Urban population growth in East Asia & Pacific
East Asia & Pacific: Urban population growth was 0.7% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Urban population growth in East Asia & Pacific, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
In 2025, urban population growth in East Asia & Pacific stood at 0.7%.
The figure is up 1.9% on the previous year and down 72.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population growth in East Asia & Pacific peaked at 6.7% in 1964 and was at its lowest, -2.9%, in 1962.
That places East Asia & Pacific 36th out of 45 groups with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 65 years of available data.
Urban population growth in East Asia & Pacific, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 0.1% | — |
| 1962 | -2.9% | -3059.3% |
| 1963 | 1.7% | -157.3% |
| 1964 | 6.7% | +303.3% |
| 1965 | 2.1% | -68.9% |
| 1966 | 2.7% | +31.0% |
| 1967 | 2.7% | -2.5% |
| 1968 | 2.8% | +5.2% |
| 1969 | 2.9% | +3.8% |
| 1970 | 2.8% | -2.9% |
| 1971 | 3.0% | +7.2% |
| 1972 | 2.7% | -11.4% |
| 1973 | 3.1% | +14.5% |
| 1974 | 2.4% | -21.5% |
| 1975 | 2.6% | +7.9% |
| 1976 | 2.4% | -7.7% |
| 1977 | 2.3% | -4.3% |
| 1978 | 2.9% | +25.0% |
| 1979 | 4.6% | +59.2% |
| 1980 | 3.0% | -34.7% |
| 1981 | 3.7% | +24.4% |
| 1982 | 3.0% | -19.5% |
| 1983 | 4.3% | +45.3% |
| 1984 | 4.9% | +12.5% |
| 1985 | 3.4% | -30.9% |
| 1986 | 3.6% | +8.1% |
| 1987 | 3.6% | -0.4% |
| 1988 | 3.0% | -16.7% |
| 1989 | 2.8% | -8.7% |
| 1990 | 1.9% | -30.4% |
| 1991 | 3.3% | +73.8% |
| 1992 | 2.8% | -15.3% |
| 1993 | 2.8% | -1.0% |
| 1994 | 2.8% | -0.7% |
| 1995 | 2.8% | -0.3% |
| 1996 | 4.3% | +54.1% |
| 1997 | 4.1% | -4.5% |
| 1998 | 4.0% | -3.1% |
| 1999 | 3.8% | -5.1% |
| 2000 | 3.9% | +4.4% |
| 2001 | 3.2% | -17.6% |
| 2002 | 3.5% | +8.7% |
| 2003 | 3.5% | -1.4% |
| 2004 | 3.1% | -10.6% |
| 2005 | 3.0% | -4.6% |
| 2006 | 3.0% | +2.2% |
| 2007 | 3.2% | +5.9% |
| 2008 | 2.6% | -18.9% |
| 2009 | 2.8% | +7.6% |
| 2010 | 2.2% | -22.8% |
| 2011 | 4.0% | +87.3% |
| 2012 | 2.5% | -37.0% |
| 2013 | 2.6% | +2.5% |
| 2014 | 2.4% | -8.0% |
| 2015 | 2.7% | +11.2% |
| 2016 | 2.5% | -4.6% |
| 2017 | 2.4% | -5.0% |
| 2018 | 2.3% | -3.0% |
| 2019 | 2.0% | -15.7% |
| 2020 | 1.4% | -27.8% |
| 2021 | 1.6% | +13.1% |
| 2022 | 0.9% | -44.5% |
| 2023 | 0.7% | -17.6% |
| 2024 | 0.7% | -4.1% |
| 2025 | 0.7% | +1.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.1% | -2.9% | 6.7% | 9 |
| 1970s | 2.9% | 2.3% | 4.6% | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.5% | 2.8% | 4.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.3% | 1.9% | 4.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.2% | 2.6% | 3.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.6% | 2.0% | 4.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.0% | 0.7% | 1.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near East Asia & Pacific
More climate change data for East Asia & Pacific
- Population growth 0.1% (2025)
- Population, total 2.39 billion (2025)
- Urban population 1.55 billion (2025)
- Urban population 64.8% (2025)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 1,212 billion cubic meters (2022)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 12.1% (2022)
- Terrestrial protected areas 17.6% (2025)
- Terrestrial and marine protected areas 22.0% (2025)
- Marine protected areas 24.1% (2025)
- CPIA public sector management and institutions cluster average 2.98 1=low to 6=high (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population growth in East Asia & Pacific?
- Urban population growth in East Asia & Pacific was 0.7% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population growth recorded in East Asia & Pacific?
- The highest recorded value was 6.7% in 1964.
- What is the lowest urban population growth recorded in East Asia & Pacific?
- The lowest recorded value was -2.9% in 1962.
- How does East Asia & Pacific rank for urban population growth?
- East Asia & Pacific ranks 36th out of 45 groups with data for 2025.
- Is urban population growth rising or falling in East Asia & Pacific?
- Over the last ten years it is down 72.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this East Asia & Pacific 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.