Urban population (% of total population) - Country Ranking

Definition: Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. The data are collected and smoothed by United Nations Population Division.

Source: United Nations Population Division. World Urbanization Prospects: 2018 Revision.

See also: Thematic map, Time series comparison

Find indicator:
Rank Country Value Year
1 Hong Kong SAR, China 100.00 2020
1 Kuwait 100.00 2020
1 Macao SAR, China 100.00 2020
1 Nauru 100.00 2020
1 Singapore 100.00 2020
1 Cayman Islands 100.00 2020
1 Monaco 100.00 2020
8 Qatar 99.24 2020
9 Belgium 98.08 2020
10 San Marino 97.50 2020
11 Uruguay 95.52 2020
12 Malta 94.74 2020
13 Iceland 93.90 2020
14 Puerto Rico 93.58 2020
15 Israel 92.59 2020
16 Netherlands 92.24 2020
17 Argentina 92.11 2020
18 Japan 91.78 2020
19 Luxembourg 91.45 2020
20 Jordan 91.42 2020
21 Gabon 90.09 2020
22 Bahrain 89.51 2020
23 Lebanon 88.93 2020
24 Venezuela 88.28 2020
25 Denmark 88.12 2020
26 Sweden 87.98 2020
27 Andorra 87.92 2020
28 Chile 87.73 2020
29 Greenland 87.28 2020
30 Brazil 87.07 2020
31 United Arab Emirates 87.05 2020
32 New Zealand 86.70 2020
33 Oman 86.28 2020
34 Australia 86.24 2020
35 Finland 85.52 2020
36 Saudi Arabia 84.29 2020
37 United Kingdom 83.90 2020
38 The Bahamas 83.25 2020
39 Norway 82.97 2020
40 United States 82.66 2020
41 Dominican Republic 82.54 2020
42 Canada 81.56 2020
43 Colombia 81.43 2020
44 Korea 81.41 2020
45 Palau 80.99 2020
46 France 80.98 2020
47 Spain 80.81 2020
48 Costa Rica 80.77 2020
49 Mexico 80.73 2020
50 Libya 80.69 2020
51 Greece 79.72 2020
52 Belarus 79.48 2020
53 Peru 78.30 2020
54 Brunei 78.25 2020
55 Djibouti 78.06 2020
56 Germany 77.45 2020
57 Cuba 77.19 2020
58 Malaysia 77.16 2020
59 Turkey 76.11 2020
60 Iran 75.87 2020
61 Bulgaria 75.69 2020
62 Russia 74.75 2020
63 São Tomé and Principe 74.35 2020
64 Czech Republic 74.06 2020
65 Switzerland 73.92 2020
66 Algeria 73.73 2020
67 El Salvador 73.44 2020
68 Equatorial Guinea 73.10 2020
69 Hungary 71.94 2020
70 New Caledonia 71.52 2020
71 Dominica 71.09 2020
72 Italy 71.04 2020
73 Iraq 70.89 2020
74 Botswana 70.88 2020
75 Bolivia 70.12 2020
76 Ukraine 69.61 2020
77 Tunisia 69.57 2020
78 Estonia 69.23 2020
79 Mongolia 68.66 2020
80 Panama 68.41 2020
81 Latvia 68.32 2020
82 Lithuania 68.05 2020
83 Congo 67.83 2020
84 Montenegro 67.49 2020
85 South Africa 67.35 2020
86 Angola 66.83 2020
87 Cyprus 66.82 2020
88 Cabo Verde 66.65 2020
89 Portugal 66.31 2020
90 Suriname 66.15 2020
91 Ecuador 64.17 2020
92 Tuvalu 64.01 2020
93 Ireland 63.65 2020
94 Morocco 63.53 2020
95 Armenia 63.31 2020
96 The Gambia 62.58 2020
97 Dem. People's Rep. Korea 62.38 2020
98 Paraguay 62.18 2020
99 Albania 62.11 2020
100 China 61.43 2020
101 Poland 60.04 2020
102 Georgia 59.45 2020
103 Nicaragua 59.01 2020
104 Austria 58.75 2020
105 North Macedonia 58.48 2020
106 Honduras 58.36 2020
107 Kazakhstan 57.67 2020
108 Cameroon 57.56 2020
109 Croatia 57.55 2020
110 Seychelles 57.55 2020
111 Ghana 57.35 2020
112 Fiji 57.25 2020
113 Haiti 57.09 2020
114 Indonesia 56.64 2020
115 Serbia 56.45 2020
116 Azerbaijan 56.40 2020
117 Jamaica 56.31 2020
118 Kiribati 55.59 2020
119 Syrian Arab Republic 55.48 2020
120 Mauritania 55.33 2020
121 Slovenia 55.12 2020
122 Romania 54.19 2020
123 Slovak Republic 53.76 2020
124 Trinidad and Tobago 53.21 2020
125 St. Vincent and the Grenadines 53.03 2020
126 Turkmenistan 52.52 2020
127 Liberia 52.09 2020
128 Namibia 52.03 2020
129 Nigeria 51.96 2020
130 Guatemala 51.84 2020
131 Côte d'Ivoire 51.71 2020
132 Thailand 51.43 2020
133 Uzbekistan 50.42 2020
134 Bosnia and Herzegovina 49.02 2020
135 Benin 48.42 2020
136 Senegal 48.12 2020
137 Philippines 47.41 2020
138 Somalia 46.14 2020
139 Belize 46.03 2020
140 Dem. Rep. Congo 45.64 2020
141 Zambia 44.63 2020
142 Guinea-Bissau 44.20 2020
143 Mali 43.91 2020
144 Sierra Leone 42.92 2020
145 Moldova 42.85 2020
146 Togo 42.80 2020
147 Egypt 42.78 2020
148 Bhutan 42.32 2020
149 Central African Republic 42.20 2020
150 Mauritius 40.76 2020
151 Madagascar 38.53 2020
152 Bangladesh 38.18 2020
153 Yemen 37.91 2020
154 Vietnam 37.34 2020
155 Pakistan 37.17 2020
156 Mozambique 37.07 2020
157 Guinea 36.88 2020
158 Kyrgyz Republic 36.86 2020
159 Grenada 36.54 2020
160 Lao PDR 36.29 2020
161 Eritrea 35.77 2011
162 Sudan 35.25 2020
163 Tanzania 35.23 2020
164 India 34.93 2020
165 Zimbabwe 32.24 2020
166 Timor-Leste 31.32 2020
167 Barbados 31.19 2020
168 Myanmar 31.14 2020
169 St. Kitts and Nevis 30.84 2020
170 Burkina Faso 30.61 2020
171 Comoros 29.38 2020
172 Lesotho 29.03 2020
173 Kenya 28.00 2020
174 Tajikistan 27.51 2020
175 Guyana 26.79 2020
176 Afghanistan 26.03 2020
177 Vanuatu 25.53 2020
178 Uganda 24.95 2020
179 Solomon Islands 24.67 2020
180 Antigua and Barbuda 24.43 2020
181 Cambodia 24.23 2020
182 Eswatini 24.17 2020
183 Chad 23.52 2020
184 Tonga 23.10 2020
185 Ethiopia 21.70 2020
186 Nepal 20.58 2020
187 St. Lucia 18.84 2020
188 Sri Lanka 18.71 2020
189 Samoa 17.89 2020
190 Rwanda 17.43 2020
191 Malawi 17.43 2020
192 Niger 16.63 2020
193 Liechtenstein 14.42 2020
194 Burundi 13.71 2020
195 Papua New Guinea 13.35 2020

