Share of population living in urban and rural areas in Kiribati
Kiribati: Share of population living in urban and rural areas was 66.5% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Share of population living in urban and rural areas in Kiribati, 1950–2020
Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Kiribati recorded 66.5% for share of population living in urban and rural areas in 2020. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.
That represents a change of up 29.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in urban and rural areas in Kiribati peaked at 66.5% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 23.7%, in 1950.
That places Kiribati 158th out of 236 countries with data for 2020, putting it 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 Kiribati, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 23.7% | — |
| 1955 | 25.9% | +9.4% |
| 1960 | 28.5% | +9.8% |
| 1965 | 31.3% | +10.1% |
| 1970 | 33.4% | +6.6% |
| 1975 | 35.4% | +6.1% |
| 1980 | 30.4% | -14.3% |
| 1985 | 32.9% | +8.3% |
| 1990 | 35.6% | +8.3% |
| 1995 | 38.3% | +7.6% |
| 2000 | 44.5% | +16.0% |
| 2005 | 46.7% | +4.9% |
| 2010 | 51.5% | +10.2% |
| 2015 | 56.7% | +10.1% |
| 2020 | 66.5% | +17.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 24.8% | 23.7% | 25.9% | 2 |
| 1960s | 29.9% | 28.5% | 31.3% | 2 |
| 1970s | 34.4% | 33.4% | 35.4% | 2 |
| 1980s | 31.6% | 30.4% | 32.9% | 2 |
| 1990s | 37.0% | 35.6% | 38.3% | 2 |
| 2000s | 45.6% | 44.5% | 46.7% | 2 |
| 2010s | 54.1% | 51.5% | 56.7% | 2 |
| 2020s | 66.5% | 66.5% | 66.5% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Kiribati
- 155 Isle of Man 67.5% compare
- 156 Côte d'Ivoire 67.3% compare
- 157 Greece 67.2% compare
- 159 New Caledonia 65.6% compare
- 160 South Sudan 65.2% compare
- 161 Estonia 65.0% compare
More reference data data for Kiribati
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.0059 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.0001 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0058 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.0059 (2050)
- Summer temperature anomalies 1.23 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month -0.0955 °C (2026)
- Spring temperature anomalies 0.3032 °C (2026)
- Emission Totals - Direct emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.0007 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - Enteric 0.7542 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - Manure left on Pasture 0.2183 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population living in urban and rural areas in Kiribati?
- Share of population living in urban and rural areas in Kiribati was 66.5% 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 Kiribati?
- The highest recorded value was 66.5% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of population living in urban and rural areas recorded in Kiribati?
- The lowest recorded value was 23.7% in 1950.
- How does Kiribati rank for share of population living in urban and rural areas?
- Kiribati ranks 158th out of 236 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of population living in urban and rural areas rising or falling in Kiribati?
- Over the last ten years it is up 29.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Kiribati 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.
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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.