Japan vs Rwanda: Share of population living in urban areas
Japan
91.1%
in 2020
Rwanda
92.1%
in 2020
Japan rank
25th
Rwanda rank
23rd
Share of population living in urban areas over time
- Japan
- Rwanda
How they compare
Rwanda currently reports 92.1% against 91.1% in Japan, a difference of 1.0%.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Japan ahead.
Japan ranks 25th and Rwanda ranks 23rd of 236 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Japan averaged higher in 7 and Rwanda in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Japan | Rwanda | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 86.8% | 43.6% | 43.1% | Japan |
| 1960s | 88.1% | 52.0% | 36.2% | Japan |
| 1970s | 89.4% | 59.6% | 29.8% | Japan |
| 1980s | 89.9% | 68.9% | 21.0% | Japan |
| 1990s | 90.5% | 71.6% | 18.8% | Japan |
| 2000s | 91.0% | 80.7% | 10.3% | Japan |
| 2010s | 91.2% | 87.3% | 3.9% | Japan |
| 2020s | 91.1% | 92.1% | 1.0% | Rwanda |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of population living in urban areas, Japan or Rwanda?
- Rwanda, at 92.1% against 91.1% in Japan as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of population living in urban areas between Japan and Rwanda?
- 1.0%, with Rwanda ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Japan and Rwanda?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Japan and Rwanda rank globally for share of population living in urban areas?
- Japan ranks 25th and Rwanda ranks 23rd 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 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.