GCRI · Society and Human Development
Human security and wellbeing
Human security puts people at the centre: freedom from fear, freedom from want and freedom to live in dignity. Wellbeing asks how people themselves experience their lives. Both look beyond national averages and state security to the threats people face, from violence and hunger to disease and loss of livelihood. This page sets out how human security and wellbeing are understood and measured, and what evidence serves those who act on them.
Human security and wellbeing on the record.
Human security and wellbeing: how the risk develops.
Safety, rights, health and livelihoods. The dossier below sets out how the risk develops, what is measured, where the data come from, how it is modelled and who decides.
Threats are interconnected
Conflict, economic shocks, disease and environmental change reinforce each other in people’s lives, so a narrow focus on one threat misses the others.
Experience differs from averages
People’s sense of safety and life satisfaction can diverge from economic indicators, and subjective measures capture what objective ones miss.
Protection and empowerment together
Human security combines protection by institutions with people’s own capacity to act, so both are needed for lasting security.
Insecurity has long shadows
Violence and deprivation in early life affect health, learning, earnings and trust in others for decades afterwards.
People and exposure in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Population density, night lights and daytime surface heat over Latin America and the Caribbean, from NASA GIBS. Each layer carries its own date.
The interactive map needs JavaScript; the layer list and sources are below.
Layers 3
People and exposure, for this page
About this layer
- Evidence
- Estimated
- Source
- Gridded Population of the World v4.11 (NASA SEDAC (CIESIN, Columbia University))
- Provider
- NASA SEDAC (CIESIN, Columbia University)
- Licence
- CC BY 4.0
- Vintage
- null; Census-based estimate, static (2020)
- Resolution
- about 1 km grid
- Uncertainty
- Census-based estimate of people per square kilometre in 2020, shown as exposure context; not a count of people affected by any hazard.
- Reached through
- gibs.earthdata.nasa.gov, only after you allow the live map
About this layer
- Evidence
- Observed
- Source
- VIIRS Black Marble (VNP46A2) (NASA LAADS DAAC)
- Provider
- NASA LAADS DAAC
- Licence
- NASA open data
- Vintage
- daily; Satellite radiance, corrected for moonlight and atmosphere
- Newest at build
- 2026-10-12
- Resolution
- about 500 m grid
- Uncertainty
- Satellite night-time radiance for the date shown; lights are a proxy for electricity use and outages, not a measurement of supply or access.
- Reached through
- gibs.earthdata.nasa.gov, only after you allow the live map
About this layer
- Evidence
- Observed (persistent cloud still leaves gaps)
- Source
- VIIRS NOAA-20 Level 3, 8-day (NASA LANCE)
- Provider
- NASA LANCE
- Licence
- NASA open data
- Vintage
- 8-day; Satellite 8-day composite; persistent cloud still leaves gaps
- Newest at build
- 2026-09-14
- Resolution
- about 1 km grid
- Uncertainty
- Satellite skin temperature of the ground over the 8 days ending on the date shown, a heat exposure indicator; not air temperature, heat index or a heat warning.
- Reached through
- gibs.earthdata.nasa.gov, only after you allow the live map
About this layer
- Evidence
- Observed
- Source
- VIIRS NOAA-20 corrected reflectance (NASA LANCE)
- Provider
- NASA LANCE
- Licence
- NASA open data
- Vintage
- daily; Satellite image
- Newest at build
- 2026-10-14
- Resolution
- about 250 m grid
- Uncertainty
- Satellite image. Satellite or model raster as the provider publishes it. Clouds, swath gaps and retrieval error leave gaps and noise; values are indicators, not measurements at a place.
