Urban population growth in Sudan
Sudan: Urban population growth was 2.6% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Urban population growth in Sudan, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for urban population growth in Sudan is 2.6%, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 153.7% on the previous year and down 36.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population growth in Sudan peaked at 8.4% in 1961 and was at its lowest, 1.0%, in 2024.
Sudan ranks 56th of 218 countries on this measure, 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 Sudan, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 8.4% | — |
| 1962 | 8.2% | -2.2% |
| 1963 | 8.0% | -2.4% |
| 1964 | 7.8% | -2.9% |
| 1965 | 7.6% | -3.2% |
| 1966 | 7.3% | -3.7% |
| 1967 | 7.0% | -3.9% |
| 1968 | 6.7% | -4.1% |
| 1969 | 6.4% | -4.6% |
| 1970 | 6.1% | -4.7% |
| 1971 | 5.8% | -5.6% |
| 1972 | 5.4% | -6.2% |
| 1973 | 5.7% | +5.4% |
| 1974 | 5.3% | -7.1% |
| 1975 | 4.6% | -14.0% |
| 1976 | 4.4% | -3.2% |
| 1977 | 4.3% | -3.1% |
| 1978 | 4.7% | +10.4% |
| 1979 | 4.9% | +4.6% |
| 1980 | 5.1% | +4.2% |
| 1981 | 5.3% | +2.2% |
| 1982 | 5.2% | -0.1% |
| 1983 | 5.3% | +0.2% |
| 1984 | 5.8% | +9.7% |
| 1985 | 6.9% | +20.4% |
| 1986 | 7.9% | +13.1% |
| 1987 | 8.2% | +5.0% |
| 1988 | 8.1% | -1.9% |
| 1989 | 7.5% | -7.0% |
| 1990 | 6.7% | -11.4% |
| 1991 | 5.6% | -16.3% |
| 1992 | 4.3% | -23.5% |
| 1993 | 3.0% | -29.7% |
| 1994 | 2.7% | -9.8% |
| 1995 | 2.8% | +2.3% |
| 1996 | 2.4% | -12.7% |
| 1997 | 2.4% | -1.2% |
| 1998 | 2.7% | +11.7% |
| 1999 | 2.6% | -1.2% |
| 2000 | 2.6% | -0.9% |
| 2001 | 2.6% | -1.0% |
| 2002 | 2.6% | -1.3% |
| 2003 | 2.3% | -8.7% |
| 2004 | 2.2% | -3.7% |
| 2005 | 2.3% | +3.8% |
| 2006 | 2.3% | +0.5% |
| 2007 | 2.4% | +2.7% |
| 2008 | 2.6% | +8.6% |
| 2009 | 3.1% | +17.6% |
| 2010 | 2.8% | -7.2% |
| 2011 | 2.6% | -8.4% |
| 2012 | 2.9% | +9.7% |
| 2013 | 3.2% | +10.7% |
| 2014 | 3.7% | +17.3% |
| 2015 | 4.0% | +8.3% |
| 2016 | 3.3% | -17.3% |
| 2017 | 3.8% | +12.9% |
| 2018 | 3.8% | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 3.2% | -15.0% |
| 2020 | 2.9% | -8.1% |
| 2021 | 2.9% | -0.2% |
| 2022 | 2.9% | -0.1% |
| 2023 | 1.5% | -47.3% |
| 2024 | 1.0% | -34.3% |
| 2025 | 2.6% | +153.7% |
Sudan compared with similar countries
- Sudan's 2.6% is below the median for low income countries, which is 4.0%, 64% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Sudan's 2.6% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3.4%, 76% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Urban population growth in Sudan 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | +153.7% | 1.0% | 2.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 7.5% | 6.4% | 8.4% | 9 |
| 1970s | 5.1% | 4.3% | 6.1% | 10 |
| 1980s | 6.5% | 5.1% | 8.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.5% | 2.4% | 6.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.5% | 2.2% | 3.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.3% | 2.6% | 4.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.3% | 1.0% | 2.9% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sudan
More climate change data for Sudan
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 120.48 million kg (2023)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 72,276 kt (2023)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 21,634 kt (2023)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 50,642 kt (2023)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 81.64 kt (2023)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 1,809 kt (2023)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 1,215 kt (2023)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 1,182 kt (2023)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 33.05 kt (2023)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 4.46 kt (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population growth in Sudan?
- Urban population growth in Sudan was 2.6% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population growth recorded in Sudan?
- The highest recorded value was 8.4% in 1961.
- What is the lowest urban population growth recorded in Sudan?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.0% in 2024.
- How does Sudan rank for urban population growth?
- Sudan ranks 56th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population growth rising or falling in Sudan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 36.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Sudan 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.