Northern Places: Circumpolar Human-Dimensions Data Framework

The Arctic Observing Network – Social Indicators (AON–SI) and Humans and Hydrology at High Latitudes (H3L) projects developed a framework for human-dimensions data, covering the circumpolar North as a collection of 197 regions. Because the definition of “Arctic” or “circumpolar” varies for different research questions, our geographical scope is broad. The basic framework covers all of Alaska, Greenland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands, along with northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia. Administrative subdivisions within these areas comprise the 197 regions:

• 27 Alaska boroughs, census areas or municipalities
• 95 Canada census divisions
• 18 Greenland municipalities
• 8 Iceland regions
• The Faroe Islands
• 8 Norway counties
• 1 Sweden county
• 2 Finland regions
• 37 Oblast, Kray or Autonomous Okrug of northern Russia

Key features of this data framework are (1) the list of region names, (2) a unified system of numerical identification codes, and (3) a region-year organization. Each row in the data table represents one region-year, such as Alaska’s North Slope Borough in 1990, the North Slope in 1991, and so forth. Each column is a variable such as the population of the North Slope, in that year.

Inevitably, there are many region-year combinations for which data are missing. If missing data for past years actually exist, they could eventually get filled in. The data framework remains open-ended, so that new years or new regions can be added whenever they become available or needed. In selecting indicator variables for the initial database, we followed recommendations presented in the Health and Population chapter of the Arctic Social Indicators report (2009). These indicators represent only a fraction of the social, economic, health and environmental measures that might be assembled for future research.

Among the three key features listed above, numerical identification codes are particularly important. For example, Alaska’s North Slope Borough is assigned regioncode 5502185. The 55 in this code designates Alaska, and 02185 is the borough’s U.S. FIPS code. We assigned 7-digit codes to each region, with the first two digits denoting the nation. Using these codes, it is possible to accurately merge datasets covering different regions, years or variables — and hence, to update and expand data coverage. Moreover, for the H3L and AON–SI projects, we approximated the geographical area of each region as a particular set of 25 km 2 grid cells, following the Equal-Area Scalable Earth Grid (EASE-Grid) scheme widely used in natural science. This opens possibilities for integrated analysis involving relationships between variables from social and natural-science data — for example, between resource use, population and climate.

As an illustration, the map below depicts recent population trends across Northern regions, each mapped as a set of EASE-Grid cells. Population growth in northern Canada, and loss in much of northern Russia, stand out in this circumpolar view.

Information on the Northern Regions data framework, like data from other Arctic Observing Network (AON) projects, is being centrally archived through the Cooperative Arctic Data and Information Service (CADIS).

You can download current versions of the database directly using the links below, for files either in Excel or Stata formats:

November 2009 - Excel format
November 2009 - Stata 9 format

The November 2009 version linked above is our second public iteration, but it is still far from complete. It includes region/year identifiers and basic population and health indicators, suggested by the Arctic Social Indicators project.

nation Nation name
nationcode H3L nation code
regionname AON–SI region name
regioncode AON–SI region code
subnation H3L subnational unit name
subcode H3L subnational unit code
adminname H3L administrative subdivision name
admincode H3L administrative subdivision code
AHDRarctic 1 if in AHDR Arctic (approximate)
H3Larctic 1 if in H3L pan-Arctic watershed
year Year
pop Population total
mpop Population male
fpop Population female
sexrat Sex ratio: males/100 females
sexrat20_59 Sex ratio: males/100 females 20–59
pop18pct % population under 18
pop65pct % population 65 and older
birth Number of births
birthrat Crude birth rate/1000 population
teenbr Teenage birth rate, births/1000 f 15–19
death Number of deaths
deathrat Crude death rate/1000 population
infmorr Infant mortality rate/1000 live births
infmors Infant mortality rate/1000 live births, 5-year avg
netmig Estimated net migration

The files also contain {0,1} indicators denoting regions within the pan-Arctic watershed studied by the Humans and Hydrology at High Latitudes (H3L) project, and regions within the Arctic as defined by the Arctic Human Development Report (AHDR).

Future updates including new social indicators for these regions, and papers with related research, will also be linked from these pages. If you have questions, comments or suggestions regarding the circumpolar database, or contributions involving new data, please contact Lawrence Hamilton.

Lawrence Hamilton
Carsey Institute
University of New Hampshire

November 2009