- Reached through
- gibs.earthdata.nasa.gov, only after you allow the live map
About this layer
- Evidence
- Modelled (latest year GIBS publishes)
- Source
- MODIS Terra and Aqua land cover (MCD12Q1) (NASA LP DAAC)
- Provider
- NASA LP DAAC
- Licence
- NASA open data
- Vintage
- yearly; Satellite classification; latest year GIBS publishes
- Newest at build
- 2024-01-01
- Resolution
- about 500 m grid
- Uncertainty
- Satellite land cover classes for the year shown, including croplands; a classification with known errors, not a farm register.
- Reached through
- gibs.earthdata.nasa.gov, only after you allow the live map
About this layer
- Evidence
- Observed (clouds leave gaps)
- Source
- MODIS Terra NDVI (NASA LANCE)
- Provider
- NASA LANCE
- Licence
- NASA open data
- Vintage
- daily; Satellite index; clouds leave gaps
- Newest at build
- 2026-10-13
- Resolution
- about 250 m grid
- Uncertainty
- Satellite greenness index over the 8 days to the date shown; an indicator of crop and pasture condition, not a yield estimate or a food security warning.
- Reached through
- gibs.earthdata.nasa.gov, only after you allow the live map
Keyboard, with the map focused
Hold Ctrl or ⌘ and scroll to zoom
Latest available
NASA GIBS / EOSDIS · ASTER GDEM (METI, NASA) · Blue Marble (NASA) · © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) · Natural Earth
Loading the latest NASA imagery.
Drag to move. Ctrl or ⌘ and scroll, pinch or the buttons to zoom; hover for the values under the pointer; reset returns to the region.
People and exposure, framed on Latin America and the Caribbean.Satellite and model products as NASA publishes them, each with its own date. They are indicators, not assessments of any place.
Data: NASA GIBS · ASTER GDEM · Blue Marble · © OpenStreetMap contributors · Natural Earth · NASA EONET · NASA JPL OPERA DIST-ALERTSources and licences
- We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA’s Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA’s Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA’s Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA’s Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), Columbia University. 2018. Gridded Population of the World, Version 4 (GPWv4): Population Density, Revision 11. NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). doi:10.7927/H49C6VHW. CC BY 4.0
- VIIRS Black Marble night-time lights, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center; distributed by the NASA Level-1 and Atmosphere Archive and Distribution System (LAADS DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- VIIRS near-real-time products (flood, land surface temperature, snow cover, corrected reflectance), NASA LANCE; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- MODIS land products (vegetation indices, gross primary production, land cover), NASA LP DAAC and LANCE; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- ASTER GDEM is a product of METI and NASA (ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003, NASA LP DAAC); imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). Cite as: NASA/METI/AIST/Japan Spacesystems and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team (2019). ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V003. doi:10.5067/ASTER/ASTGTM.003. NASA open data
- Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com. Public domain
- © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), via NASA GIBS (coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names). Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). ODbL
- Blue Marble, NASA Earth Observatory; imagery via NASA GIBS. Colours redrawn from the published colour map; values averaged into hexagonal cells where shown (modified). NASA open data
- Context on the globe and flat map: coastlines, boundaries, roads and place names from NASA GIBS reference layers (OpenStreetMap data, ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors); Blue Marble imagery as an optional base; 3D terrain and the elevation read-out from the ASTER GDEM elevation colour index (5 m to 200 m classes, exaggerated for legibility). Boundaries are drawn as published and imply no position on any territory.
- Live events: NASA Earth Observatory Natural Event Tracker (EONET); events are indicative and keep their original source links.
- Live: NASA EONET Events are indicative, not authority warnings.
- Observed (EO): NASA JPL OPERA DIST-ALERT (contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data 2026). We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA’s Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA’s Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS).
- NASA GIBS: We acknowledge the use of imagery provided by services from NASA’s Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS), part of NASA’s Earth Science Data and Information System (ESDIS).
- Air quality forecast, 5 days, PM2.5 (CAMS via Open-Meteo): Contains modified Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service information 2026.
- Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (https://open-meteo.com/), licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
- Optional layers (9 sources in the layer list: live, forecast, observed and context) print their provider credit on the map and here when switched on; forecasts are model output and derived indices are estimates.
