Share of population living in urban and rural areas in South Sudan
South Sudan: Share of population living in urban and rural areas was 65.2% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Share of population living in urban and rural areas in South Sudan, 1950–2020
Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2020, share of population living in urban and rural areas in South Sudan stood at 65.2%. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.
That represents a change of up 23.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in urban and rural areas in South Sudan peaked at 65.2% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 13.8%, in 1950.
That places South Sudan 160th 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 South Sudan, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 13.8% | — |
| 1955 | 15.4% | +11.8% |
| 1960 | 17.2% | +11.8% |
| 1965 | 19.2% | +11.6% |
| 1970 | 21.1% | +10.0% |
| 1975 | 23.9% | +13.1% |
| 1980 | 26.7% | +11.7% |
| 1985 | 30.2% | +13.1% |
| 1990 | 32.6% | +7.9% |
| 1995 | 35.8% | +9.8% |
| 2000 | 40.1% | +12.1% |
| 2005 | 45.3% | +13.0% |
| 2010 | 52.9% | +16.8% |
| 2015 | 60.2% | +13.9% |
| 2020 | 65.2% | +8.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 14.6% | 13.8% | 15.4% | 2 |
| 1960s | 18.2% | 17.2% | 19.2% | 2 |
| 1970s | 22.5% | 21.1% | 23.9% | 2 |
| 1980s | 28.4% | 26.7% | 30.2% | 2 |
| 1990s | 34.2% | 32.6% | 35.8% | 2 |
| 2000s | 42.7% | 40.1% | 45.3% | 2 |
| 2010s | 56.6% | 52.9% | 60.2% | 2 |
| 2020s | 65.2% | 65.2% | 65.2% | 1 |
Countries ranked near South Sudan
More reference data data for South Sudan
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 7.41 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 7.41 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 7 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.3667 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0368 (2019)
- Temperature anomalies by month -0.2213 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 2.51 °C (2026)
- Spring temperature anomalies -2.16 °C (2026)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 26,453 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Direct emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1636 (2019)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population living in urban and rural areas in South Sudan?
- Share of population living in urban and rural areas in South Sudan was 65.2% 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 South Sudan?
- The highest recorded value was 65.2% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of population living in urban and rural areas recorded in South Sudan?
- The lowest recorded value was 13.8% in 1950.
- How does South Sudan rank for share of population living in urban and rural areas?
- South Sudan ranks 160th out of 236 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of population living in urban and rural areas rising or falling in South Sudan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 23.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Sudan 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.