The 2016 Global Light Pollution Map

The Light Pollution Map allows you to see how human populations around the world effect our ability to see the stars at night. The light pollution map was created by stitching together cloud free night time satellite imagery of the Earth.

Using the map you can get a reasonable sense of where humans live around the globe. In the USA you can make out the major urban centers in the east of the country and along the west coast. In Egypt you can clearly make out the river Nile due to the concentration of urban areas along the Nile valley.

However the Light Pollution Map obviously isn't a population map. For example North Korea appears dark on the map because of the lack of power in the country (although North Korea contradicts this western view of the country and claims the reason for the absence of light is because 'the essence of society is not on flashy lights').