Hong Kong vs (UN M49): Do more people live in urban or rural areas?

Hong Kong
100.0%
in 2025
(UN M49)
69.3%
in 2025
Hong Kong rank
1st
(UN M49) rank
1st

Do more people live in urban or rural areas? over time

  • Hong Kong
  • (UN M49)
020406080100100015122025

How they compare

Hong Kong currently reports 100.0% against 69.3% in (UN M49), a difference of 30.7%.

That makes Hong Kong's figure about 1.4 times (UN M49)'s.

Across all 76 years both countries report, Hong Kong has been ahead every year.

Hong Kong ranks 1st and (UN M49) ranks 1st of 238 countries.

Hong Kong has averaged higher in every one of the 8 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade Hong Kong (UN M49) Difference Ahead
1950s 85.2% 30.2% 55.0% Hong Kong
1960s 86.0% 51.6% 34.4% Hong Kong
1970s 89.3% 57.3% 32.1% Hong Kong
1980s 93.5% 60.7% 32.8% Hong Kong
1990s 99.9% 63.3% 36.5% Hong Kong
2000s 100.0% 65.8% 34.2% Hong Kong
2010s 100.0% 67.1% 32.9% Hong Kong
2020s 100.0% 68.7% 31.3% Hong Kong

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher do more people live in urban or rural areas?, Hong Kong or (UN M49)?
Hong Kong, at 100.0% against 69.3% in (UN M49) as of 2025.
What is the difference in do more people live in urban or rural areas? between Hong Kong and (UN M49)?
30.7%, with Hong Kong ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Hong Kong and (UN M49)?
76 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2025.
How do Hong Kong and (UN M49) rank globally for do more people live in urban or rural areas??
Hong Kong ranks 1st and (UN M49) ranks 1st 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.

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Hong Kong vs (UN M49): Do more people live in urban or rural areas?. Statizoid, drawing on HYDE (2023); United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 07 November 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/urban-vs-rural-majority/hong-kong-sar-china/un-m49/

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About this data

Indicator
Do more people live in urban or rural areas?
Unit
%
Source
HYDE (2023); United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
239 places, 24,444 data points, 1000–2025
Last refreshed

Share of the population living in urban areas, combining UN estimates with modeled historical data.