Urban population (% of total population) in Sweden
Sweden: Urban population (% of total population) was 89.1% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Urban population in Sweden, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in % of total population.
Analysis
In 2025, urban population in Sweden stood at 89.1%. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.2% on the previous year and up 2.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population in Sweden peaked at 89.1% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 72.5%, in 1960.
Sweden ranks 35th of 218 countries 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 Sweden, year by year
| Year | % of total population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 72.5% | — |
| 1961 | 73.4% | +1.2% |
| 1962 | 74.3% | +1.3% |
| 1963 | 75.3% | +1.3% |
| 1964 | 76.2% | +1.3% |
| 1965 | 77.1% | +1.2% |
| 1966 | 78.0% | +1.2% |
| 1967 | 78.9% | +1.2% |
| 1968 | 79.8% | +1.1% |
| 1969 | 80.6% | +1.0% |
| 1970 | 81.2% | +0.7% |
| 1971 | 81.7% | +0.5% |
| 1972 | 82.0% | +0.4% |
| 1973 | 82.3% | +0.3% |
| 1974 | 82.5% | +0.3% |
| 1975 | 82.7% | +0.2% |
| 1976 | 82.8% | +0.2% |
| 1977 | 82.9% | +0.1% |
| 1978 | 83.0% | +0.1% |
| 1979 | 83.1% | +0.1% |
| 1980 | 83.1% | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 83.1% | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 83.1% | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 83.1% | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 83.1% | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 83.1% | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 83.1% | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 83.2% | +0.1% |
| 1988 | 83.2% | +0.1% |
| 1989 | 83.3% | +0.1% |
| 1990 | 83.4% | +0.1% |
| 1991 | 83.5% | +0.1% |
| 1992 | 83.6% | +0.1% |
| 1993 | 83.7% | +0.1% |
| 1994 | 83.8% | +0.1% |
| 1995 | 83.9% | +0.1% |
| 1996 | 83.9% | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 84.0% | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 84.0% | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 84.0% | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 84.0% | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 84.1% | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 84.1% | +0.1% |
| 2003 | 84.2% | +0.1% |
| 2004 | 84.3% | +0.1% |
| 2005 | 84.3% | +0.1% |
| 2006 | 84.5% | +0.1% |
| 2007 | 84.6% | +0.2% |
| 2008 | 84.8% | +0.2% |
| 2009 | 84.9% | +0.2% |
| 2010 | 85.1% | +0.2% |
| 2011 | 85.4% | +0.3% |
| 2012 | 85.6% | +0.3% |
| 2013 | 85.9% | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 86.3% | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 86.6% | +0.4% |
| 2016 | 87.0% | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 87.2% | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 87.5% | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 87.7% | +0.3% |
| 2020 | 87.9% | +0.3% |
| 2021 | 88.2% | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 88.4% | +0.3% |
| 2023 | 88.6% | +0.3% |
| 2024 | 88.9% | +0.3% |
| 2025 | 89.1% | +0.2% |
Sweden compared with similar countries
- Sweden's 89.1% is above the median for high income countries, which is 81.3%, 1.1× the median. (85 countries reporting)
- Sweden's 89.1% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 69.6%, 1.3× the median. (57 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 76.6% | 72.5% | 80.6% | 10 |
| 1970s | 82.4% | 81.2% | 83.1% | 10 |
| 1980s | 83.1% | 83.1% | 83.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 83.8% | 83.4% | 84.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 84.4% | 84.0% | 84.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 86.4% | 85.1% | 87.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 88.5% | 87.9% | 89.1% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Sweden
More climate change data for Sweden
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 160.40 million kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 4,738 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 983.81 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 3,754 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 3.71 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 134.07 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 1,196 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 1,185 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 10.86 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 4.47 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population in Sweden?
- Urban population in Sweden was 89.1% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population recorded in Sweden?
- The highest recorded value was 89.1% in 2025.
- What is the lowest urban population recorded in Sweden?
- The lowest recorded value was 72.5% in 1960.
- How does Sweden rank for urban population?
- Sweden ranks 35th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population rising or falling in Sweden?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Sweden 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.