Urban population growth in Samoa
Samoa: Urban population growth was 0.6% in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Urban population growth in Samoa, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
Samoa recorded 0.6% for urban population growth in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 3.9% on the previous year and up 31.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population growth in Samoa peaked at 3.1% in 1969 and was at its lowest, -1.9%, in 2021.
That places Samoa 148th 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 Samoa, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 2.9% | — |
| 1962 | 3.0% | +2.4% |
| 1963 | 3.0% | -0.5% |
| 1964 | 2.9% | -2.3% |
| 1965 | 2.9% | -1.3% |
| 1966 | 2.9% | +1.3% |
| 1967 | 2.8% | -4.0% |
| 1968 | 2.9% | +5.1% |
| 1969 | 3.1% | +6.5% |
| 1970 | 3.0% | -3.4% |
| 1971 | 2.6% | -13.9% |
| 1972 | 2.1% | -17.6% |
| 1973 | 2.0% | -8.5% |
| 1974 | 2.5% | +26.6% |
| 1975 | 3.0% | +20.3% |
| 1976 | 2.7% | -9.7% |
| 1977 | 1.8% | -32.3% |
| 1978 | 1.1% | -37.5% |
| 1979 | 1.0% | -9.2% |
| 1980 | 1.0% | -7.9% |
| 1981 | 0.9% | -9.9% |
| 1982 | 0.3% | -62.0% |
| 1983 | -0.6% | -279.4% |
| 1984 | -1.0% | +64.4% |
| 1985 | -0.9% | -3.0% |
| 1986 | -0.4% | -52.3% |
| 1987 | 0.4% | -193.5% |
| 1988 | 0.9% | +125.7% |
| 1989 | 1.0% | +10.6% |
| 1990 | 1.0% | -2.1% |
| 1991 | 0.9% | -10.9% |
| 1992 | 1.1% | +21.7% |
| 1993 | 1.4% | +23.7% |
| 1994 | 1.3% | -2.9% |
| 1995 | 1.3% | -0.1% |
| 1996 | 1.3% | +1.1% |
| 1997 | 1.3% | -4.8% |
| 1998 | 1.1% | -10.7% |
| 1999 | 1.1% | -6.2% |
| 2000 | 1.0% | -7.4% |
| 2001 | 0.9% | -7.5% |
| 2002 | 0.6% | -38.2% |
| 2003 | -0.2% | -139.8% |
| 2004 | -0.7% | +222.4% |
| 2005 | -1.0% | +35.1% |
| 2006 | -0.9% | -5.2% |
| 2007 | -0.7% | -23.9% |
| 2008 | -0.7% | -1.1% |
| 2009 | -0.7% | +5.9% |
| 2010 | -0.6% | -20.5% |
| 2011 | -0.2% | -64.9% |
| 2012 | 0.2% | -197.5% |
| 2013 | 0.4% | +109.7% |
| 2014 | 0.5% | +19.8% |
| 2015 | 0.5% | -8.6% |
| 2016 | 0.3% | -38.2% |
| 2017 | 0.1% | -67.6% |
| 2018 | -0.2% | -350.2% |
| 2019 | -0.6% | +165.6% |
| 2020 | -1.0% | +57.1% |
| 2021 | -1.9% | +92.5% |
| 2022 | 0.3% | -116.7% |
| 2023 | 0.7% | +110.1% |
| 2024 | 0.6% | -3.1% |
| 2025 | 0.6% | -3.9% |
Samoa compared with similar countries
- Samoa's 0.6% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.0%, 64% of the median. (59 countries reporting)
- Samoa's 0.6% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.9%, 66% of the median. (37 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Urban population growth in Samoa 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | -350.2% | 0.1% | -0.2% |
| 1983 | -279.4% | 0.3% | -0.6% |
| 2004 | -222.4% | -0.2% | -0.7% |
| 2012 | +197.5% | -0.2% | 0.2% |
| 1987 | +193.5% | -0.4% | 0.4% |
| 2019 | -165.6% | -0.2% | -0.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.9% | 2.8% | 3.1% | 9 |
| 1970s | 2.2% | 1.0% | 3.0% | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.2% | -1.0% | 1.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.2% | 0.9% | 1.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | -0.3% | -1.0% | 1.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.0% | -0.6% | 0.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | -0.1% | -1.9% | 0.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Samoa
More climate change data for Samoa
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 18,792 kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 319.45 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 61.35 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 258.11 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 0.2315 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 9.22 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 0.106 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 0.106 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 0 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 0.0004 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population growth in Samoa?
- Urban population growth in Samoa was 0.6% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population growth recorded in Samoa?
- The highest recorded value was 3.1% in 1969.
- What is the lowest urban population growth recorded in Samoa?
- The lowest recorded value was -1.9% in 2021.
- How does Samoa rank for urban population growth?
- Samoa ranks 148th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population growth rising or falling in Samoa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 31.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Samoa 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.