Urban population (% of total population) in Nicaragua
Nicaragua: Urban population (% of total population) was 59.4% in 2025. ▬ Flat
Urban population in Nicaragua, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in % of total population.
Analysis
Nicaragua recorded 59.4% for urban population in 2025. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.3% on the previous year and up 1.0% over five years.
Over the whole period, urban population in Nicaragua peaked at 59.4% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 58.9%, in 2021.
That places Nicaragua 128th out of 218 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
Urban population (% of total population) in Nicaragua, year by year
| Year | % of total population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 39.2% | — |
| 1961 | 39.8% | +1.5% |
| 1962 | 40.4% | +1.5% |
| 1963 | 41.0% | +1.5% |
| 1964 | 41.7% | +1.8% |
| 1965 | 42.6% | +2.2% |
| 1966 | 43.6% | +2.3% |
| 1967 | 44.6% | +2.3% |
| 1968 | 45.6% | +2.2% |
| 1969 | 46.5% | +2.0% |
| 1970 | 47.3% | +1.6% |
| 1971 | 47.8% | +1.2% |
| 1972 | 48.3% | +0.9% |
| 1973 | 48.7% | +0.9% |
| 1974 | 49.1% | +0.8% |
| 1975 | 49.5% | +0.8% |
| 1976 | 49.8% | +0.7% |
| 1977 | 50.2% | +0.7% |
| 1978 | 50.5% | +0.7% |
| 1979 | 50.8% | +0.6% |
| 1980 | 51.1% | +0.6% |
| 1981 | 51.4% | +0.6% |
| 1982 | 51.7% | +0.5% |
| 1983 | 51.9% | +0.5% |
| 1984 | 52.2% | +0.5% |
| 1985 | 52.4% | +0.5% |
| 1986 | 52.7% | +0.4% |
| 1987 | 52.9% | +0.4% |
| 1988 | 53.1% | +0.4% |
| 1989 | 53.3% | +0.4% |
| 1990 | 53.5% | +0.4% |
| 1991 | 53.7% | +0.4% |
| 1992 | 53.9% | +0.4% |
| 1993 | 54.1% | +0.4% |
| 1994 | 54.3% | +0.3% |
| 1995 | 54.4% | +0.3% |
| 1996 | 54.6% | +0.3% |
| 1997 | 54.8% | +0.3% |
| 1998 | 54.9% | +0.3% |
| 1999 | 55.1% | +0.3% |
| 2000 | 55.2% | +0.3% |
| 2001 | 55.4% | +0.2% |
| 2002 | 55.5% | +0.2% |
| 2003 | 55.6% | +0.3% |
| 2004 | 55.8% | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 55.9% | +0.3% |
| 2006 | 56.1% | +0.3% |
| 2007 | 56.3% | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 56.5% | +0.3% |
| 2009 | 56.7% | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 56.8% | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 57.0% | +0.3% |
| 2012 | 57.2% | +0.3% |
| 2013 | 57.4% | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 57.6% | +0.3% |
| 2015 | 57.8% | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 58.0% | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 58.2% | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 58.4% | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 58.5% | +0.3% |
| 2020 | 58.7% | +0.3% |
| 2021 | 58.9% | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 59.0% | +0.2% |
| 2023 | 59.1% | +0.2% |
| 2024 | 59.3% | +0.2% |
| 2025 | 59.4% | +0.3% |
Nicaragua compared with similar countries
- Nicaragua's 59.4% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 50.9%, 1.2× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Nicaragua's 59.4% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 72.0%, 83% of the median. (42 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 42.5% | 39.2% | 46.5% | 10 |
| 1970s | 49.2% | 47.3% | 50.8% | 10 |
| 1980s | 52.3% | 51.1% | 53.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 54.3% | 53.5% | 55.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 55.9% | 55.2% | 56.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 57.7% | 56.8% | 58.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 59.1% | 58.7% | 59.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Nicaragua
More climate change data for Nicaragua
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 98.12 million kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 12,149 kt (2023)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 2,593 kt (2023)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 9,557 kt (2023)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 9.78 kt (2023)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 341.31 kt (2023)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 485.08 kt (2023)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 394.21 kt (2023)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 90.87 kt (2023)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 1.49 kt (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population in Nicaragua?
- Urban population in Nicaragua was 59.4% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population recorded in Nicaragua?
- The highest recorded value was 59.4% in 2025.
- What is the lowest urban population recorded in Nicaragua?
- The lowest recorded value was 58.9% in 2021.
- How does Nicaragua rank for urban population?
- Nicaragua ranks 128th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Where does this Nicaragua 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.