Maldives vs Samoa: Share of population living in urban areas
Maldives
56.5%
in 2020
Samoa
57.8%
in 2020
Maldives rank
191st
Samoa rank
188th
Share of population living in urban areas over time
- Maldives
- Samoa
How they compare
Samoa currently reports 57.8% against 56.5% in Maldives, a difference of 1.3%.
Across all 15 years both countries report, Samoa has been ahead every year.
Maldives ranks 191st and Samoa ranks 188th of 236 countries.
Samoa has averaged higher in every one of the 8 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Maldives | Samoa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 13.4% | 37.0% | 23.7% | Samoa |
| 1960s | 15.9% | 41.9% | 26.0% | Samoa |
| 1970s | 20.2% | 46.0% | 25.9% | Samoa |
| 1980s | 31.3% | 50.8% | 19.5% | Samoa |
| 1990s | 40.8% | 52.9% | 12.1% | Samoa |
| 2000s | 43.6% | 55.4% | 11.7% | Samoa |
| 2010s | 49.3% | 56.1% | 6.8% | Samoa |
| 2020s | 56.5% | 57.8% | 1.3% | Samoa |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of population living in urban areas, Maldives or Samoa?
- Samoa, at 57.8% against 56.5% in Maldives as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of population living in urban areas between Maldives and Samoa?
- 1.3%, with Samoa ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Maldives and Samoa?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Maldives and Samoa rank globally for share of population living in urban areas?
- Maldives ranks 191st and Samoa ranks 188th 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.