Mobile Operator Data Reveals How Many People Are Actually Present In Brno

Up to 491,000 people were present in Brno during the daily rush hour (Wednesday between 11:00 and 12:00). At night, on the other hand, the numbers dropped to 410,000. At the weekend, many people left for farms, cottages, and students returned home, so there were “only” 310,000 people present in Brno, i.e. on average 150,000 less than on a working day. Photo credit: KK / Brno Daily

Brno, Feb 4 (BD) –  Geolocation data of mobile operators are a valuable source of information about the real population in the area. The city now has them and can work with them. It is suitable as one of the inputs for strategic and spatial planning, and various local surveys can also be carried out on it. For example, they nicely show the real state of the living population compared to the reported population, which is a key statistic for the city. 

The city of Brno has repeatedly conducted surveys of the population present in the city, based on the so-called geolocation data of the mobile operator. This is anonymized data that the mobile SIM card sends to the telecommunications network. On this basis, the number of users in a given area can be calculated. The survey took place in the week of September 20 – September 26, 2021. 

“The Czech Statistical Office in Brno registers 382,000 permanent residents. However, the Statistical Office does not further examine how many people actually stay in Brno and how the numbers develop during the day in individual hours. It does not have the appropriate tools to collect such data. In this respect, mobile data is a valuable source of information that can be used for urban planning, ” explained the 2nd Deputy Mayor Tomáš Koláčný.

You can find out the exact amount of people present in your place of residence or workplace in this  application . Further details on mobile data are then available in an article on the city’s data portal .  

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