How urban is each country?
Click any country to see the share of its people who live in cities and towns rather than rural areas.
Overview
The world crossed the halfway mark to becoming mostly urban around 2007, and cities keep growing. This map shows the share of each country's population living in urban areas.
Key facts
- More than half the world now lives in cities.
- Some countries are almost entirely urban; others remain mostly rural.
- Urbanisation tends to rise with income.
Common questions
What counts as urban?
Definitions of 'urban' vary by country, but broadly it means living in a city or town rather than a rural area, as classified by each national statistics office.
Why does urbanisation matter?
Cities concentrate jobs, services and infrastructure. Rapid urban growth brings opportunity but also pressure on housing, transport and sanitation.
Where does the data come from?
The UN World Urbanization Prospects, compiled via Our World in Data.
Sources & methodology
Data from UN (via Our World in Data), compiled via Our World in Data. Global figures are population-weighted across the countries that report this measure; countries without reliable recent data are shown as “no data”.
Last updated: 3 August 2026.
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