The Government advances in new mobility analysis tools to support the fight against COVID-19

Full INE aggregated and anonymized data made available to CCAAs

The Government is developing a set of studies on the mobility of the population with the aim of having data on movements throughout the national territory and contributing to decision-making in the current scenario derived from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Among these analyses is the mobility study promoted by the Secretary of State for Digitalization and Artificial Intelligence, DataCOVID, which is being prepared by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), whose information can be consulted From today on its website.

The information reflects that, in general, since the state of alarm was decreed, 85% of citizens have not moved from their area of residence to other places. That figure exceeds 90% in the weeks in which the recoverable paid leave was in force.

The complete aggregated and anonymized data have been made available to all the autonomous communities and 11 are already making use of them (Basque Country, Catalonia, Galicia, Andalusia, Asturias, La Rioja, Valencian Community, Aragon, Extremadura, Madrid and Castilla y León).

Likewise, the Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda (MITMA) has also published on its website a mobility analysis tool during the period of application of the containment measures.

These mobility studies, which provide complementary information, aim to know and characterize mobility throughout the national territory during the COVID-19 health emergency, analyze mobility variations derived from the application of containment measures, as well as identify areas with more displacement or with a greater concentration of population.

The MITMA study starts from the sample data of a single operator and rises to a statistical projection on the population as a whole, while the INE study has data on the three main operators in the country.

The areas and objectives of both studies are different, so the reading of the results should be done in a complementary way and after an analysis of their methodological notes (INE / MITMA).

In this sense, the use of different methodologies, as well as their contrast with other modes of direct measurement of mobility, aim to provide an image as complete as possible.

The use of positioning data of mobile devices, anonymously and in aggregate, guarantees strict compliance with Organic Law 3/2018, of 5 December, on the Protection of Personal Data and guarantee of digital rights.

Similar studies on the mobility of people are being carried out in other European countries, such as Germany, Italy or Austria.

DataCOVID, aggregated data on mobile device positioning developed by the INE

The mobility study developed by the INE and called DataCOVID allows to make an estimate of the mobility of the Spanish population during the period of application of the containment measures in relation to a situation of normality.

With the data provided by the mobile operators, the INE obtains the total number of mobile phones that move from one area to another and those that are kept in their same areas. The results allow us to know if, after the entry into force of the containment measures, the movements of the population between territories increase or decrease, if there are areas with a greater agglomeration or influx, or if there are areas with a high concentration of population in relation to their sanitary capacity.

There are results for the entire national territory, which is divided into about 3,200 areas of mobility. This information allows a good approximation to the mobility or immobility of the population. The data collection model is identical to the one used by this body in the study carried out last November.

However, unlike other mobile phone tests, this project does not analyse the number of journeys made or the distance travelled during them.

Mobility analysis in Spain during MITMA alarm status

The analysis carried out by MITMA compares daily mobility with that of an equivalent type week prior to the crisis. This was fixed in the week of February 14 to 20, 2020, which had a normal mobility behavior, having no holiday in any autonomous community.

The Ministry has used in this study the experience acquired in the work already done in 2018 by the Ministry on the use of technology Big Data for the definition and quantification of interprovincial mobility at national level.

The main conclusions of the study focus on the sharp reduction in mobility that has occurred during the state of alarm, in line with the data already obtained through the traditional means of road capacity, measurement of passengers in the different modes of transport etc., available throughout the Ministry.

The results of the study will be updated daily during the state of alarm and throughout the de-escalation period of the measures to control the COVID-19 pandemic.