018, which doesn’t make sense
5 How to create a population-density-by-country map
5.1 Add new fields
- Add a new field
- Add the POPDENS05 field as Double
- Rename the alias of this field to POPDENS05
- Repeat and add the POPDENS19 field as Double
5.2 Select records with a positive area
- Right click on the AREA field header
- Sort ascending
- Select all records with AREA 0
- Switch selection
5.3 Calculate the population density in 2005
- Right click on the POPDENS05 field header
- Select the Field Calculator and hit OK
- Type
[TM_WORLD_BORDERS-0.3.POP2005] / [TM_WORLD_BORDERS-0.3.AREA]
- Click OK
5.4 Calculate the population density in 2019
- Repeat the same process, but this time type
[pop2019.csv.pop2019] * 1000 / [TM_WORLD_BORDERS-0.3.AREA]
- Remember that the pop2019 field is in thousands
5.5 Change the symbology
- Change the symbology to Graduated colors by the POPDENS05 field
5.6 Population-density-by-country 2005 map
6 How to unjoin the 2019 population table
- Right click on the layer title
- Select Join and Relates / Remove Join(s) / pop2019.csv
7 Homework: Population-density-by-country 2005 map
Create a map that shows the population density by country in 2005, screenshot it with the legend*, and answer the following questions:
- Which country has the highest population density?
- Which country has the lowest positive population density?
Export the report to PDF format and submit it to D2L (Assignment 2).
*Please make the legend readable in your report.