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Development Relevance: Explosive growth of cities globally signifies the demographic transition from rural to urban, and is associated with shifts from an agriculture-based economy to mass industry, technology, and service. In principle, cities offer a more favorable setting for the resolution of social and environmental problems than rural areas. Cities generate jobs and income, and deliver education, health care and other services. Cities also present opportunities for social mobilization and women's empowerment.

Limitations and Exceptions: Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverage. There is no consistent and universally accepted standard for distinguishing urban from rural areas, in part because of the wide variety of situations across countries. Most countries use an urban classification related to the size or characteristics of settlements. Some define urban areas based on the presence of certain infrastructure and services. And other countries designate urban areas based on administrative arrangements. Because of national differences in the characteristics that distinguish urban from rural areas, the distinction between urban and rural population is not amenable to a single definition that would be applicable to all countries. Estimates of the world's urban population would change significantly if China, India, and a few other populous nations were to change their definition of urban centers. Because the estimates of city and metropolitan area are based on national definitions of what constitutes a city or metropolitan area, cross-country comparisons should be made with caution.

Statistical Concept and Methodology: Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. The indicator is calculated using World Bank population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects. Percentages urban are the numbers of persons residing in an area defined as ''urban'' per 100 total population. They are calculated by the Statistics Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Particular caution should be used in interpreting the figures for percentage urban for different countries. Countries differ in the way they classify population as "urban" or "rural." The population of a city or metropolitan area depends on the boundaries chosen.

Aggregation method: Weighted average

Periodicity: Annual