Center for Spatial Studies

The inadequacy of spatially explicit and accessible data portals continues to be a substantial barrier for policymakers and concerned authorities in the least developed countries. The purpose of this study is to determine the potentiality of night-time light (NTL) data to measure spatial road infrastructure development. The Day-Night Band (DNB) NTL data from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) as well as Google Maps highways road data (RD) were used in this research. In order to analyze the correlation between VIIRS NTL and RD for two least developed countries, we performed the Chi-square test of independence, which revealed that the variables are dependent on one another. Following that, we computed the Cramer’s V test as a correlation coefficient to determine the strength of the association for both countries. Our findings revealed a correlation value of 0.334 in Bangladesh and a correlation value of 0.299 in Rwanda, demonstrating that VIIRS NTL and RD are strongly correlated. Following the discovery of a statistically significant correlation, we utilized the data to do more exploratory analysis.