Urban population in Nicaragua
Nicaragua: Urban population was 4.17 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Urban population in Nicaragua, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
The most recent figure for urban population in Nicaragua is 4.17 million, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.6% on the previous year and up 17.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population in Nicaragua peaked at 4.17 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 698,174, in 1960.
Nicaragua ranks 109th of 218 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Urban population in Nicaragua, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 698,174 | — |
| 1961 | 730,053 | +4.6% |
| 1962 | 763,578 | +4.6% |
| 1963 | 799,015 | +4.6% |
| 1964 | 838,541 | +4.9% |
| 1965 | 883,322 | +5.3% |
| 1966 | 932,337 | +5.5% |
| 1967 | 984,481 | +5.6% |
| 1968 | 1.04 million | +5.5% |
| 1969 | 1.09 million | +5.2% |
| 1970 | 1.15 million | +4.8% |
| 1971 | 1.20 million | +4.4% |
| 1972 | 1.24 million | +3.9% |
| 1973 | 1.29 million | +3.8% |
| 1974 | 1.34 million | +4.0% |
| 1975 | 1.39 million | +3.9% |
| 1976 | 1.45 million | +3.8% |
| 1977 | 1.50 million | +3.8% |
| 1978 | 1.56 million | +3.6% |
| 1979 | 1.61 million | +3.4% |
| 1980 | 1.66 million | +3.4% |
| 1981 | 1.72 million | +3.4% |
| 1982 | 1.78 million | +3.3% |
| 1983 | 1.83 million | +3.2% |
| 1984 | 1.89 million | +3.0% |
| 1985 | 1.94 million | +2.9% |
| 1986 | 2.00 million | +2.8% |
| 1987 | 2.05 million | +2.7% |
| 1988 | 2.11 million | +2.7% |
| 1989 | 2.17 million | +2.8% |
| 1990 | 2.23 million | +2.7% |
| 1991 | 2.29 million | +2.7% |
| 1992 | 2.35 million | +2.7% |
| 1993 | 2.41 million | +2.6% |
| 1994 | 2.47 million | +2.5% |
| 1995 | 2.53 million | +2.4% |
| 1996 | 2.58 million | +2.2% |
| 1997 | 2.63 million | +2.0% |
| 1998 | 2.68 million | +1.8% |
| 1999 | 2.73 million | +1.7% |
| 2000 | 2.77 million | +1.6% |
| 2001 | 2.82 million | +1.5% |
| 2002 | 2.86 million | +1.5% |
| 2003 | 2.90 million | +1.4% |
| 2004 | 2.94 million | +1.5% |
| 2005 | 2.99 million | +1.6% |
| 2006 | 3.04 million | +1.7% |
| 2007 | 3.09 million | +1.8% |
| 2008 | 3.15 million | +1.8% |
| 2009 | 3.20 million | +1.8% |
| 2010 | 3.26 million | +1.8% |
| 2011 | 3.32 million | +1.8% |
| 2012 | 3.38 million | +1.8% |
| 2013 | 3.44 million | +1.7% |
| 2014 | 3.50 million | +1.7% |
| 2015 | 3.56 million | +1.7% |
| 2016 | 3.62 million | +1.7% |
| 2017 | 3.68 million | +1.7% |
| 2018 | 3.74 million | +1.6% |
| 2019 | 3.80 million | +1.6% |
| 2020 | 3.85 million | +1.5% |
| 2021 | 3.91 million | +1.5% |
| 2022 | 3.97 million | +1.5% |
| 2023 | 4.03 million | +1.6% |
| 2024 | 4.10 million | +1.6% |
| 2025 | 4.17 million | +1.6% |
Nicaragua compared with similar countries
- Nicaragua's 4.17 million is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 6.62 million, 63% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Nicaragua's 4.17 million is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 2.35 million, 1.8× the median. (42 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 876,073 | 698,174 | 1.09 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 1.37 million | 1.15 million | 1.61 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.92 million | 1.66 million | 2.17 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.49 million | 2.23 million | 2.73 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.98 million | 2.77 million | 3.20 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.53 million | 3.26 million | 3.80 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.01 million | 3.85 million | 4.17 million | 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 4.17 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population recorded in Nicaragua?
- The highest recorded value was 4.17 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest urban population recorded in Nicaragua?
- The lowest recorded value was 698,174 in 1960.
- How does Nicaragua rank for urban population?
- Nicaragua ranks 109th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population rising or falling in Nicaragua?
- Over the last ten years it is up 17.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Nicaragua data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Urban 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. It is calculated using World Bank population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.