Urban population, total in India

India: Urban population, total was 0.3% in 2019. ▲ Rising

Latest (2019)
0.3%
Change on year
up 0.1%
World rank
89th
of 103 countries
All-time high
0.3%
in 2019
All-time low
0.2%
in 1987
Years of data
12
1983–2019

Urban population, total in India, 1983–2019

00.10.20.31983200120191983: 0.237 % of total population1987: 0.226 % of total population1993: 0.248 % of total population1999: 0.254 % of total population2004: 0.255 % of total population2005: 0.242 % of total population2007: 0.263 % of total population2009: 0.273 % of total population2011: 0.288 % of total population2017: 0.293 % of total population2018: 0.304 % of total population2019: 0.304 % of total population

Source: World Bank. Measured in % of total population.

Analysis

India recorded 0.3% for urban population, total in 2019. That is the highest value across all 12 years on record.

That represents a change of up 0.1% on the previous year and up 11.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, urban population, total in India peaked at 0.3% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 0.2%, in 1987.

That places India 89th out of 103 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 12 years of available data.

Urban population, total in India, year by year

Annual values for Urban population, total (% of total population) in India, 1983 to 2019.
Year % of total population Change
1983 0.2% —
1987 0.2% -4.8%
1993 0.2% +9.9%
1999 0.3% +2.4%
2004 0.3% +0.2%
2005 0.2% -5.2%
2007 0.3% +9.0%
2009 0.3% +3.8%
2011 0.3% +5.6%
2017 0.3% +1.6%
2018 0.3% +3.6%
2019 0.3% +0.1%

India compared with similar countries

  • India's 0.3% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.4%, 73% of the median. (23 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 2
1990s 0.3% 0.2% 0.3% 2
2000s 0.3% 0.2% 0.3% 4
2010s 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 4

Countries ranked near India

  1. 86 Nigeria 0.4% compare
  2. 87 Laos 0.3% compare
  3. 88 Mozambique 0.3% compare
  4. 90 Nepal 0.3% compare
  5. 91 Bangladesh 0.3% compare
  6. 92 Tanzania 0.3% compare

See the full ranking of 103 places →

More reference data data for India

All data for India →

Frequently asked questions

What is urban population, total in India?
Urban population, total in India was 0.3% in 2019, according to the World Bank.
What is the highest urban population, total recorded in India?
The highest recorded value was 0.3% in 2019.
What is the lowest urban population, total recorded in India?
The lowest recorded value was 0.2% in 1987.
How does India rank for urban population, total?
India ranks 89th out of 103 countries with data for 2019.
Is urban population, total rising or falling in India?
Over the last ten years it is up 11.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this India data come from?
The figures come from the World Bank, published as part of Urban population, total (% of total population). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Urban population, total in India. Statizoid. Retrieved 30 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/urban-population-total-percent-of-total-population/india/

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About this data

Indicator
Urban population, total (% of total population)
Unit
% of total population
Source
World Bank
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
103 places, 1,485 data points, 1970–2021
Last refreshed