Urban population growth (annual %) in Yemen
Yemen: Urban population growth (annual %) was 3.5% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Urban population growth in Yemen, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
In 2025, urban population growth in Yemen stood at 3.5%. That is the lowest value across all 65 years on record.
The figure is down 3.4% on the previous year and down 25.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population growth in Yemen peaked at 10.6% in 1975 and was at its lowest, 3.5%, in 2025.
Yemen ranks 28th of 218 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 65 years of available data.
Urban population growth (annual %) in Yemen, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 7.8% | — |
| 1962 | 7.7% | -0.3% |
| 1963 | 7.7% | -0.2% |
| 1964 | 7.8% | +1.5% |
| 1965 | 8.0% | +2.3% |
| 1966 | 8.2% | +1.8% |
| 1967 | 8.3% | +2.0% |
| 1968 | 8.5% | +2.0% |
| 1969 | 8.7% | +2.2% |
| 1970 | 8.8% | +0.9% |
| 1971 | 9.2% | +4.7% |
| 1972 | 9.9% | +7.5% |
| 1973 | 10.3% | +4.4% |
| 1974 | 10.5% | +2.3% |
| 1975 | 10.6% | +0.9% |
| 1976 | 10.6% | -0.2% |
| 1977 | 10.5% | -1.1% |
| 1978 | 10.3% | -1.7% |
| 1979 | 10.1% | -1.7% |
| 1980 | 9.9% | -2.0% |
| 1981 | 9.7% | -2.5% |
| 1982 | 9.4% | -2.9% |
| 1983 | 9.1% | -3.0% |
| 1984 | 8.8% | -3.1% |
| 1985 | 8.6% | -3.3% |
| 1986 | 8.3% | -3.3% |
| 1987 | 8.2% | -0.4% |
| 1988 | 8.3% | +0.2% |
| 1989 | 8.1% | -1.6% |
| 1990 | 7.9% | -2.1% |
| 1991 | 7.7% | -2.9% |
| 1992 | 7.4% | -3.8% |
| 1993 | 7.1% | -4.6% |
| 1994 | 6.7% | -6.0% |
| 1995 | 6.3% | -5.9% |
| 1996 | 5.9% | -6.6% |
| 1997 | 5.5% | -5.4% |
| 1998 | 5.4% | -3.0% |
| 1999 | 5.2% | -3.0% |
| 2000 | 5.1% | -3.1% |
| 2001 | 4.9% | -3.5% |
| 2002 | 4.7% | -3.6% |
| 2003 | 4.6% | -3.1% |
| 2004 | 4.4% | -2.7% |
| 2005 | 4.5% | +1.5% |
| 2006 | 4.6% | +1.8% |
| 2007 | 4.5% | -1.7% |
| 2008 | 4.4% | -2.1% |
| 2009 | 4.3% | -1.9% |
| 2010 | 4.2% | -3.0% |
| 2011 | 4.0% | -3.9% |
| 2012 | 3.9% | -2.2% |
| 2013 | 3.8% | -3.2% |
| 2014 | 4.4% | +15.3% |
| 2015 | 4.7% | +6.4% |
| 2016 | 4.7% | +1.0% |
| 2017 | 4.8% | +2.4% |
| 2018 | 4.9% | +0.9% |
| 2019 | 5.0% | +2.0% |
| 2020 | 5.1% | +2.9% |
| 2021 | 3.8% | -26.5% |
| 2022 | 3.6% | -5.3% |
| 2023 | 3.7% | +3.4% |
| 2024 | 3.6% | -1.7% |
| 2025 | 3.5% | -3.4% |
Yemen compared with similar countries
- Yemen's 3.5% is below the median for low income countries, which is 4.0%, 87% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Yemen's 3.5% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 1.9%, 1.8× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Urban population growth (annual %) in Yemen 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | -26.5% | 5.1% | 3.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 8.1% | 7.7% | 8.7% | 9 |
| 1970s | 10.1% | 8.8% | 10.6% | 10 |
| 1980s | 8.8% | 8.1% | 9.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 6.5% | 5.2% | 7.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 4.6% | 4.3% | 5.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.4% | 3.8% | 5.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.9% | 3.5% | 5.1% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Yemen
More climate change data for Yemen
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 64.14 million kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 11,632 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 4,282 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 7,350 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 16.16 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 262.5 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 485.83 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 474.06 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 11.77 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 1.79 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population growth in Yemen?
- Urban population growth in Yemen was 3.5% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population growth recorded in Yemen?
- The highest recorded value was 10.6% in 1975.
- What is the lowest urban population growth recorded in Yemen?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.5% in 2025.
- How does Yemen rank for urban population growth?
- Yemen ranks 28th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population growth rising or falling in Yemen?
- Over the last ten years it is down 25.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Yemen 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.