Ethiopia vs South Sudan: Do more people live in urban or rural areas?
Ethiopia
24.1%
in 2025
South Sudan
21.7%
in 2025
Ethiopia rank
225th
South Sudan rank
228th
Do more people live in urban or rural areas? over time
- Ethiopia
- South Sudan
How they compare
Ethiopia currently reports 24.1% against 21.7% in South Sudan, a difference of 2.4%.
That makes Ethiopia's figure about 1.1 times South Sudan's.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 76 shared years of data; in 1950 it was South Sudan ahead.
Ethiopia ranks 225th and South Sudan ranks 228th of 238 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Ethiopia averaged higher in 4 and South Sudan in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Ethiopia | South Sudan | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 6.4% | 8.2% | 1.8% | South Sudan |
| 1960s | 7.7% | 8.6% | 0.8% | South Sudan |
| 1970s | 9.3% | 8.5% | 0.8% | Ethiopia |
| 1980s | 11.4% | 9.5% | 1.9% | Ethiopia |
| 1990s | 13.8% | 14.5% | 0.7% | South Sudan |
| 2000s | 15.9% | 16.7% | 0.8% | South Sudan |
| 2010s | 19.3% | 18.7% | 0.6% | Ethiopia |
| 2020s | 22.9% | 20.9% | 1.9% | Ethiopia |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher do more people live in urban or rural areas?, Ethiopia or South Sudan?
- Ethiopia, at 24.1% against 21.7% in South Sudan as of 2025.
- What is the difference in do more people live in urban or rural areas? between Ethiopia and South Sudan?
- 2.4%, with Ethiopia ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Ethiopia and South Sudan?
- 76 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2025.
- How do Ethiopia and South Sudan rank globally for do more people live in urban or rural areas??
- Ethiopia ranks 225th and South Sudan ranks 228th of 238 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- HYDE (2023); United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Do more people live in urban or rural areas?. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Share of the population living in urban areas, combining UN estimates with modelled historical data.