South Korea vs Spain: Do more people live in urban or rural areas?
South Korea
81.2%
in 2025
Spain
80.5%
in 2025
South Korea rank
65th
Spain rank
67th
Do more people live in urban or rural areas? over time
- South Korea
- Spain
How they compare
South Korea currently reports 81.2% against 80.5% in Spain, a difference of 0.7%.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 108 shared years of data; in 1000 it was Spain ahead.
South Korea ranks 65th and Spain ranks 67th of 238 countries.
Across the 40 decades both report, South Korea averaged higher in 4 and Spain in 36.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | South Korea | Spain | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1000s | 0.0% | 13.5% | 13.5% | Spain |
| 1100s | 0.0% | 16.4% | 16.4% | Spain |
| 1200s | 0.0% | 13.2% | 13.2% | Spain |
| 1300s | 0.0% | 36.2% | 36.2% | Spain |
| 1400s | 0.1% | 23.3% | 23.2% | Spain |
| 1500s | 0.2% | 13.8% | 13.6% | Spain |
| 1600s | 0.7% | 17.1% | 16.3% | Spain |
| 1700s | 2.1% | 20.3% | 18.2% | Spain |
| 1710s | 2.4% | 20.5% | 18.1% | Spain |
| 1720s | 2.6% | 20.7% | 18.1% | Spain |
| 1730s | 2.9% | 21.0% | 18.1% | Spain |
| 1740s | 3.2% | 21.2% | 18.0% | Spain |
| 1750s | 3.5% | 21.4% | 17.9% | Spain |
| 1760s | 3.8% | 21.0% | 17.2% | Spain |
| 1770s | 4.2% | 20.6% | 16.5% | Spain |
| 1780s | 4.5% | 20.3% | 15.7% | Spain |
| 1790s | 5.0% | 19.9% | 14.9% | Spain |
| 1800s | 5.5% | 19.5% | 14.0% | Spain |
| 1810s | 6.0% | 21.7% | 15.7% | Spain |
| 1820s | 6.5% | 23.8% | 17.3% | Spain |
| 1830s | 7.2% | 26.0% | 18.8% | Spain |
| 1840s | 7.9% | 28.1% | 20.3% | Spain |
| 1850s | 8.6% | 30.3% | 21.7% | Spain |
| 1860s | 9.4% | 32.4% | 23.0% | Spain |
| 1870s | 10.3% | 34.6% | 24.3% | Spain |
| 1880s | 11.3% | 36.7% | 25.4% | Spain |
| 1890s | 12.4% | 38.9% | 26.5% | Spain |
| 1900s | 13.5% | 41.0% | 27.5% | Spain |
| 1910s | 14.8% | 43.2% | 28.4% | Spain |
| 1920s | 16.3% | 45.3% | 29.1% | Spain |
| 1930s | 17.8% | 47.5% | 29.7% | Spain |
| 1940s | 19.5% | 49.7% | 30.2% | Spain |
| 1950s | 23.9% | 53.6% | 29.7% | Spain |
| 1960s | 32.1% | 60.7% | 28.6% | Spain |
| 1970s | 47.5% | 68.7% | 21.2% | Spain |
| 1980s | 64.3% | 73.2% | 9.0% | Spain |
| 1990s | 77.5% | 75.5% | 2.0% | South Korea |
| 2000s | 81.0% | 77.1% | 3.9% | South Korea |
| 2010s | 81.7% | 79.1% | 2.5% | South Korea |
| 2020s | 81.2% | 80.1% | 1.1% | South Korea |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher do more people live in urban or rural areas?, South Korea or Spain?
- South Korea, at 81.2% against 80.5% in Spain as of 2025.
- What is the difference in do more people live in urban or rural areas? between South Korea and Spain?
- 0.7%, with South Korea ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for South Korea and Spain?
- 108 years are reported by both, from 1000 to 2025.
- How do South Korea and Spain rank globally for do more people live in urban or rural areas??
- South Korea ranks 65th and Spain ranks 67th 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 modeled historical data.