Hong Kong, China vs Singapore: Share of population living in urban and rural areas
Hong Kong, China
99.5%
in 2020
Singapore
99.9%
in 2020
Hong Kong, China rank
6th
Singapore rank
4th
Share of population living in urban and rural areas over time
- Hong Kong, China
- Singapore
How they compare
Singapore currently reports 99.9% against 99.5% in Hong Kong, China, a difference of 0.4%.
Across all 15 years both countries report, Singapore has been ahead every year.
Hong Kong, China ranks 6th and Singapore ranks 4th of 236 countries.
Singapore has averaged higher in every one of the 8 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Hong Kong, China | Singapore | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 97.7% | 99.7% | 2.0% | Singapore |
| 1960s | 98.6% | 99.8% | 1.2% | Singapore |
| 1970s | 98.9% | 99.8% | 1.0% | Singapore |
| 1980s | 99.2% | 99.9% | 0.7% | Singapore |
| 1990s | 99.3% | 99.9% | 0.6% | Singapore |
| 2000s | 99.5% | 99.9% | 0.4% | Singapore |
| 2010s | 99.5% | 99.9% | 0.4% | Singapore |
| 2020s | 99.5% | 99.9% | 0.4% | Singapore |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of population living in urban and rural areas, Hong Kong, China or Singapore?
- Singapore, at 99.9% against 99.5% in Hong Kong, China as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of population living in urban and rural areas between Hong Kong, China and Singapore?
- 0.4%, with Singapore ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Hong Kong, China and Singapore?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Hong Kong, China and Singapore rank globally for share of population living in urban and rural areas?
- Hong Kong, China ranks 6th and Singapore ranks 4th 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.