Ireland vs South Africa: Do more people live in urban or rural areas?
Ireland
64.6%
in 2025
South Africa
63.8%
in 2025
Ireland rank
124th
South Africa rank
127th
Do more people live in urban or rural areas? over time
- Ireland
- South Africa
How they compare
Ireland currently reports 64.6% against 63.8% in South Africa, a difference of 0.8%.
The two have swapped places 5 times across 108 shared years of data; in 1000 it was South Africa ahead.
Ireland ranks 124th and South Africa ranks 127th of 238 countries.
Across the 40 decades both report, Ireland averaged higher in 30 and South Africa in 10.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Ireland | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1000s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | South Africa |
| 1100s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | South Africa |
| 1200s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | South Africa |
| 1300s | 0.0% | 0.1% | 0.1% | South Africa |
| 1400s | 0.0% | 0.2% | 0.2% | South Africa |
| 1500s | 0.0% | 0.5% | 0.5% | South Africa |
| 1600s | 0.0% | 1.4% | 1.4% | South Africa |
| 1700s | 3.4% | 4.2% | 0.8% | South Africa |
| 1710s | 4.9% | 4.8% | 0.1% | Ireland |
| 1720s | 6.4% | 5.3% | 1.1% | Ireland |
| 1730s | 7.9% | 5.9% | 2.0% | Ireland |
| 1740s | 9.4% | 6.5% | 2.9% | Ireland |
| 1750s | 10.9% | 7.0% | 3.9% | Ireland |
| 1760s | 12.4% | 7.6% | 4.8% | Ireland |
| 1770s | 13.9% | 8.1% | 5.8% | Ireland |
| 1780s | 15.4% | 8.7% | 6.7% | Ireland |
| 1790s | 16.9% | 9.2% | 7.7% | Ireland |
| 1800s | 18.4% | 9.8% | 8.6% | Ireland |
| 1810s | 19.9% | 10.3% | 9.6% | Ireland |
| 1820s | 21.4% | 10.9% | 10.5% | Ireland |
| 1830s | 22.9% | 11.4% | 11.4% | Ireland |
| 1840s | 24.4% | 12.0% | 12.4% | Ireland |
| 1850s | 25.9% | 12.5% | 13.3% | Ireland |
| 1860s | 27.4% | 13.1% | 14.3% | Ireland |
| 1870s | 28.9% | 13.6% | 15.2% | Ireland |
| 1880s | 30.4% | 14.2% | 16.2% | Ireland |
| 1890s | 31.9% | 14.7% | 17.1% | Ireland |
| 1900s | 33.4% | 15.3% | 18.1% | Ireland |
| 1910s | 34.9% | 18.0% | 16.9% | Ireland |
| 1920s | 36.4% | 20.7% | 15.7% | Ireland |
| 1930s | 37.9% | 24.7% | 13.2% | Ireland |
| 1940s | 39.4% | 28.9% | 10.5% | Ireland |
| 1950s | 42.9% | 44.5% | 1.7% | South Africa |
| 1960s | 48.1% | 47.3% | 0.8% | Ireland |
| 1970s | 53.7% | 48.0% | 5.6% | Ireland |
| 1980s | 56.2% | 49.4% | 6.8% | Ireland |
| 1990s | 57.8% | 53.4% | 4.4% | Ireland |
| 2000s | 60.4% | 59.4% | 1.0% | Ireland |
| 2010s | 62.6% | 63.1% | 0.5% | South Africa |
| 2020s | 64.0% | 63.6% | 0.4% | Ireland |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher do more people live in urban or rural areas?, Ireland or South Africa?
- Ireland, at 64.6% against 63.8% in South Africa as of 2025.
- What is the difference in do more people live in urban or rural areas? between Ireland and South Africa?
- 0.8%, with Ireland ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Ireland and South Africa?
- 108 years are reported by both, from 1000 to 2025.
- How do Ireland and South Africa rank globally for do more people live in urban or rural areas??
- Ireland ranks 124th and South Africa ranks 127th of 238 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- HYDE (2023); United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) β 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 modeled historical data.