Urban population in World
World: Urban population was 57.8% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Urban population in World, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in % of total population.
Analysis
In 2025, urban population in World stood at 57.8%. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
The figure is up 0.5% on the previous year and up 6.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population in World peaked at 57.8% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 34.2%, in 1960.
World ranks 19th of 45 regions on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 35.2% | 34.2% | 36.3% | 10 |
| 1970s | 37.6% | 36.4% | 39.1% | 10 |
| 1980s | 41.1% | 39.5% | 42.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 44.4% | 42.8% | 46.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 49.1% | 46.8% | 51.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 54.1% | 51.8% | 56.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 57.2% | 56.4% | 57.8% | 6 |
Countries ranked near World
- 16 Malta 95.7% compare
- 17 Uruguay 95.7% compare
- 18 United States Virgin Islands 95.4% compare
- 19 Luxembourg 94.9% compare
- 20 Turks and Caicos Islands 94.4% compare
- 21 Puerto Rico 94.3% compare
- 22 Guam 94.2% compare
More climate change data for World
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 4.94 million kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 1.27 million kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 3.67 million kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 4,791 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 130,918 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 1.64 million kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 957,726 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 685,096 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 3,614 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 24,468 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population in World?
- Urban population in World was 57.8% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population recorded in World?
- The highest recorded value was 57.8% in 2025.
- What is the lowest urban population recorded in World?
- The lowest recorded value was 34.2% in 1960.
- How does World rank for urban population?
- World ranks 19th out of 45 regions with data for 2025.
- Is urban population rising or falling in World?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this World 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.