Urban population growth (annual %) in Upper middle income
Upper middle income: Urban population growth (annual %) was 0.9% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Urban population growth in Upper middle income, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
Upper middle income recorded 0.9% for urban population growth in 2025.
That represents a change of up 5.1% on the previous year and down 64.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population growth in Upper middle income peaked at 6.5% in 1964 and was at its lowest, -1.2%, in 1962.
That places Upper middle income 33rd out of 47 groups with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 65 years of available data.
Urban population growth (annual %) in Upper middle income, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 1.2% | — |
| 1962 | -1.2% | -194.8% |
| 1963 | 2.5% | -317.7% |
| 1964 | 6.5% | +155.4% |
| 1965 | 2.8% | -56.4% |
| 1966 | 3.3% | +18.9% |
| 1967 | 3.3% | -0.1% |
| 1968 | 3.3% | -0.4% |
| 1969 | 3.3% | -0.1% |
| 1970 | 3.2% | -2.8% |
| 1971 | 3.2% | -0.4% |
| 1972 | 3.1% | -2.3% |
| 1973 | 3.5% | +10.1% |
| 1974 | 3.2% | -8.0% |
| 1975 | 3.5% | +10.2% |
| 1976 | 3.2% | -7.7% |
| 1977 | 3.1% | -2.9% |
| 1978 | 3.6% | +13.0% |
| 1979 | 4.6% | +30.4% |
| 1980 | 3.5% | -24.6% |
| 1981 | 4.0% | +15.2% |
| 1982 | 3.5% | -13.7% |
| 1983 | 4.4% | +26.4% |
| 1984 | 4.8% | +8.4% |
| 1985 | 3.6% | -23.4% |
| 1986 | 3.8% | +3.9% |
| 1987 | 3.7% | -1.3% |
| 1988 | 3.3% | -13.0% |
| 1989 | 3.0% | -7.0% |
| 1990 | 2.4% | -21.5% |
| 1991 | 3.3% | +36.9% |
| 1992 | 2.9% | -11.0% |
| 1993 | 2.8% | -3.4% |
| 1994 | 2.7% | -3.3% |
| 1995 | 2.7% | -0.9% |
| 1996 | 3.7% | +38.7% |
| 1997 | 3.7% | -1.2% |
| 1998 | 3.6% | -2.4% |
| 1999 | 3.5% | -3.5% |
| 2000 | 3.6% | +2.8% |
| 2001 | 3.0% | -16.8% |
| 2002 | 3.0% | +2.9% |
| 2003 | 3.0% | -2.2% |
| 2004 | 2.7% | -8.5% |
| 2005 | 2.7% | -2.4% |
| 2006 | 2.7% | +1.2% |
| 2007 | 2.8% | +2.4% |
| 2008 | 2.4% | -13.7% |
| 2009 | 2.6% | +9.3% |
| 2010 | 2.2% | -17.3% |
| 2011 | 3.5% | +64.9% |
| 2012 | 2.5% | -29.3% |
| 2013 | 2.7% | +6.9% |
| 2014 | 2.5% | -5.1% |
| 2015 | 2.7% | +4.2% |
| 2016 | 2.4% | -10.1% |
| 2017 | 2.2% | -6.1% |
| 2018 | 2.2% | -1.3% |
| 2019 | 1.9% | -11.9% |
| 2020 | 1.5% | -23.4% |
| 2021 | 1.6% | +8.7% |
| 2022 | 0.9% | -41.7% |
| 2023 | 0.8% | -18.3% |
| 2024 | 0.9% | +16.0% |
| 2025 | 0.9% | +5.1% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Urban population growth (annual %) in Upper middle income 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | +317.7% | -1.2% | 2.5% |
| 1962 | -194.8% | 1.2% | -1.2% |
| 1964 | +155.4% | 2.5% | 6.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.8% | -1.2% | 6.5% | 9 |
| 1970s | 3.4% | 3.1% | 4.6% | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.8% | 3.0% | 4.8% | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.1% | 2.4% | 3.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.8% | 2.4% | 3.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.5% | 1.9% | 3.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.1% | 0.8% | 1.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Upper middle income
More climate change data for Upper middle income
- Urban population, annual growth rate 0.9457 % change on previous year (2025)
- Urban population, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Urban population, per capita 0.6823 units per person (2025)
- Urban population 2.10 billion (2025)
- Population, total 3.08 billion (2025)
- Population growth 0.3% (2025)
- Population, total, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population, total, annual growth rate 0.3412 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population, total, per square kilometre 68.84 units per square kilometre (2023)
- Urban population, per square kilometre 46.43 units per square kilometre (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population growth in Upper middle income?
- Urban population growth in Upper middle income was 0.9% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population growth recorded in Upper middle income?
- The highest recorded value was 6.5% in 1964.
- What is the lowest urban population growth recorded in Upper middle income?
- The lowest recorded value was -1.2% in 1962.
- How does Upper middle income rank for urban population growth?
- Upper middle income ranks 33rd out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is urban population growth rising or falling in Upper middle income?
- Over the last ten years it is down 64.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Upper middle income 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.
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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.