Urban population growth in Early-demographic dividend
Early-demographic dividend: Urban population growth was 1.8% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Urban population growth in Early-demographic dividend, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
In 2025, urban population growth in Early-demographic dividend stood at 1.8%.
The figure is down 1.9% on the previous year and down 23.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population growth in Early-demographic dividend peaked at 4.3% in 1977 and was at its lowest, 1.7%, in 2021.
Early-demographic dividend ranks 19th of 45 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 65 years of available data.
Urban population growth in Early-demographic dividend, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 3.8% | — |
| 1962 | 3.9% | +1.2% |
| 1963 | 3.9% | +0.4% |
| 1964 | 3.9% | +0.7% |
| 1965 | 3.8% | -1.5% |
| 1966 | 3.8% | -1.0% |
| 1967 | 3.9% | +3.5% |
| 1968 | 3.9% | +0.2% |
| 1969 | 4.0% | +0.6% |
| 1970 | 4.0% | +0.2% |
| 1971 | 3.9% | -0.7% |
| 1972 | 4.0% | +2.2% |
| 1973 | 4.1% | +2.2% |
| 1974 | 3.9% | -6.1% |
| 1975 | 4.0% | +2.8% |
| 1976 | 4.3% | +7.2% |
| 1977 | 4.3% | +0.2% |
| 1978 | 4.2% | -1.8% |
| 1979 | 4.1% | -1.0% |
| 1980 | 4.1% | -1.3% |
| 1981 | 4.0% | -2.4% |
| 1982 | 3.9% | -2.3% |
| 1983 | 3.8% | -2.6% |
| 1984 | 3.7% | -1.7% |
| 1985 | 3.7% | -1.6% |
| 1986 | 3.6% | -1.5% |
| 1987 | 3.6% | -0.9% |
| 1988 | 3.5% | -1.9% |
| 1989 | 3.4% | -2.3% |
| 1990 | 3.6% | +5.0% |
| 1991 | 3.4% | -7.1% |
| 1992 | 3.2% | -3.3% |
| 1993 | 3.1% | -4.2% |
| 1994 | 3.0% | -2.5% |
| 1995 | 3.0% | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 3.0% | -0.2% |
| 1997 | 3.0% | +0.3% |
| 1998 | 3.0% | -1.8% |
| 1999 | 2.9% | -1.7% |
| 2000 | 2.9% | -1.4% |
| 2001 | 2.9% | -1.3% |
| 2002 | 2.8% | -3.3% |
| 2003 | 2.7% | -1.1% |
| 2004 | 2.7% | +0.8% |
| 2005 | 2.7% | -1.6% |
| 2006 | 2.7% | -0.9% |
| 2007 | 2.6% | -2.7% |
| 2008 | 2.6% | +1.4% |
| 2009 | 2.6% | -1.2% |
| 2010 | 2.5% | -3.2% |
| 2011 | 2.5% | +0.7% |
| 2012 | 2.5% | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 2.7% | +4.0% |
| 2014 | 2.5% | -6.3% |
| 2015 | 2.4% | -4.5% |
| 2016 | 2.1% | -10.1% |
| 2017 | 2.0% | -8.1% |
| 2018 | 1.9% | -2.9% |
| 2019 | 1.9% | +2.2% |
| 2020 | 1.9% | -2.1% |
| 2021 | 1.7% | -11.3% |
| 2022 | 1.8% | +7.1% |
| 2023 | 1.9% | +2.5% |
| 2024 | 1.8% | -0.4% |
| 2025 | 1.8% | -1.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 3.9% | 3.8% | 4.0% | 9 |
| 1970s | 4.1% | 3.9% | 4.3% | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.7% | 3.4% | 4.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.1% | 2.9% | 3.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.7% | 2.6% | 2.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.3% | 1.9% | 2.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.8% | 1.7% | 1.9% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Early-demographic dividend
- 16 Burkina Faso 4.3% compare
- 17 Mauritania 4.2% compare
- 18 Papua New Guinea 4.1% compare
- 19 Angola 4.1% compare
- 20 Congo, Democratic Republic of the 4.0% compare
- 21 Oman 4.0% compare
- 22 Qatar 4.0% compare
More climate change data for Early-demographic dividend
- Population growth 1.1% (2025)
- Population, total 3.59 billion (2025)
- Urban population 1.71 billion (2025)
- Urban population 47.7% (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million 19.7% (2025)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 1,850 billion cubic meters (2022)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 15.4% (2022)
- Terrestrial protected areas 14.4% (2025)
- Terrestrial and marine protected areas 10.0% (2025)
- Marine protected areas 6.1% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population growth in Early-demographic dividend?
- Urban population growth in Early-demographic dividend was 1.8% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population growth recorded in Early-demographic dividend?
- The highest recorded value was 4.3% in 1977.
- What is the lowest urban population growth recorded in Early-demographic dividend?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.7% in 2021.
- How does Early-demographic dividend rank for urban population growth?
- Early-demographic dividend ranks 19th out of 45 groups with data for 2025.
- Is urban population growth rising or falling in Early-demographic dividend?
- Over the last ten years it is down 23.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Early-demographic dividend data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Urban population growth (annual %). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Annual urban population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear urban population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank total population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects.