Urban population in Samoa
Samoa: Urban population was 17.5% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
17.5%
Change on year
up 0.0%
World rank
216th
of 218 countries
All-time high
22.0%
in 2001
All-time low
17.5%
in 2022
Years of data
66
1960–2025
Urban population in Samoa, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in % of total population.
Analysis
Samoa recorded 17.5% for urban population in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 9.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population in Samoa peaked at 22.0% in 2001 and was at its lowest, 17.5%, in 2022.
That places Samoa 216th out of 218 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Urban population in Samoa, year by year
| Year | % of total population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 18.9% | — |
| 1961 | 18.9% | +0.3% |
| 1962 | 19.0% | +0.4% |
| 1963 | 19.1% | +0.4% |
| 1964 | 19.2% | +0.4% |
| 1965 | 19.2% | +0.4% |
| 1966 | 19.3% | +0.5% |
| 1967 | 19.5% | +0.8% |
| 1968 | 19.7% | +1.3% |
| 1969 | 20.0% | +1.5% |
| 1970 | 20.3% | +1.5% |
| 1971 | 20.6% | +1.1% |
| 1972 | 20.7% | +0.7% |
| 1973 | 20.9% | +0.6% |
| 1974 | 21.0% | +0.5% |
| 1975 | 21.0% | +0.4% |
| 1976 | 21.1% | +0.3% |
| 1977 | 21.1% | +0.2% |
| 1978 | 21.2% | +0.1% |
| 1979 | 21.2% | +0.1% |
| 1980 | 21.2% | +0.1% |
| 1981 | 21.2% | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 21.2% | -0.2% |
| 1983 | 21.0% | -0.7% |
| 1984 | 20.8% | -1.0% |
| 1985 | 20.6% | -1.0% |
| 1986 | 20.5% | -0.6% |
| 1987 | 20.5% | +0.1% |
| 1988 | 20.6% | +0.5% |
| 1989 | 20.8% | +0.8% |
| 1990 | 21.0% | +0.9% |
| 1991 | 21.1% | +0.7% |
| 1992 | 21.2% | +0.5% |
| 1993 | 21.3% | +0.5% |
| 1994 | 21.4% | +0.5% |
| 1995 | 21.6% | +0.5% |
| 1996 | 21.7% | +0.5% |
| 1997 | 21.8% | +0.4% |
| 1998 | 21.8% | +0.4% |
| 1999 | 21.9% | +0.3% |
| 2000 | 22.0% | +0.2% |
| 2001 | 22.0% | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 21.9% | -0.1% |
| 2003 | 21.8% | -0.7% |
| 2004 | 21.5% | -1.2% |
| 2005 | 21.2% | -1.4% |
| 2006 | 21.0% | -1.3% |
| 2007 | 20.7% | -1.3% |
| 2008 | 20.4% | -1.4% |
| 2009 | 20.1% | -1.5% |
| 2010 | 19.8% | -1.4% |
| 2011 | 19.6% | -1.1% |
| 2012 | 19.5% | -0.7% |
| 2013 | 19.4% | -0.5% |
| 2014 | 19.3% | -0.4% |
| 2015 | 19.2% | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 19.1% | -0.6% |
| 2017 | 19.0% | -0.8% |
| 2018 | 18.7% | -1.3% |
| 2019 | 18.4% | -1.7% |
| 2020 | 18.1% | -2.0% |
| 2021 | 17.6% | -2.7% |
| 2022 | 17.5% | -0.4% |
| 2023 | 17.5% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 17.5% | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 17.5% | +0.0% |
Samoa compared with similar countries
- Samoa's 17.5% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 65.4%, 27% of the median. (59 countries reporting)
- Samoa's 17.5% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 65.4%, 27% of the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 19.3% | 18.9% | 20.0% | 10 |
| 1970s | 20.9% | 20.3% | 21.2% | 10 |
| 1980s | 20.8% | 20.5% | 21.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 21.5% | 21.0% | 21.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 21.3% | 20.1% | 22.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 19.2% | 18.4% | 19.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 17.6% | 17.5% | 18.1% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Samoa
- 213 Sri Lanka 20.5% compare
- 214 Niger 18.4% compare
- 215 Malawi 17.6% compare
- 217 Papua New Guinea 15.8% compare
- 218 Liechtenstein 14.6% compare
More climate change data for Samoa
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 18,792 kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 319.45 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 61.35 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 258.11 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 0.2315 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 9.22 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 0.106 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 0.106 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 0 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 0.0004 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population in Samoa?
- Urban population in Samoa was 17.5% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population recorded in Samoa?
- The highest recorded value was 22.0% in 2001.
- What is the lowest urban population recorded in Samoa?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.5% in 2022.
- How does Samoa rank for urban population?
- Samoa ranks 216th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population rising or falling in Samoa?
- Over the last ten years it is down 9.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Samoa 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.