Air pollution - Cities and FUAs — Population exposure to PM10 by country
<p align="justify">This dataset provides indicators of PM2.5, PM10 (particulate matter), ozone and nitrogen dioxide air pollution in FUAs and cities.</p> <h3>Data sources and methodology</h3> <p align="justify">Air pollution exposure is estimated using Plume Labs air pollution exposure grids for 3 air pollutants:...
What the numbers show
Air pollution - Cities and FUAs — Population exposure to PM10 is currently reported for 2 countries. The highest value is 60.41 Microgrammes per cubic metre in Armenia; the lowest is 37.31 Microgrammes per cubic metre in Luxembourg.
The median across all reporting countries is 48.86 Microgrammes per cubic metre, and the mean is 48.86 Microgrammes per cubic metre.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 2.
Air pollution - Cities and FUAs — Population exposure to PM10: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Armenia | 60.41 Microgrammes per cubic metre | 2025 | — | volatile |
| 2 | Luxembourg | 37.31 Microgrammes per cubic metre | 2025 | — | volatile |
About this data
<p align="justify">This dataset provides indicators of PM2.5, PM10 (particulate matter), ozone and nitrogen dioxide air pollution in FUAs and cities.</p> <h3>Data sources and methodology</h3> <p align="justify">Air pollution exposure is estimated using Plume Labs air pollution exposure grids for 3 air pollutants: nitrogen dioxide (NO2), fine particulate matters (PM2.5) and coarse particulate matters (PM10). The OECD obtained this dataset thanks to the Development Data Partnership, a collaboration between international organisations and technology companies, facilitating the efficient and responsible use of third-party data in international development. Average population exposure to air pollution is estimated at the local scale by computing the population-weighted average air pollutant concentration, using the Global Human Settlement Layer population grid (GHS-POP). PlumeLabs is used as it provides global, harmonised air pollution grids ensuring international comparability, complete subnational coverage, and consistent measurement of multiple pollutants, including in areas where national monitoring networks are sparse or incomplete. </p> <p align="justify"> These estimates may differ from official subnational air quality statistics due to differences in methodological approaches, such as the use of modelled, top down pollution surfaces versus ground based monitoring networks, as well as variations in input data sources, spatial resolution, satellite retrieval methods, and the models used to simulate or interpolate pollutant concentrations. </p> <h3>Defining FUAs and cities</h3> <p align="justify">The OECD, in cooperation with the EU, has developed a harmonised <a href="https://www.oecd.org/en/data/datasets/oecd-definition-of-cities-and-functional-urban-areas.html">definition of functional urban areas</a> (FUAs) to capture the economic and functional reach of cities based on daily commuting patterns <a href=https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264174108-en>(OECD, 2012)</a>. FUAs consist of: <ol> <li><b>A city</b> – defined by urban centres in the degree of urbanisation, adapted to the closest local administrative units to define a city.</li> <li><b>A commuting zone</b> – including all local areas where at least 15% of employed residents work in the city.</li> </ol> The delineation process includes: <ul> <li>Assigning municipalities surrounded by a single FUA to that FUA.</li> <li>Excluding non-contiguous municipalities.</li> </ul> <p>The correspondence table between SAUs and FUAs/cities is available in <a href=https://webfs-cfe.oecd.org/files/.Stat/cities_local_areas/fua_cities_sau_mapping.parquet>parquet </a> and <a href=https://webfs-cfe.oecd.org/files/.Stat/cities_local_areas/fua_cities_sau_mapping.csv>csv</a> format.</p> <p>The definition identifies 1 272 FUAs and 1 269 cities in all OECD member countries except Costa Rica and four accession countries.</p> <h3>Cite this dataset</h3> <p>OECD Regions, cities and local areas database (<a href="http://data-explorer.oecd.org/s/1dg">Air pollution - Cities and FUAs</a>), <a href=http://oe.cd/geostats>http://oe.cd/geostats</a></p> <h3>Further information</h3> <ul> <li> <a href=https://localdataportal.oecd.org/>OECD Local Data Portal </a> </li> <li> <a href=https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/oecd-regions-and-cities-at-a-glance-2024_f42db3bf-en.html/>OECD Regions and Cities at a Glance </a> </li> </ul> <p align="justify">For questions and/or comments, please email <a href="mailto:CitiesStat@oecd.org">CitiesStat@oecd.org</a>