Urban population growth in North America
North America: Urban population growth was 0.7% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Urban population growth in North America, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
In 2025, urban population growth in North America stood at 0.7%.
That represents a change of down 47.3% on the previous year and down 9.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population growth in North America peaked at 2.4% in 1961 and was at its lowest, 0.2%, in 2021.
North America ranks 38th of 45 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 65 years of available data.
Urban population growth in North America, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 2.4% | — |
| 1962 | 2.3% | -4.1% |
| 1963 | 2.2% | -3.9% |
| 1964 | 2.1% | -3.1% |
| 1965 | 1.9% | -8.6% |
| 1966 | 1.8% | -7.9% |
| 1967 | 1.6% | -8.0% |
| 1968 | 1.5% | -11.3% |
| 1969 | 1.3% | -10.8% |
| 1970 | 1.3% | +2.8% |
| 1971 | 1.5% | +11.7% |
| 1972 | 1.1% | -25.8% |
| 1973 | 1.0% | -10.6% |
| 1974 | 1.0% | -2.9% |
| 1975 | 1.0% | +7.6% |
| 1976 | 1.0% | -3.4% |
| 1977 | 1.0% | +4.7% |
| 1978 | 1.1% | +3.8% |
| 1979 | 1.1% | +4.6% |
| 1980 | 1.1% | -7.5% |
| 1981 | 1.1% | +3.9% |
| 1982 | 1.1% | +0.8% |
| 1983 | 1.1% | -1.7% |
| 1984 | 1.1% | -1.9% |
| 1985 | 1.1% | +3.2% |
| 1986 | 1.1% | +4.7% |
| 1987 | 1.2% | +1.3% |
| 1988 | 1.2% | +1.9% |
| 1989 | 1.3% | +7.9% |
| 1990 | 1.4% | +12.1% |
| 1991 | 1.7% | +16.0% |
| 1992 | 1.8% | +8.6% |
| 1993 | 1.8% | +0.4% |
| 1994 | 1.8% | -2.0% |
| 1995 | 1.8% | -1.3% |
| 1996 | 1.7% | -2.1% |
| 1997 | 1.7% | -0.2% |
| 1998 | 1.6% | -6.0% |
| 1999 | 1.5% | -5.4% |
| 2000 | 1.4% | -6.8% |
| 2001 | 1.3% | -8.8% |
| 2002 | 1.2% | -3.7% |
| 2003 | 1.2% | -6.7% |
| 2004 | 1.2% | +4.2% |
| 2005 | 1.2% | -2.1% |
| 2006 | 1.2% | +1.0% |
| 2007 | 1.1% | -4.5% |
| 2008 | 1.1% | -3.2% |
| 2009 | 1.0% | -9.8% |
| 2010 | 0.9% | -9.0% |
| 2011 | 0.8% | -10.0% |
| 2012 | 0.8% | +0.3% |
| 2013 | 0.8% | -6.7% |
| 2014 | 0.8% | +1.9% |
| 2015 | 0.7% | -5.2% |
| 2016 | 0.7% | +0.9% |
| 2017 | 0.6% | -12.9% |
| 2018 | 0.6% | -14.4% |
| 2019 | 0.5% | -15.6% |
| 2020 | 0.4% | -23.7% |
| 2021 | 0.2% | -33.1% |
| 2022 | 0.8% | +215.1% |
| 2023 | 1.1% | +45.9% |
| 2024 | 1.3% | +15.0% |
| 2025 | 0.7% | -47.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 1.9% | 1.3% | 2.4% | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.1% | 1.0% | 1.5% | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.7% | 1.4% | 1.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.2% | 1.0% | 1.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.7% | 0.5% | 0.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.7% | 0.2% | 1.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near North America
- 35 Georgia 3.3% compare
- 36 Nigeria 3.3% compare
- 37 Guinea-Bissau 3.3% compare
- 38 Gambia 3.3% compare
- 39 Sierra Leone 3.3% compare
- 40 Senegal 3.3% compare
- 41 Lao People's Democratic Republic 3.2% compare
More climate change data for North America
- Population growth 0.6% (2025)
- Population, total 383.50 million (2025)
- Urban population 308.67 million (2025)
- Urban population 80.5% (2025)
- Annual Net Emissions/Removals 6,870 (2024)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million 46.7% (2025)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 480.42 billion cubic meters (2022)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 8.5% (2022)
- Terrestrial protected areas 12.9% (2025)
- Terrestrial and marine protected areas 13.7% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population growth in North America?
- Urban population growth in North America was 0.7% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population growth recorded in North America?
- The highest recorded value was 2.4% in 1961.
- What is the lowest urban population growth recorded in North America?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.2% in 2021.
- How does North America rank for urban population growth?
- North America ranks 38th out of 45 groups with data for 2025.
- Is urban population growth rising or falling in North America?
- Over the last ten years it is down 9.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this North America 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.