Urban population growth in Mongolia
Mongolia: Urban population growth was 1.5% in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Urban population growth in Mongolia, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
In 2025, urban population growth in Mongolia stood at 1.5%.
The figure is down 23.2% on the previous year and down 29.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population growth in Mongolia peaked at 8.3% in 1961 and was at its lowest, -1.2%, in 1990.
That places Mongolia 94th out of 218 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Urban population growth in Mongolia, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 8.3% | — |
| 1962 | 6.9% | -17.3% |
| 1963 | 5.0% | -26.5% |
| 1964 | 4.2% | -16.4% |
| 1965 | 4.0% | -4.9% |
| 1966 | 3.9% | -2.7% |
| 1967 | 3.8% | -1.3% |
| 1968 | 3.9% | +0.2% |
| 1969 | 4.0% | +2.5% |
| 1970 | 4.1% | +2.8% |
| 1971 | 4.2% | +3.5% |
| 1972 | 4.3% | +2.8% |
| 1973 | 4.4% | +1.9% |
| 1974 | 4.5% | +1.1% |
| 1975 | 4.5% | +0.1% |
| 1976 | 4.4% | -0.9% |
| 1977 | 4.3% | -2.5% |
| 1978 | 4.1% | -5.5% |
| 1979 | 3.8% | -6.3% |
| 1980 | 3.8% | -0.8% |
| 1981 | 3.9% | +2.0% |
| 1982 | 3.9% | +0.1% |
| 1983 | 3.8% | -1.1% |
| 1984 | 3.7% | -2.2% |
| 1985 | 3.6% | -3.1% |
| 1986 | 3.5% | -4.2% |
| 1987 | 3.3% | -5.9% |
| 1988 | 3.0% | -8.9% |
| 1989 | 2.3% | -21.9% |
| 1990 | -1.2% | -153.2% |
| 1991 | 3.1% | -348.4% |
| 1992 | 0.0% | -98.7% |
| 1993 | -0.2% | -644.0% |
| 1994 | 1.0% | -586.7% |
| 1995 | 1.5% | +48.6% |
| 1996 | 1.5% | -4.2% |
| 1997 | 1.3% | -7.7% |
| 1998 | 1.3% | -0.7% |
| 1999 | 1.4% | +3.5% |
| 2000 | 1.5% | +6.6% |
| 2001 | 2.1% | +41.3% |
| 2002 | 2.9% | +38.3% |
| 2003 | 3.4% | +16.8% |
| 2004 | 3.5% | +4.4% |
| 2005 | 3.6% | +2.6% |
| 2006 | 3.6% | +0.9% |
| 2007 | 3.5% | -2.3% |
| 2008 | 3.4% | -3.6% |
| 2009 | 3.1% | -8.1% |
| 2010 | 2.4% | -22.3% |
| 2011 | 1.9% | -23.7% |
| 2012 | 1.9% | +4.7% |
| 2013 | 2.1% | +8.1% |
| 2014 | 2.2% | +5.1% |
| 2015 | 2.1% | -3.3% |
| 2016 | 2.0% | -6.7% |
| 2017 | 1.8% | -7.3% |
| 2018 | 1.8% | -3.8% |
| 2019 | 1.8% | -0.1% |
| 2020 | 2.2% | +23.3% |
| 2021 | 3.3% | +51.8% |
| 2022 | 2.3% | -31.3% |
| 2023 | 2.3% | +1.4% |
| 2024 | 2.0% | -15.0% |
| 2025 | 1.5% | -23.2% |
Mongolia compared with similar countries
- Mongolia's 1.5% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.0%, 1.6× the median. (59 countries reporting)
- Mongolia's 1.5% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.9%, 1.6× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Urban population growth in Mongolia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | -644.0% | 0.0% | -0.2% |
| 1994 | +586.7% | -0.2% | 1.0% |
| 1991 | +348.4% | -1.2% | 3.1% |
| 1990 | -153.2% | 2.3% | -1.2% |
| 1992 | -98.7% | 3.1% | 0.0% |
| 2021 | +51.8% | 2.2% | 3.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 4.9% | 3.8% | 8.3% | 9 |
| 1970s | 4.3% | 3.8% | 4.5% | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.5% | 2.3% | 3.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.0% | -1.2% | 3.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.1% | 1.5% | 3.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.0% | 1.8% | 2.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.3% | 1.5% | 3.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Mongolia
More climate change data for Mongolia
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 9.80 million kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 17,853 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 4,940 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 12,913 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 18.64 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 461.19 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 67.54 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 64.77 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 2.77 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 0.2444 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population growth in Mongolia?
- Urban population growth in Mongolia was 1.5% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population growth recorded in Mongolia?
- The highest recorded value was 8.3% in 1961.
- What is the lowest urban population growth recorded in Mongolia?
- The lowest recorded value was -1.2% in 1990.
- How does Mongolia rank for urban population growth?
- Mongolia ranks 94th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population growth rising or falling in Mongolia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 29.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Mongolia 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.