Layers and dates
- Population density, 2020: Population: CIESIN, Columbia University, Gridded Population of the World v4.11 (2018), NASA SEDAC, CC BY 4.0 · static
- Night-time lights, daily: VIIRS Black Marble (VNP46A2), NASA LAADS DAAC · 12 Oct 2026
- Land surface temperature, day, 8-day composite: VIIRS NOAA-20 Level 3, 8-day, NASA LANCE · 14 Sep 2026
- True colour: VIIRS NOAA-20 corrected reflectance, NASA LANCE · 13 Oct 2026
- Land cover type (IGBP), yearly: MODIS Terra and Aqua land cover (MCD12Q1), NASA LP DAAC · 2024
- Vegetation greenness (NDVI), rolling 8 days: MODIS Terra NDVI, NASA LANCE · 13 Oct 2026
Human security joins the domains in people’s lives.
Findings are designed for the Evidence Brief series. The human security concept is set out in UN General Assembly resolution 66/290 (2012).
- Wellbeing surveys.
- Community accounts with consent.
Model human security and wellbeing as a system. Run the cascade.
Assembled from the Nexus Standards area profile Societal and information risk standards: the hazards it names, the systems and sectors that carry the loss, the controls that dampen it and the data that observe it. Choose the components, pick an initiating hazard and step through the cascade. The Map view places the run on an example geography with open data. Every coupling weight is a stated assumption you can change. A teaching model, not a forecast, an assessment or a certification. To model a place of your own choosing, open the full System Builder.
Hazards
- Civil unrest
- Supply-chain disruption (set off downstream)
- Currency crisis (set off downstream)
Systems and couplings
Controls
NS-0Constitution and principlesNS-9Contextual UNIs (deployments, instances, programme instances)NS-11Verification and monitoring (evidence, attestations, zero-trust conformance observation)NS-12Software, model and AI/ML artefacts (supply chain, model cards, dataset sheets)NRS-H117Hazard family: Social cohesion and atrocity risk (NHS-1 soc.cohesion)NRS-X7Information integrity and public trustNRS-D2Society, inclusion and human development riskNRS-H52Hazard family: Information-integrity attacks (NHS-1 cyber.integrity)NRS-H79Hazard family: Mental health crises (NHS-1 health.mental)NRS-H59Hazard family: Economic shocks and governance failure (NHS-1 soc.economic)
Observation
- WorldPop gridded population (listed for reference)
- World Bank Open Data and World Development Indicators API (listed for reference)
- Global SDG Indicators Database (listed for reference)
- Number of deaths, missing persons and directly affected persons attributed to disasters per 100,000 population
- Proportion of people living below 50 per cent of median income
- Number of countries that adopt and implement guarantees for public access to information
Example geography
- The Horn of Africa: 253 hexagonal cells
- Night lights tonight, outages (VIIRS Day/Night Band), NASA GIBS
What is measured, and how well.
Each indicator carries its unit, its cadence, the kind of source behind it and the evidence label a value would carry. No values are shown: a programme supplies them under its own authority.
| Indicator | Unit | Cadence | Source type | Label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intentional homicide rate | per hundred thousand population | annual | UNODC homicide statistics | Published statistics |
| Prevalence of moderate or severe food insecurity | percent of population | annual | FAO Food Insecurity Experience Scale | ESTIMATED |
| People feeling safe walking alone at night | percent | per survey | Population surveys | REPORTED |
| Life evaluation | score on a zero to ten scale | annual | Wellbeing surveys | REPORTED |
| Conflict-related deaths | count | annual | Conflict event datasets | ESTIMATED |
| Population with access to justice mechanisms | percent of those with disputes | per survey | Legal needs surveys | REPORTED |
How human security and wellbeing is modelled, measured and tested.
The model, its assumptions, its data and its uncertainty, in the form a scientist or engineer would check. Structures follow published methods. The values drawn are illustrative, not findings.
