Share of population living in urban and rural areas in Australia
Australia: Share of population living in urban and rural areas was 82.2% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Share of population living in urban and rural areas in Australia, 1950–2020
Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Australia recorded 82.2% for share of population living in urban and rural areas in 2020. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.
The figure is up 2.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in urban and rural areas in Australia peaked at 82.2% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 65.8%, in 1950.
Australia ranks 72nd of 236 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.
Share of population living in urban and rural areas in Australia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 65.8% | — |
| 1955 | 68.1% | +3.5% |
| 1960 | 70.1% | +2.9% |
| 1965 | 71.8% | +2.4% |
| 1970 | 73.4% | +2.2% |
| 1975 | 75.2% | +2.4% |
| 1980 | 75.9% | +1.0% |
| 1985 | 76.7% | +1.0% |
| 1990 | 77.5% | +1.1% |
| 1995 | 78.4% | +1.2% |
| 2000 | 78.4% | -0.1% |
| 2005 | 79.0% | +0.8% |
| 2010 | 80.2% | +1.5% |
| 2015 | 81.3% | +1.3% |
| 2020 | 82.2% | +1.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 67.0% | 65.8% | 68.1% | 2 |
| 1960s | 71.0% | 70.1% | 71.8% | 2 |
| 1970s | 74.3% | 73.4% | 75.2% | 2 |
| 1980s | 76.3% | 75.9% | 76.7% | 2 |
| 1990s | 78.0% | 77.5% | 78.4% | 2 |
| 2000s | 78.7% | 78.4% | 79.0% | 2 |
| 2010s | 80.8% | 80.2% | 81.3% | 2 |
| 2020s | 82.2% | 82.2% | 82.2% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More reference data data for Australia
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.21 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 28.02 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 38.41 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 38.41 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 4.07 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 6.14 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 118.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 170.29 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 13.9 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population living in urban and rural areas in Australia?
- Share of population living in urban and rural areas in Australia was 82.2% in 2020, according to European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of population living in urban and rural areas recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 82.2% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of population living in urban and rural areas recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 65.8% in 1950.
- How does Australia rank for share of population living in urban and rural areas?
- Australia ranks 72nd out of 236 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of population living in urban and rural areas rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of population living in urban and rural areas. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Estimated share of the population living in urban areas (the sum of cities and towns and suburbs). Urban areas are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.