Population Density Map

3D population density maps built with R and Rayshader, using Kontur population data.

Project Structure

Population/
├── run_country.R          # Entry point — run maps from here
├── scripts/
│   ├── countries.R        # All country configs (edit here to tweak maps)
│   ├── helpers.R          # Palette creation utilities
│   ├── create_pop_matrix.R
│   ├── plot_population_3d.R
│   ├── annotate_population_map.R
│   ├── setup_packages.R   # Run once to install dependencies
│   └── legacy/            # Old per-country scripts (reference only)
├── data/                  # Kontur .gpkg population + boundary files
└── output/
    ├── plots/             # Raw 3D renders
    └── annotated/         # Final annotated maps

Setup

1. Install R Download from cran.r-project.org (v4.4+)

2. Install XQuartz (macOS only — required for rgl) Download from xquartz.org, install, then restart Mac.

3. Install R packages Open scripts/setup_packages.R and run it once.

Running a Map

Open run_country.R, uncomment the country you want, and source the file:

run_country("bangladesh")
# run_country("finland")
# run_country("india")
# ... etc

Output saves automatically to output/annotated/<Country>_population_density.png.

Adding a New Country

1. Get data from Kontur:

   • Population file: kontur_population_XX_*.gpkg
   • Boundaries file: kontur_boundaries_XX_*.gpkg
   • Place both in data/

2. Add a config block to scripts/countries.R:

my_country = list(
  name       = "My Country",
  hex_file   = "data/kontur_population_XX_20231101.gpkg",
  admin_file = "data/kontur_boundaries_XX_20230628.gpkg",
  crs        = 3857,        # find at epsg.io
  size       = 3000,
  palette    = list(source = "metbrewer", name = "Benedictus", direction = -1),
  zscale     = 40,
  camera     = list(theta = 0, phi = 55, zoom = 0.75, fov = 100),
  light_dir  = 315,
  width      = 1400, height = 1800,
  solid      = FALSE, shadow_depth = 0
)

3. Uncomment in run_country.R:

run_country("my_country")

See the comment block at the top of scripts/countries.R for what each parameter does.

Maps

Bangladesh

Dhaka

Chittagong

Barishal

India

Nepal

Bhutan

Sri Lanka

Myanmar

Maldives

Israel

Palestine

Israel & Palestine

Finland

Contributing

Fork the repo, add your country config to scripts/countries.R, and submit a pull request.