Urban population (% of total population) in Europe & Central Asia
Europe & Central Asia: Urban population (% of total population) was 74.1% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Urban population in Europe & Central Asia, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in % of total population.
Analysis
Europe & Central Asia recorded 74.1% for urban population in 2025. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.1% on the previous year and up 1.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population in Europe & Central Asia peaked at 74.1% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 55.0%, in 1960.
Europe & Central Asia ranks 10th of 47 groups on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Urban population (% of total population) in Europe & Central Asia, year by year
| Year | % of total population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 55.0% | — |
| 1961 | 55.5% | +1.0% |
| 1962 | 56.0% | +0.9% |
| 1963 | 56.6% | +1.0% |
| 1964 | 57.2% | +1.1% |
| 1965 | 57.8% | +1.1% |
| 1966 | 58.4% | +1.1% |
| 1967 | 59.0% | +1.0% |
| 1968 | 59.6% | +0.9% |
| 1969 | 60.1% | +0.9% |
| 1970 | 60.6% | +0.8% |
| 1971 | 61.1% | +0.8% |
| 1972 | 61.6% | +0.8% |
| 1973 | 62.1% | +0.8% |
| 1974 | 62.6% | +0.8% |
| 1975 | 63.0% | +0.7% |
| 1976 | 63.5% | +0.7% |
| 1977 | 63.8% | +0.6% |
| 1978 | 64.2% | +0.5% |
| 1979 | 64.5% | +0.5% |
| 1980 | 64.9% | +0.6% |
| 1981 | 65.2% | +0.5% |
| 1982 | 65.5% | +0.5% |
| 1983 | 65.7% | +0.4% |
| 1984 | 66.0% | +0.4% |
| 1985 | 66.2% | +0.4% |
| 1986 | 66.5% | +0.4% |
| 1987 | 66.8% | +0.4% |
| 1988 | 67.0% | +0.4% |
| 1989 | 67.2% | +0.3% |
| 1990 | 67.4% | +0.2% |
| 1991 | 67.5% | +0.2% |
| 1992 | 67.5% | +0.1% |
| 1993 | 67.6% | +0.1% |
| 1994 | 67.7% | +0.2% |
| 1995 | 67.8% | +0.2% |
| 1996 | 68.0% | +0.2% |
| 1997 | 68.2% | +0.3% |
| 1998 | 68.3% | +0.2% |
| 1999 | 68.4% | +0.2% |
| 2000 | 68.7% | +0.3% |
| 2001 | 68.9% | +0.3% |
| 2002 | 69.1% | +0.3% |
| 2003 | 69.2% | +0.3% |
| 2004 | 69.4% | +0.2% |
| 2005 | 69.6% | +0.2% |
| 2006 | 69.8% | +0.3% |
| 2007 | 70.0% | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 70.2% | +0.3% |
| 2009 | 70.4% | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 70.6% | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 70.8% | +0.3% |
| 2012 | 71.2% | +0.5% |
| 2013 | 71.7% | +0.7% |
| 2014 | 72.2% | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 72.7% | +0.6% |
| 2016 | 72.9% | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 73.0% | +0.1% |
| 2018 | 73.2% | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 73.4% | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 73.5% | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 73.6% | +0.2% |
| 2022 | 73.7% | +0.1% |
| 2023 | 73.8% | +0.2% |
| 2024 | 74.0% | +0.2% |
| 2025 | 74.1% | +0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 57.5% | 55.0% | 60.1% | 10 |
| 1970s | 62.7% | 60.6% | 64.5% | 10 |
| 1980s | 66.1% | 64.9% | 67.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 67.8% | 67.4% | 68.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 69.5% | 68.7% | 70.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 72.2% | 70.6% | 73.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 73.8% | 73.5% | 74.1% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Europe & Central Asia
More climate change data for Europe & Central Asia
- Population, total, annual growth rate 0.4262 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population, total, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Urban population, annual growth rate 0.5661 % change on previous year (2025)
- Urban population 690.74 million (2025)
- Urban population, per capita 0.7407 units per person (2025)
- Urban population, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population, total, per square kilometre 33.71 units per square kilometre (2023)
- Urban population, per square kilometre 24.89 units per square kilometre (2023)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million 21.3% (2025)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 476.01 billion cubic meters (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population in Europe & Central Asia?
- Urban population in Europe & Central Asia was 74.1% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population recorded in Europe & Central Asia?
- The highest recorded value was 74.1% in 2025.
- What is the lowest urban population recorded in Europe & Central Asia?
- The lowest recorded value was 55.0% in 1960.
- How does Europe & Central Asia rank for urban population?
- Europe & Central Asia ranks 10th out of 47 groups with data for 2025.
- Is urban population rising or falling in Europe & Central Asia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Europe & Central Asia data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Urban population (% of total population). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. The data are collected and smoothed by United Nations Population Division.