United States vs World: Urban population
Urban population over time
- United States
- World
How they compare
World currently reports 4.75 billion against 274.08 million in United States, a difference of 4.48 billion.
That makes World's figure about 17.3 times United States's.
Across all 66 years both countries report, World has been ahead every year.
United States ranks 3rd and World ranks 1st of 218 countries.
World has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | United States | World | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 138.53 million | 1.16 billion | 1.02 billion | World |
| 1970s | 158.28 million | 1.52 billion | 1.36 billion | World |
| 1980s | 176.08 million | 1.98 billion | 1.81 billion | World |
| 1990s | 203.80 million | 2.53 billion | 2.32 billion | World |
| 2000s | 235.56 million | 3.21 billion | 2.98 billion | World |
| 2010s | 257.91 million | 4.00 billion | 3.75 billion | World |
| 2020s | 269.07 million | 4.59 billion | 4.32 billion | World |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher urban population, United States or World?
- World, at 4.75 billion against 274.08 million in United States as of 2025.
- What is the difference in urban population between United States and World?
- 4.48 billion, with World ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for United States and World?
- 66 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2025.
- How do United States and World rank globally for urban population?
- United States ranks 3rd and World ranks 1st of 218 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as Urban population. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.