Share of population living in urban and rural areas in Mexico
Mexico: Share of population living in urban and rural areas was 77.3% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Share of population living in urban and rural areas in Mexico, 1950–2020
Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Mexico recorded 77.3% for share of population living in urban and rural areas in 2020.
That represents a change of up 0.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in urban and rural areas in Mexico peaked at 77.9% in 2015 and was at its lowest, 48.4%, in 1950.
Mexico ranks 93rd 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 Mexico, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 48.4% | — |
| 1955 | 51.6% | +6.6% |
| 1960 | 55.2% | +6.8% |
| 1965 | 59.0% | +6.9% |
| 1970 | 62.7% | +6.4% |
| 1975 | 66.1% | +5.3% |
| 1980 | 68.8% | +4.0% |
| 1985 | 71.0% | +3.3% |
| 1990 | 73.7% | +3.8% |
| 1995 | 74.8% | +1.4% |
| 2000 | 75.9% | +1.5% |
| 2005 | 76.4% | +0.6% |
| 2010 | 77.2% | +1.1% |
| 2015 | 77.9% | +0.9% |
| 2020 | 77.3% | -0.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 50.0% | 48.4% | 51.6% | 2 |
| 1960s | 57.1% | 55.2% | 59.0% | 2 |
| 1970s | 64.4% | 62.7% | 66.1% | 2 |
| 1980s | 69.9% | 68.8% | 71.0% | 2 |
| 1990s | 74.2% | 73.7% | 74.8% | 2 |
| 2000s | 76.1% | 75.9% | 76.4% | 2 |
| 2010s | 77.6% | 77.2% | 77.9% | 2 |
| 2020s | 77.3% | 77.3% | 77.3% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Mexico
More reference data data for Mexico
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 4.11 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 16.66 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 32.65 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.75 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 32.65 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 13.78 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 7.36 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 84.69 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 157.18 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 9.55 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population living in urban and rural areas in Mexico?
- Share of population living in urban and rural areas in Mexico was 77.3% 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 Mexico?
- The highest recorded value was 77.9% in 2015.
- What is the lowest share of population living in urban and rural areas recorded in Mexico?
- The lowest recorded value was 48.4% in 1950.
- How does Mexico rank for share of population living in urban and rural areas?
- Mexico ranks 93rd out of 236 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of population living in urban and rural areas rising or falling in Mexico?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Mexico 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.