Land area where elevation is below 5 meters (% of total land area) - Country Ranking - Asia

Definition: Land area below 5m is the percentage of total land where the elevation is 5 meters or less.

Source: Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN)/Columbia University. 2013. Urban-Rural Population and Land Area Estimates Version 2. Palisades, NY: NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.e

See also: Thematic map, Time series comparison

Find indicator:
Rank Country Value Year
1 Macao SAR, China 37.50 2010
2 Bahrain 33.97 2010
3 Vietnam 15.41 2010
4 Qatar 12.12 2010
5 Hong Kong SAR, China 10.05 2010
6 Bangladesh 9.64 2010
7 Kuwait 8.18 2010
8 Singapore 8.16 2010
9 United Arab Emirates 4.81 2010
10 Myanmar 3.61 2010
11 Japan 3.44 2010
12 Iraq 3.19 2010
13 Korea 2.95 2010
14 Thailand 2.91 2010
15 Indonesia 2.78 2010
16 Cambodia 2.70 2010
17 Philippines 2.63 2010
18 Sri Lanka 2.13 2010
19 Dem. People's Rep. Korea 1.81 2010
20 Pakistan 1.53 2010
21 India 1.49 2010
22 Malaysia 1.33 2010
23 Georgia 1.28 2010
24 China 1.17 2010
25 Iran 0.84 2010
26 Oman 0.81 2010
27 Russia 0.78 2010
28 Timor-Leste 0.68 2010
29 Turkey 0.53 2010
30 Lebanon 0.43 2010
31 Saudi Arabia 0.42 2010
32 Yemen 0.41 2010
33 Israel 0.41 2010
34 Brunei 0.38 2010
35 Syrian Arab Republic 0.03 2010
36 Jordan 0.00 2010
37 Lao PDR 0.00 2010

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Development Relevance: Scientists use the terms climate change and global warming to refer to the gradual increase in the Earth's surface temperature that has accelerated since the industrial revolution and especially over the past two decades. Most global warming has been caused by human activities that have changed the chemical composition of the atmosphere through a buildup of greenhouse gases - primarily carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. Rising global temperatures will cause sea level rise and alter local climate conditions, affecting forests, crop yields, and water supplies, and may affect human health, animals, and many types of ecosystems.

Limitations and Exceptions: The 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) assessment report concluded that global warming is “unequivocal” and gave the strongest warning yet about the role of human activities. The report estimated that sea levels would rise approximately 49 centimeters over the next 100 years, with a range of uncertainty of 20–86 centimeters. That will lead to increased coastal flooding through direct inundation and a higher base for storm surges, allowing flooding of larger areas and higher elevations. Climate model simulations predict an increase in average surface air temperature of about 2.5°C by 2100 (Kattenberg and others 1996) and increase of “killer” heat waves during the warm season (Karl and others 1997).

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Elevation data used to generate the low elevation coastal zones come from the SRTM3 Enhanced Global Map developed by ISCIENCES. The ISCIENCES digital elevation model was created using NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory Shuttle Radar Topography Mission data processed to 3 arc-seconds (SRTM3).

Aggregation method: Weighted average

Periodicity: Annual