Netherlands vs Saudi Arabia: Share of population living in urban and rural areas
Netherlands
84.3%
in 2020
Saudi Arabia
83.6%
in 2020
Netherlands rank
60th
Saudi Arabia rank
61st
Share of population living in urban and rural areas over time
- Netherlands
- Saudi Arabia
How they compare
Netherlands currently reports 84.3% against 83.6% in Saudi Arabia, a difference of 0.7%.
Across all 15 years both countries report, Netherlands has been ahead every year.
Netherlands ranks 60th and Saudi Arabia ranks 61st of 236 countries.
Netherlands has averaged higher in every one of the 8 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Netherlands | Saudi Arabia | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 77.2% | 51.4% | 25.8% | Netherlands |
| 1960s | 79.3% | 55.4% | 24.0% | Netherlands |
| 1970s | 81.1% | 60.7% | 20.4% | Netherlands |
| 1980s | 81.7% | 67.5% | 14.2% | Netherlands |
| 1990s | 82.4% | 75.2% | 7.2% | Netherlands |
| 2000s | 83.6% | 80.2% | 3.4% | Netherlands |
| 2010s | 83.8% | 83.1% | 0.7% | Netherlands |
| 2020s | 84.3% | 83.6% | 0.7% | Netherlands |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of population living in urban and rural areas, Netherlands or Saudi Arabia?
- Netherlands, at 84.3% against 83.6% in Saudi Arabia as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of population living in urban and rural areas between Netherlands and Saudi Arabia?
- 0.7%, with Netherlands ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Netherlands and Saudi Arabia?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Netherlands and Saudi Arabia rank globally for share of population living in urban and rural areas?
- Netherlands ranks 60th 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.