System model
The couplings between the systems in human security and wellbeing: signs of influence, a reinforcing and a balancing loop, and cross-links where stress jumps.
Where the evidence comes from.
Named public datasets and institutional records, each with its licence class. Sources by agreement are used only under their terms and never republished.
| Source | What it gives | Licence class |
|---|---|---|
| UNODC data portal | Homicide and crime statistics | Public, UNODC terms |
| FAO Food Insecurity Experience Scale data | Experience-based food insecurity | Open, CC BY 4.0 |
| UNDP Human Development Reports and special reports on human security | Concepts and analysis of human security | Public, UNDP terms |
| Uppsala Conflict Data Program | Organised violence and conflict events | Open, CC BY 4.0 |
| OECD How’s Life and wellbeing data | Wellbeing indicators across countries | Public, OECD terms |
Who decides, and what the evidence serves.
Society and Human Development prepares evidence. The decisions below are taken by the authorities named, under their own rules, and never by the platform.
| Who decides | The question | Evidence this page serves |
|---|---|---|
| National development planners | How to include human security and wellbeing in plans | Profiles; measurement guides |
| Justice and security ministries | Where to focus on violence prevention and access to justice | Homicide, safety and justice evidence |
| Humanitarian and development agencies | How to address connected threats in programmes | Threat analyses |
Outputs this topic produces
- Human security profiles combining objective and subjective measures
- Analyses of interconnected threats in specific places
- Wellbeing measurement guides
- Evidence notes for protection and empowerment programmes
The questions experts ask.
- Which threats to safety, health and livelihoods do people face, and how do they interact?
- How do shocks affect mental health, nutrition and access to care?
- Which groups face risks to their rights during crises, such as women, children, older people and people with disabilities?
- How is wellbeing measured beyond income, and whose definitions count?
- Which protections reduce harm in practice?
Interlocking threats.
Threats to human security reinforce each other. Economic hardship can increase domestic violence and child labour; conflict disrupts health services, food supply and education; disasters can expose people to exploitation, trafficking and gender-based violence, particularly in displacement settings. Health is both an outcome and a driver: illness reduces earning capacity, and loss of income reduces access to care.
Mental health effects of disasters, conflict and economic insecurity are significant and often long-lasting, yet they are under-measured and under-served. Wellbeing depends on social relationships, meaning and agency as well as material conditions. Rights matter in practice: legal identity, land tenure and freedom of movement determine whether people can access protection and rebuild.
Measuring wellbeing raises questions of voice. Indicators chosen by outsiders can miss what people themselves value, such as dignity, belonging or the ability to practise their culture, so the field increasingly combines standard measures with locally defined ones and reports where the two diverge.
Measuring security and wellbeing.
Multidimensional measures
Surveys of health, nutrition, safety and subjective wellbeing; sensitive topics are under-reported.
Protection monitoring
Structured monitoring of rights violations and protection risks in crises, under strict data protection.
Participatory methods
Listening to how people define and experience security; findings are rich but less generalisable.
Limits: violence, exploitation and mental illness are systematically under-reported, and collecting such data carries risks to respondents that must be managed.
How it is studied, and what the methods cannot say.
- 01Social and behavioural scienceSurvey design for hard-to-reach groups · Qualitative and participatory researchApplied here
- 02Causal inference and impact evaluationEvaluating cash transfers · Effects of disasters on households · Education programme evaluationApplied here
- 03Spatial statistics and geostatisticsSmall-area poverty estimation · Vulnerability and hazard overlayApplied here
- 04EconometricsPoverty dynamics with panel data · Price shock incidence · Inequality decompositionApplied here
Where this page’s references lead.
The bodies and documents this page is read against. Status and editions change; each link goes to the issuing body.
Questions and answers.
What is human security?
How is wellbeing measured?
How is human security different from national security?
Is human security the same as national security?
Does the platform investigate rights violations?
How is sensitive data protected?
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