Global Trends in Light Pollution and Their Relationship With Socioeconomic Factors

Artificial light at night (ALAN) is a growing environmental pressure linked to socioeconomic development. This study examines ALAN trends from 2012 to 2024 across 165 countries using harmonized VIIRS satellite data. Globally, ALAN increased at an annual rate of 3.2%. Highest radiance levels occur in developed regions (Europe, North America, and East Asia), while remote areas remain dark. A few countries, including France and Venezuela, show declines. The study extends the VIIRS time series and applies a calibrated Kaya-identity framework integrating the human development index (HDI) and Gini coefficient. It introduces radiance density (RD) as a normalized metric linked to per-capita development for cross-national comparison. ALAN shows associations with macroeconomic indicators. Absolute ALAN correlates with total GDP (log), energy consumption, and CO₂ emissions ( $R^2=0.73$ -0.81). RD and light pollution density better reflect development quality, correlating with HDI ( $R^2=0.65$ ), GDP per capita (log) ( $R^2=0.63$ ), and life expectancy ( $R^2=0.62$ ). Predictive models achieve high explanatory power ( $R^2=0.87$ -0.89), with population and GDP per capita as the strongest determinants.