Land cover and population density in the Baltic Sea drainage basin: A GIS database

We present a Geographic Information System (GIS) database of the large-scale drainage basin of the Baltic Sea. A set of GIS map layers were created and used to generate information on the current landscape characteristics and population distribution patterns in the drainage basin. Such data can be generated at the 92 meso-scale subdrainage basins, at the seven major subdrainage basins, and at the drainage basin as a whole, as well as by nations. Forests dominate in the drainage basin (48% coverage), followed by arable land (20%), and nonproductive open lands (17%). Sweden and Finland contain 60% of total forest land, while most of the drainage basin's agricultural land is located in Poland. Wetlands cover roughly 8% of the drainage basin. Of the 85 million people living in the Baltic Sea drainage basin, the vast majority (64%) live in the drainage areas of the Baltic Proper, and 45% live in Poland. About 22 million people (26%) live within metropolitan areas, 45% in towns or small cities, and 29% are rural. Nearly 15 million people live within 10 km from the Baltic coast. Expanding to a 50 km distance from the coastline, we find 43% of the total populated area and 31% of the total population.