Afghanistan vs Sri Lanka: Share of population living in urban and rural areas
Afghanistan
84.4%
in 2020
Sri Lanka
84.7%
in 2020
Afghanistan rank
59th
Sri Lanka rank
56th
Share of population living in urban and rural areas over time
- Afghanistan
- Sri Lanka
How they compare
Sri Lanka currently reports 84.7% against 84.4% in Afghanistan, a difference of 0.3%.
Across all 15 years both countries report, Sri Lanka has been ahead every year.
Afghanistan ranks 59th and Sri Lanka ranks 56th of 236 countries.
Sri Lanka has averaged higher in every one of the 8 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Afghanistan | Sri Lanka | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 51.4% | 60.6% | 9.2% | Sri Lanka |
| 1960s | 55.5% | 65.6% | 10.1% | Sri Lanka |
| 1970s | 61.2% | 70.5% | 9.3% | Sri Lanka |
| 1980s | 61.6% | 74.8% | 13.1% | Sri Lanka |
| 1990s | 65.0% | 77.8% | 12.8% | Sri Lanka |
| 2000s | 73.8% | 81.1% | 7.4% | Sri Lanka |
| 2010s | 80.2% | 82.9% | 2.8% | Sri Lanka |
| 2020s | 84.4% | 84.7% | 0.3% | Sri Lanka |
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 Sri Lanka?
- Sri Lanka, at 84.7% against 84.4% in Afghanistan as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of population living in urban and rural areas between Afghanistan and Sri Lanka?
- 0.3%, with Sri Lanka ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Afghanistan and Sri Lanka?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Afghanistan and Sri Lanka rank globally for share of population living in urban and rural areas?
- Afghanistan ranks 59th and Sri Lanka ranks 56th 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.