Urban population growth in World
World: Urban population growth was 1.4% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Urban population growth in World, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
World recorded 1.4% for urban population growth in 2025.
The figure is down 3.1% on the previous year and down 36.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population growth in World peaked at 3.8% in 1964 and was at its lowest, 1.3%, in 2022.
That places World 25th out of 49 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.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.6% | 1.4% | 3.8% | 9 |
| 1970s | 2.7% | 2.5% | 3.0% | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.6% | 2.4% | 3.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.4% | 2.1% | 2.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.3% | 2.2% | 2.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.1% | 1.7% | 2.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.4% | 1.3% | 1.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near World
More climate change data for World
- Population growth 0.9% (2025)
- Population, total 8.22 billion (2025)
- Urban population 4.75 billion (2025)
- Urban population 57.8% (2025)
- Forest land — Carbon stock in living biomass 313,534 million t (2025)
- Forestland — Area — FAO TIER 1 4.14 million 1000 ha (2025)
- Forestland — Net emissions/removals (CO2) (Forest land) — FAO TIER 1 -3.60 million kt (2025)
- Net Forest conversion — Area — FAO TIER 1 9,647 1000 ha (2025)
- Net Forest conversion — Net emissions/removals (CO2) (Forest land) 2.81 million kt (2025)
- Carbon stock change in forests — Area — FAO TIER 1 4.15 million 1000 ha (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population growth in World?
- Urban population growth in World was 1.4% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population growth recorded in World?
- The highest recorded value was 3.8% in 1964.
- What is the lowest urban population growth recorded in World?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.3% in 2022.
- How does World rank for urban population growth?
- World ranks 25th out of 49 groups with data for 2025.
- Is urban population growth rising or falling in World?
- Over the last ten years it is down 36.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this World 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.