Afghanistan vs China: Share of population living in urban and rural areas
Afghanistan
84.4%
in 2020
China
83.6%
in 2020
Afghanistan rank
59th
China rank
62nd
Share of population living in urban and rural areas over time
- Afghanistan
- China
How they compare
Afghanistan currently reports 84.4% against 83.6% in China, a difference of 0.8%.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was China ahead.
Afghanistan ranks 59th and China ranks 62nd of 236 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Afghanistan averaged higher in 1 and China in 7.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Afghanistan | China | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 51.4% | 65.6% | 14.2% | China |
| 1960s | 55.5% | 69.1% | 13.6% | China |
| 1970s | 61.2% | 73.4% | 12.2% | China |
| 1980s | 61.6% | 76.2% | 14.5% | China |
| 1990s | 65.0% | 79.6% | 14.6% | China |
| 2000s | 73.8% | 81.9% | 8.1% | China |
| 2010s | 80.2% | 83.2% | 3.0% | China |
| 2020s | 84.4% | 83.6% | 0.8% | Afghanistan |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of population living in urban and rural areas, Afghanistan or China?
- Afghanistan, at 84.4% against 83.6% in China as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of population living in urban and rural areas between Afghanistan and China?
- 0.8%, with Afghanistan ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Afghanistan and China?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Afghanistan and China rank globally for share of population living in urban and rural areas?
- Afghanistan ranks 59th and China ranks 62nd of 236 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of population living in urban and rural areas. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Estimated share of the population living in urban areas (the sum of cities and towns and suburbs). Urban areas are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.