Urban population growth in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)
Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income): Urban population growth was 1.0% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Urban population growth in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income), 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for urban population growth in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) is 1.0%, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of down 1.8% on the previous year and down 23.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population growth in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) peaked at 4.3% in 1962 and was at its lowest, 0.8%, in 2021.
Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) ranks 31st of 47 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 Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income), year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 4.3% | — |
| 1962 | 4.3% | +0.1% |
| 1963 | 4.3% | -0.1% |
| 1964 | 4.3% | -0.5% |
| 1965 | 4.3% | -0.7% |
| 1966 | 4.2% | -0.8% |
| 1967 | 4.2% | -1.0% |
| 1968 | 4.1% | -1.2% |
| 1969 | 4.1% | -1.3% |
| 1970 | 4.0% | -1.6% |
| 1971 | 4.0% | +0.3% |
| 1972 | 4.1% | +0.6% |
| 1973 | 4.1% | +0.4% |
| 1974 | 4.0% | -0.5% |
| 1975 | 4.0% | -1.3% |
| 1976 | 3.9% | -1.8% |
| 1977 | 3.8% | -2.0% |
| 1978 | 3.7% | -2.6% |
| 1979 | 3.6% | -3.8% |
| 1980 | 3.4% | -4.8% |
| 1981 | 3.3% | -4.7% |
| 1982 | 3.2% | -2.8% |
| 1983 | 3.1% | -1.8% |
| 1984 | 3.0% | -2.4% |
| 1985 | 2.9% | -3.1% |
| 1986 | 2.9% | -2.4% |
| 1987 | 2.8% | -2.5% |
| 1988 | 2.7% | -2.3% |
| 1989 | 2.7% | -2.3% |
| 1990 | 2.6% | -2.3% |
| 1991 | 2.5% | -2.7% |
| 1992 | 2.5% | -3.1% |
| 1993 | 2.4% | -3.3% |
| 1994 | 2.3% | -2.6% |
| 1995 | 2.3% | -0.7% |
| 1996 | 2.3% | -0.2% |
| 1997 | 2.3% | +1.0% |
| 1998 | 2.3% | +0.8% |
| 1999 | 2.3% | -2.9% |
| 2000 | 2.1% | -6.5% |
| 2001 | 2.0% | -7.0% |
| 2002 | 1.9% | -5.2% |
| 2003 | 1.8% | -5.3% |
| 2004 | 1.7% | -5.4% |
| 2005 | 1.6% | -4.9% |
| 2006 | 1.5% | -4.7% |
| 2007 | 1.5% | -2.4% |
| 2008 | 1.5% | -2.2% |
| 2009 | 1.4% | -2.7% |
| 2010 | 1.4% | -3.0% |
| 2011 | 1.3% | -1.8% |
| 2012 | 1.3% | -0.5% |
| 2013 | 1.3% | -1.2% |
| 2014 | 1.3% | -1.7% |
| 2015 | 1.3% | -2.4% |
| 2016 | 1.2% | -3.2% |
| 2017 | 1.2% | -4.5% |
| 2018 | 1.1% | -7.5% |
| 2019 | 1.1% | -3.0% |
| 2020 | 1.0% | -7.3% |
| 2021 | 0.8% | -13.9% |
| 2022 | 0.9% | +2.0% |
| 2023 | 1.0% | +13.9% |
| 2024 | 1.0% | +1.7% |
| 2025 | 1.0% | -1.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 4.2% | 4.1% | 4.3% | 9 |
| 1970s | 3.9% | 3.6% | 4.1% | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.0% | 2.7% | 3.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.4% | 2.3% | 2.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.7% | 1.4% | 2.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.2% | 1.1% | 1.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.9% | 0.8% | 1.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)
More climate change data for Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)
- Population growth 0.7% (2025)
- Population, total 626.81 million (2025)
- Urban population 510.21 million (2025)
- Urban population 81.4% (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million 39.6% (2025)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 306.76 billion cubic meters (2022)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 2.5% (2022)
- Terrestrial protected areas 24.9% (2025)
- Terrestrial and marine protected areas 22.6% (2025)
- Marine protected areas 19.3% (2025)
All data for Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) →
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population growth in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)?
- Urban population growth in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) was 1.0% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population growth recorded in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)?
- The highest recorded value was 4.3% in 1962.
- What is the lowest urban population growth recorded in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.8% in 2021.
- How does Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) rank for urban population growth?
- Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) ranks 31st out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is urban population growth rising or falling in Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income)?
- Over the last ten years it is down 23.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Latin America & Caribbean (excluding high income) 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.