Urban population growth (annual %) in Low & middle income
Low & middle income: Urban population growth (annual %) was 1.6% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Urban population growth in Low & middle income, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
Low & middle income recorded 1.6% for urban population growth in 2025.
That represents a change of up 1.9% on the previous year and down 38.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population growth in Low & middle income peaked at 5.6% in 1964 and was at its lowest, 0.6%, in 1962.
That places Low & middle income 22nd out of 47 groups with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 65 years of available data.
Urban population growth (annual %) in Low & middle income, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 2.1% | — |
| 1962 | 0.6% | -72.9% |
| 1963 | 3.0% | +429.7% |
| 1964 | 5.6% | +85.3% |
| 1965 | 3.2% | -42.3% |
| 1966 | 3.6% | +10.7% |
| 1967 | 3.6% | +0.5% |
| 1968 | 3.6% | +0.4% |
| 1969 | 3.6% | +0.3% |
| 1970 | 3.6% | -1.2% |
| 1971 | 3.6% | -0.1% |
| 1972 | 3.6% | +0.3% |
| 1973 | 3.8% | +6.8% |
| 1974 | 3.5% | -7.8% |
| 1975 | 3.8% | +7.0% |
| 1976 | 3.7% | -0.9% |
| 1977 | 3.7% | -1.8% |
| 1978 | 3.9% | +6.4% |
| 1979 | 4.6% | +16.5% |
| 1980 | 3.8% | -16.8% |
| 1981 | 4.0% | +5.8% |
| 1982 | 3.6% | -9.7% |
| 1983 | 4.2% | +15.2% |
| 1984 | 4.4% | +5.1% |
| 1985 | 3.7% | -16.2% |
| 1986 | 3.7% | +2.0% |
| 1987 | 3.7% | -0.9% |
| 1988 | 3.4% | -8.9% |
| 1989 | 3.2% | -4.9% |
| 1990 | 2.9% | -9.9% |
| 1991 | 3.3% | +15.4% |
| 1992 | 3.1% | -8.0% |
| 1993 | 3.0% | -2.5% |
| 1994 | 2.9% | -2.1% |
| 1995 | 2.9% | -1.2% |
| 1996 | 3.5% | +21.2% |
| 1997 | 3.5% | -1.0% |
| 1998 | 3.4% | -1.5% |
| 1999 | 3.3% | -2.4% |
| 2000 | 3.4% | +1.8% |
| 2001 | 3.1% | -10.4% |
| 2002 | 3.1% | +1.9% |
| 2003 | 3.1% | -1.2% |
| 2004 | 2.9% | -4.8% |
| 2005 | 2.9% | -1.6% |
| 2006 | 2.9% | +0.7% |
| 2007 | 2.9% | +0.7% |
| 2008 | 2.7% | -8.0% |
| 2009 | 2.8% | +3.7% |
| 2010 | 2.5% | -10.2% |
| 2011 | 3.3% | +33.5% |
| 2012 | 2.7% | -19.7% |
| 2013 | 2.8% | +3.3% |
| 2014 | 2.6% | -5.2% |
| 2015 | 2.6% | +0.7% |
| 2016 | 2.5% | -6.1% |
| 2017 | 2.4% | -3.7% |
| 2018 | 2.4% | -1.3% |
| 2019 | 2.2% | -7.2% |
| 2020 | 1.9% | -12.4% |
| 2021 | 2.0% | +3.1% |
| 2022 | 1.6% | -20.3% |
| 2023 | 1.5% | -4.8% |
| 2024 | 1.6% | +5.7% |
| 2025 | 1.6% | +1.9% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Urban population growth (annual %) in Low & middle income changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | +429.7% | 0.6% | 3.0% |
| 1964 | +85.3% | 3.0% | 5.6% |
| 1962 | -72.9% | 2.1% | 0.6% |
| 1965 | -42.3% | 5.6% | 3.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 3.2% | 0.6% | 5.6% | 9 |
| 1970s | 3.8% | 3.5% | 4.6% | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.8% | 3.2% | 4.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.2% | 2.9% | 3.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.0% | 2.7% | 3.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.6% | 2.2% | 3.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.7% | 1.5% | 2.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Low & middle income
More climate change data for Low & middle income
- Urban population, annual growth rate 1.63 % change on previous year (2025)
- Urban population, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Urban population, per capita 0.5312 units per person (2025)
- Urban population 3.61 billion (2025)
- Population, total 6.79 billion (2025)
- Population growth 1.0% (2025)
- Population, total, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population, total, annual growth rate 1.02 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population, total, per square kilometre 85.33 units per square kilometre (2023)
- Urban population, per square kilometre 44.8 units per square kilometre (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population growth in Low & middle income?
- Urban population growth in Low & middle income was 1.6% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population growth recorded in Low & middle income?
- The highest recorded value was 5.6% in 1964.
- What is the lowest urban population growth recorded in Low & middle income?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.6% in 1962.
- How does Low & middle income rank for urban population growth?
- Low & middle income ranks 22nd out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is urban population growth rising or falling in Low & middle income?
- Over the last ten years it is down 38.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Low & middle 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.
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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.