Afghanistan vs Saudi Arabia: Share of population living in urban and rural areas
Afghanistan
84.4%
in 2020
Saudi Arabia
83.6%
in 2020
Afghanistan rank
59th
Saudi Arabia rank
61st
Share of population living in urban and rural areas over time
- Afghanistan
- Saudi Arabia
How they compare
Afghanistan currently reports 84.4% against 83.6% in Saudi Arabia, a difference of 0.8%.
The two have swapped places 4 times across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Afghanistan ahead.
Afghanistan ranks 59th and Saudi Arabia ranks 61st of 236 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Afghanistan averaged higher in 3 and Saudi Arabia in 5.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Afghanistan | Saudi Arabia | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 51.4% | 51.4% | 0.0% | Saudi Arabia |
| 1960s | 55.5% | 55.4% | 0.1% | Afghanistan |
| 1970s | 61.2% | 60.7% | 0.5% | Afghanistan |
| 1980s | 61.6% | 67.5% | 5.9% | Saudi Arabia |
| 1990s | 65.0% | 75.2% | 10.2% | Saudi Arabia |
| 2000s | 73.8% | 80.2% | 6.4% | Saudi Arabia |
| 2010s | 80.2% | 83.1% | 2.9% | Saudi Arabia |
| 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 Saudi Arabia?
- Afghanistan, at 84.4% against 83.6% in Saudi Arabia as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of population living in urban and rural areas between Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia?
- 0.8%, with Afghanistan ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia rank globally for share of population living in urban and rural areas?
- Afghanistan ranks 59th and Saudi Arabia ranks 61st 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.