An open-source and spatially diverse synthetic population dataset for agent-based modelling and microsimulation in IrelandZenodo/GitHub

Spatial microsimulations, where simulation units represent people or households in a small area, are extremely useful for modelling a wide range of socio-economic scenarios at a fine scale. The characteristics of individuals in these simulations' populations need to accurately represent the rea...

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Main Authors: Seán Caulfield Curley, Karl Mason, Patrick Mannion
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-06-01
Series:Data in Brief
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352340925003439
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author Seán Caulfield Curley
Karl Mason
Patrick Mannion
author_facet Seán Caulfield Curley
Karl Mason
Patrick Mannion
author_sort Seán Caulfield Curley
collection DOAJ
description Spatial microsimulations, where simulation units represent people or households in a small area, are extremely useful for modelling a wide range of socio-economic scenarios at a fine scale. The characteristics of individuals in these simulations' populations need to accurately represent the real characteristics of the target area to model realistic scenarios. However, individual-level data is not available for the vast majority of populations, Ireland included, due to privacy concerns. Thus, a representative synthetic population for the Republic of Ireland is needed. The data from four methods of generating synthetic populations at the Electoral Division level are given in this paper. Realistic individuals are created by sampling from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) Labour Force Survey. Spatial heterogeneity is achieved by matching the aggregate counts of individuals' characteristics to those from the CSO Census Small Area Population Statistics. Individuals are assigned six characteristics: age group, sex, marital status, house size, primary economic status, and highest level of education achieved.
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spelling doaj-art-cf995a1aa35b482b8ce07dd72d30c6fc2025-08-20T03:10:30ZengElsevierData in Brief2352-34092025-06-016011161110.1016/j.dib.2025.111611An open-source and spatially diverse synthetic population dataset for agent-based modelling and microsimulation in IrelandZenodo/GitHubSeán Caulfield Curley0Karl Mason1Patrick Mannion2Corresponding author.; School of Computer Science, University of Galway, Galway, IrelandSchool of Computer Science, University of Galway, Galway, IrelandSchool of Computer Science, University of Galway, Galway, IrelandSpatial microsimulations, where simulation units represent people or households in a small area, are extremely useful for modelling a wide range of socio-economic scenarios at a fine scale. The characteristics of individuals in these simulations' populations need to accurately represent the real characteristics of the target area to model realistic scenarios. However, individual-level data is not available for the vast majority of populations, Ireland included, due to privacy concerns. Thus, a representative synthetic population for the Republic of Ireland is needed. The data from four methods of generating synthetic populations at the Electoral Division level are given in this paper. Realistic individuals are created by sampling from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) Labour Force Survey. Spatial heterogeneity is achieved by matching the aggregate counts of individuals' characteristics to those from the CSO Census Small Area Population Statistics. Individuals are assigned six characteristics: age group, sex, marital status, house size, primary economic status, and highest level of education achieved.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352340925003439MicrosimulationAgent-based modellingSynthetic populationIreland
spellingShingle Seán Caulfield Curley
Karl Mason
Patrick Mannion
An open-source and spatially diverse synthetic population dataset for agent-based modelling and microsimulation in IrelandZenodo/GitHub
Data in Brief
Microsimulation
Agent-based modelling
Synthetic population
Ireland
title An open-source and spatially diverse synthetic population dataset for agent-based modelling and microsimulation in IrelandZenodo/GitHub
title_full An open-source and spatially diverse synthetic population dataset for agent-based modelling and microsimulation in IrelandZenodo/GitHub
title_fullStr An open-source and spatially diverse synthetic population dataset for agent-based modelling and microsimulation in IrelandZenodo/GitHub
title_full_unstemmed An open-source and spatially diverse synthetic population dataset for agent-based modelling and microsimulation in IrelandZenodo/GitHub
title_short An open-source and spatially diverse synthetic population dataset for agent-based modelling and microsimulation in IrelandZenodo/GitHub
title_sort open source and spatially diverse synthetic population dataset for agent based modelling and microsimulation in irelandzenodo github
topic Microsimulation
Agent-based modelling
Synthetic population
Ireland
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352340925003439
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