South Sudan vs Sri Lanka: Do more people live in urban or rural areas?
South Sudan
21.7%
in 2025
Sri Lanka
20.5%
in 2025
South Sudan rank
228th
Sri Lanka rank
230th
Do more people live in urban or rural areas? over time
- South Sudan
- Sri Lanka
How they compare
South Sudan currently reports 21.7% against 20.5% in Sri Lanka, a difference of 1.2%.
That makes South Sudan's figure about 1.1 times Sri Lanka's.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 76 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Sri Lanka ahead.
South Sudan ranks 228th and Sri Lanka ranks 230th of 238 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, South Sudan averaged higher in 3 and Sri Lanka in 5.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | South Sudan | Sri Lanka | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 8.2% | 15.8% | 7.6% | Sri Lanka |
| 1960s | 8.6% | 19.7% | 11.1% | Sri Lanka |
| 1970s | 8.5% | 22.2% | 13.7% | Sri Lanka |
| 1980s | 9.5% | 20.3% | 10.8% | Sri Lanka |
| 1990s | 14.5% | 16.2% | 1.7% | Sri Lanka |
| 2000s | 16.7% | 15.3% | 1.4% | South Sudan |
| 2010s | 18.7% | 18.6% | 0.1% | South Sudan |
| 2020s | 20.9% | 20.1% | 0.9% | South Sudan |
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 Sudan or Sri Lanka?
- South Sudan, at 21.7% against 20.5% in Sri Lanka as of 2025.
- What is the difference in do more people live in urban or rural areas? between South Sudan and Sri Lanka?
- 1.2%, with South Sudan ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for South Sudan and Sri Lanka?
- 76 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2025.
- How do South Sudan and Sri Lanka rank globally for do more people live in urban or rural areas??
- South Sudan ranks 228th and Sri Lanka ranks 230th 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 modelled historical data.