North Korea vs South Africa: Do more people live in urban or rural areas?
North Korea
64.2%
in 2025
South Africa
63.8%
in 2025
North Korea rank
125th
South Africa rank
127th
Do more people live in urban or rural areas? over time
- North Korea
- South Africa
How they compare
North Korea currently reports 64.2% against 63.8% in South Africa, a difference of 0.4%.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 108 shared years of data; in 1000 it was South Africa ahead.
North Korea ranks 125th and South Africa ranks 127th of 238 countries.
Across the 40 decades both report, North Korea averaged higher in 4 and South Africa in 36.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | North Korea | 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% | 0.0% | South Africa |
| 1400s | 0.0% | 0.2% | 0.1% | South Africa |
| 1500s | 0.1% | 0.5% | 0.4% | South Africa |
| 1600s | 0.3% | 1.4% | 1.1% | South Africa |
| 1700s | 0.8% | 4.2% | 3.4% | South Africa |
| 1710s | 0.7% | 4.8% | 4.1% | South Africa |
| 1720s | 0.8% | 5.3% | 4.5% | South Africa |
| 1730s | 1.0% | 5.9% | 4.9% | South Africa |
| 1740s | 1.1% | 6.5% | 5.3% | South Africa |
| 1750s | 1.3% | 7.0% | 5.7% | South Africa |
| 1760s | 1.5% | 7.6% | 6.0% | South Africa |
| 1770s | 1.8% | 8.1% | 6.3% | South Africa |
| 1780s | 2.1% | 8.7% | 6.6% | South Africa |
| 1790s | 2.4% | 9.2% | 6.8% | South Africa |
| 1800s | 2.8% | 9.8% | 6.9% | South Africa |
| 1810s | 3.3% | 10.3% | 7.0% | South Africa |
| 1820s | 3.9% | 10.9% | 7.0% | South Africa |
| 1830s | 4.5% | 11.4% | 6.9% | South Africa |
| 1840s | 5.2% | 12.0% | 6.7% | South Africa |
| 1850s | 6.1% | 12.5% | 6.4% | South Africa |
| 1860s | 7.1% | 13.1% | 5.9% | South Africa |
| 1870s | 8.3% | 13.6% | 5.3% | South Africa |
| 1880s | 9.7% | 14.2% | 4.5% | South Africa |
| 1890s | 11.3% | 14.7% | 3.4% | South Africa |
| 1900s | 13.2% | 15.3% | 2.1% | South Africa |
| 1910s | 15.4% | 18.0% | 2.6% | South Africa |
| 1920s | 18.0% | 20.7% | 2.7% | South Africa |
| 1930s | 21.0% | 24.7% | 3.7% | South Africa |
| 1940s | 24.5% | 28.9% | 4.4% | South Africa |
| 1950s | 21.0% | 44.5% | 23.5% | South Africa |
| 1960s | 47.0% | 47.3% | 0.3% | South Africa |
| 1970s | 56.1% | 48.0% | 8.1% | North Korea |
| 1980s | 57.5% | 49.4% | 8.1% | North Korea |
| 1990s | 59.0% | 53.4% | 5.6% | North Korea |
| 2000s | 59.7% | 59.4% | 0.3% | North Korea |
| 2010s | 61.3% | 63.1% | 1.9% | South Africa |
| 2020s | 63.4% | 63.6% | 0.2% | South Africa |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher do more people live in urban or rural areas?, North Korea or South Africa?
- North Korea, at 64.2% against 63.8% in South Africa as of 2025.
- What is the difference in do more people live in urban or rural areas? between North Korea and South Africa?
- 0.4%, with North Korea ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for North Korea and South Africa?
- 108 years are reported by both, from 1000 to 2025.
- How do North Korea and South Africa rank globally for do more people live in urban or rural areas??
- North Korea ranks 125th 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.