Urban population growth in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan
Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan: Urban population growth was 2.3% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Urban population growth in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
In 2025, urban population growth in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan stood at 2.3%.
The figure is down 4.6% on the previous year and down 11.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population growth in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan peaked at 4.8% in 1962 and was at its lowest, 1.7%, in 2021.
That places Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan 15th 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 in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 4.6% | — |
| 1962 | 4.8% | +2.5% |
| 1963 | 4.7% | -1.2% |
| 1964 | 4.6% | -1.7% |
| 1965 | 4.4% | -4.7% |
| 1966 | 4.3% | -2.6% |
| 1967 | 4.6% | +7.1% |
| 1968 | 4.5% | -3.3% |
| 1969 | 4.5% | +0.9% |
| 1970 | 4.5% | +0.1% |
| 1971 | 4.4% | -1.8% |
| 1972 | 4.4% | -0.2% |
| 1973 | 4.4% | +0.9% |
| 1974 | 4.4% | -1.0% |
| 1975 | 4.5% | +1.2% |
| 1976 | 4.4% | -1.1% |
| 1977 | 4.5% | +2.0% |
| 1978 | 4.4% | -1.6% |
| 1979 | 4.5% | +1.5% |
| 1980 | 4.6% | +2.1% |
| 1981 | 4.8% | +3.9% |
| 1982 | 4.6% | -2.4% |
| 1983 | 4.4% | -5.7% |
| 1984 | 4.4% | -0.6% |
| 1985 | 4.3% | -1.5% |
| 1986 | 4.2% | -2.4% |
| 1987 | 4.1% | -1.5% |
| 1988 | 3.9% | -5.8% |
| 1989 | 3.8% | -3.2% |
| 1990 | 4.1% | +8.7% |
| 1991 | 3.4% | -17.5% |
| 1992 | 3.6% | +7.6% |
| 1993 | 3.2% | -11.2% |
| 1994 | 3.1% | -4.1% |
| 1995 | 3.0% | -1.6% |
| 1996 | 2.9% | -3.1% |
| 1997 | 3.1% | +4.0% |
| 1998 | 3.0% | -3.0% |
| 1999 | 3.0% | -0.4% |
| 2000 | 3.0% | +0.3% |
| 2001 | 3.0% | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 2.8% | -5.5% |
| 2003 | 2.8% | +0.2% |
| 2004 | 3.0% | +5.1% |
| 2005 | 3.0% | +0.8% |
| 2006 | 3.0% | -0.1% |
| 2007 | 3.0% | +0.5% |
| 2008 | 3.0% | -0.5% |
| 2009 | 2.9% | -1.4% |
| 2010 | 2.5% | -15.6% |
| 2011 | 2.9% | +17.8% |
| 2012 | 3.2% | +8.3% |
| 2013 | 3.3% | +3.7% |
| 2014 | 2.7% | -18.1% |
| 2015 | 2.6% | -4.8% |
| 2016 | 2.3% | -9.5% |
| 2017 | 2.0% | -12.9% |
| 2018 | 1.9% | -7.6% |
| 2019 | 2.0% | +9.3% |
| 2020 | 2.3% | +11.3% |
| 2021 | 1.7% | -24.3% |
| 2022 | 2.5% | +43.4% |
| 2023 | 2.5% | +1.8% |
| 2024 | 2.4% | -4.9% |
| 2025 | 2.3% | -4.6% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Urban population growth in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | +43.4% | 1.7% | 2.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 4.6% | 4.3% | 4.8% | 9 |
| 1970s | 4.4% | 4.4% | 4.5% | 10 |
| 1980s | 4.3% | 3.8% | 4.8% | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.2% | 2.9% | 4.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.9% | 2.8% | 3.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.5% | 1.9% | 3.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.3% | 1.7% | 2.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan
- 12 Solomon Islands 4.4% compare
- 13 Malawi 4.4% compare
- 14 Central African Republic 4.3% compare
- 15 Somalia 4.3% compare
- 16 Burkina Faso 4.3% compare
- 17 Mauritania 4.2% compare
- 18 Papua New Guinea 4.1% compare
More climate change data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan
- Urban population 463.33 million (2025)
- Population, total, annual growth rate 1.83 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population, total, per unit of GDP 0.0002 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Urban population, annual growth rate 2.3 % change on previous year (2025)
- Urban population, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Urban population, per capita 0.5596 units per person (2025)
- Urban population 56.0% (2025)
- Population, total 828.02 million (2025)
- Population growth 1.8% (2025)
- Urban population, per square kilometre 34.99 units per square kilometre (2023)
All data for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan →
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population growth in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan?
- Urban population growth in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan was 2.3% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population growth recorded in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan?
- The highest recorded value was 4.8% in 1962.
- What is the lowest urban population growth recorded in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.7% in 2021.
- How does Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan rank for urban population growth?
- Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan ranks 15th out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is urban population growth rising or falling in Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 11.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan 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.