Urban population growth in OECD members
OECD members: Urban population growth was 0.5% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Urban population growth in OECD members, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
OECD members recorded 0.5% for urban population growth in 2025.
The figure is down 32.3% on the previous year and down 45.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population growth in OECD members peaked at 2.2% in 1964 and was at its lowest, 0.3%, in 2021.
OECD members ranks 42nd 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 OECD members, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 2.2% | — |
| 1962 | 2.2% | +1.3% |
| 1963 | 2.2% | -0.1% |
| 1964 | 2.2% | +0.7% |
| 1965 | 2.2% | -2.5% |
| 1966 | 2.1% | -4.2% |
| 1967 | 2.0% | -3.2% |
| 1968 | 2.0% | -3.6% |
| 1969 | 1.9% | -2.7% |
| 1970 | 1.8% | -5.6% |
| 1971 | 1.9% | +8.1% |
| 1972 | 1.8% | -9.6% |
| 1973 | 1.7% | -3.6% |
| 1974 | 1.6% | -4.8% |
| 1975 | 1.5% | -8.8% |
| 1976 | 1.4% | -6.9% |
| 1977 | 1.3% | -2.8% |
| 1978 | 1.3% | -2.8% |
| 1979 | 1.3% | +0.9% |
| 1980 | 1.3% | +2.6% |
| 1981 | 1.3% | -5.3% |
| 1982 | 1.2% | -5.0% |
| 1983 | 1.2% | -1.6% |
| 1984 | 1.2% | -3.0% |
| 1985 | 1.2% | +0.2% |
| 1986 | 1.2% | +1.8% |
| 1987 | 1.2% | +1.2% |
| 1988 | 1.2% | +1.2% |
| 1989 | 1.2% | +2.6% |
| 1990 | 1.3% | +1.5% |
| 1991 | 1.3% | +5.5% |
| 1992 | 1.3% | -0.2% |
| 1993 | 1.3% | -2.3% |
| 1994 | 1.2% | -3.9% |
| 1995 | 1.2% | -3.2% |
| 1996 | 1.2% | -0.8% |
| 1997 | 1.2% | +0.1% |
| 1998 | 1.1% | -6.8% |
| 1999 | 1.1% | -2.9% |
| 2000 | 1.1% | -0.4% |
| 2001 | 1.1% | +7.3% |
| 2002 | 1.3% | +8.9% |
| 2003 | 1.3% | +2.0% |
| 2004 | 1.3% | -1.7% |
| 2005 | 1.2% | -6.8% |
| 2006 | 1.1% | -5.3% |
| 2007 | 1.1% | -3.7% |
| 2008 | 1.1% | +4.2% |
| 2009 | 1.0% | -8.5% |
| 2010 | 0.9% | -7.1% |
| 2011 | 0.7% | -20.7% |
| 2012 | 0.9% | +22.8% |
| 2013 | 1.1% | +14.4% |
| 2014 | 1.1% | +3.8% |
| 2015 | 1.0% | -8.1% |
| 2016 | 0.8% | -16.7% |
| 2017 | 0.7% | -19.0% |
| 2018 | 0.7% | +4.2% |
| 2019 | 0.7% | +2.3% |
| 2020 | 0.5% | -32.6% |
| 2021 | 0.3% | -32.9% |
| 2022 | 0.6% | +87.5% |
| 2023 | 0.8% | +30.6% |
| 2024 | 0.8% | +1.2% |
| 2025 | 0.5% | -32.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.1% | 1.9% | 2.2% | 9 |
| 1970s | 1.6% | 1.3% | 1.9% | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.2% | 1.2% | 1.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.2% | 1.1% | 1.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.1% | 1.0% | 1.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.9% | 0.7% | 1.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.6% | 0.3% | 0.8% | 6 |
Countries ranked near OECD members
More climate change data for OECD members
- Population growth 0.4% (2025)
- Population, total 1.40 billion (2025)
- Urban population 1.14 billion (2025)
- Urban population 81.3% (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million 38.1% (2025)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 1,013 billion cubic meters (2022)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 7.9% (2022)
- Terrestrial protected areas 17.0% (2025)
- Terrestrial and marine protected areas 21.1% (2025)
- Marine protected areas 24.4% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population growth in OECD members?
- Urban population growth in OECD members was 0.5% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population growth recorded in OECD members?
- The highest recorded value was 2.2% in 1964.
- What is the lowest urban population growth recorded in OECD members?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.3% in 2021.
- How does OECD members rank for urban population growth?
- OECD members ranks 42nd out of 45 groups with data for 2025.
- Is urban population growth rising or falling in OECD members?
- Over the last ten years it is down 45.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this OECD members 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.