Singapore vs (UN M49): Do more people live in urban or rural areas?
Singapore
100.0%
in 2025
(UN M49)
69.3%
in 2025
Singapore rank
1st
(UN M49) rank
1st
Do more people live in urban or rural areas? over time
- Singapore
- (UN M49)
How they compare
Singapore currently reports 100.0% against 69.3% in (UN M49), a difference of 30.7%.
That makes Singapore's figure about 1.4 times (UN M49)'s.
Across all 76 years both countries report, Singapore has been ahead every year.
Singapore ranks 1st and (UN M49) ranks 1st of 238 countries.
Singapore has averaged higher in every one of the 8 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Singapore | (UN M49) | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 100.0% | 30.2% | 69.8% | Singapore |
| 1960s | 100.0% | 51.6% | 48.4% | Singapore |
| 1970s | 100.0% | 57.3% | 42.7% | Singapore |
| 1980s | 100.0% | 60.7% | 39.3% | Singapore |
| 1990s | 100.0% | 63.3% | 36.7% | Singapore |
| 2000s | 100.0% | 65.8% | 34.2% | Singapore |
| 2010s | 100.0% | 67.1% | 32.9% | Singapore |
| 2020s | 100.0% | 68.7% | 31.3% | Singapore |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher do more people live in urban or rural areas?, Singapore or (UN M49)?
- Singapore, 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 Singapore and (UN M49)?
- 30.7%, with Singapore ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Singapore and (UN M49)?
- 76 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2025.
- How do Singapore and (UN M49) rank globally for do more people live in urban or rural areas??
- Singapore 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) 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.