Nigeria vs South Africa: Do more people live in urban or rural areas?
Nigeria
63.8%
in 2025
South Africa
63.8%
in 2025
Nigeria rank
128th
South Africa rank
127th
Do more people live in urban or rural areas? over time
- Nigeria
- South Africa
How they compare
South Africa currently reports 63.8% against 63.8% in Nigeria, a difference of 0.0%.
Across all 108 years both countries report, South Africa has been ahead every year.
Nigeria ranks 128th and South Africa ranks 127th of 238 countries.
South Africa has averaged higher in every one of the 40 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Nigeria | 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 | 1.0% | 4.2% | 3.3% | South Africa |
| 1710s | 1.1% | 4.8% | 3.7% | South Africa |
| 1720s | 1.2% | 5.3% | 4.1% | South Africa |
| 1730s | 1.3% | 5.9% | 4.6% | South Africa |
| 1740s | 1.5% | 6.5% | 5.0% | South Africa |
| 1750s | 1.6% | 7.0% | 5.4% | South Africa |
| 1760s | 1.8% | 7.6% | 5.8% | South Africa |
| 1770s | 1.9% | 8.1% | 6.2% | South Africa |
| 1780s | 2.1% | 8.7% | 6.6% | South Africa |
| 1790s | 2.3% | 9.2% | 6.9% | South Africa |
| 1800s | 2.5% | 9.8% | 7.2% | South Africa |
| 1810s | 2.8% | 10.3% | 7.6% | South Africa |
| 1820s | 3.0% | 10.9% | 7.8% | South Africa |
| 1830s | 3.3% | 11.4% | 8.1% | South Africa |
| 1840s | 3.6% | 12.0% | 8.3% | South Africa |
| 1850s | 4.0% | 12.5% | 8.6% | South Africa |
| 1860s | 4.4% | 13.1% | 8.7% | South Africa |
| 1870s | 4.8% | 13.6% | 8.9% | South Africa |
| 1880s | 5.2% | 14.2% | 9.0% | South Africa |
| 1890s | 5.7% | 14.7% | 9.0% | South Africa |
| 1900s | 6.3% | 15.3% | 9.0% | South Africa |
| 1910s | 6.9% | 18.0% | 11.1% | South Africa |
| 1920s | 7.5% | 20.7% | 13.2% | South Africa |
| 1930s | 8.2% | 24.7% | 16.5% | South Africa |
| 1940s | 9.0% | 28.9% | 19.9% | South Africa |
| 1950s | 11.7% | 44.5% | 32.8% | South Africa |
| 1960s | 16.8% | 47.3% | 30.4% | South Africa |
| 1970s | 23.4% | 48.0% | 24.7% | South Africa |
| 1980s | 30.9% | 49.4% | 18.5% | South Africa |
| 1990s | 38.8% | 53.4% | 14.6% | South Africa |
| 2000s | 47.1% | 59.4% | 12.3% | South Africa |
| 2010s | 55.3% | 63.1% | 7.8% | South Africa |
| 2020s | 61.8% | 63.6% | 1.8% | 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?, Nigeria or South Africa?
- South Africa, at 63.8% against 63.8% in Nigeria as of 2025.
- What is the difference in do more people live in urban or rural areas? between Nigeria and South Africa?
- 0.0%, with South Africa ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Nigeria and South Africa?
- 108 years are reported by both, from 1000 to 2025.
- How do Nigeria and South Africa rank globally for do more people live in urban or rural areas??
- Nigeria ranks 128th 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.