Urban population, total in South Africa

South Africa: Urban population, total was 0.7% in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)
0.7%
Change on year
up 0.0%
World rank
43rd
of 103 countries
All-time high
0.7%
in 2020
All-time low
0.5%
in 1995
Years of data
20
1995–2020

Urban population, total in South Africa, 1995–2020

00.20.40.61995200720201995: 0.527 % of total population2000: 0.58 % of total population2001: 0.576 % of total population2002: 0.542 % of total population2003: 0.548 % of total population2004: 0.55 % of total population2005: 0.59 % of total population2008: 0.63 % of total population2009: 0.629 % of total population2010: 0.629 % of total population2011: 0.634 % of total population2012: 0.638 % of total population2013: 0.643 % of total population2014: 0.645 % of total population2015: 0.633 % of total population2016: 0.635 % of total population2017: 0.648 % of total population2018: 0.648 % of total population2019: 0.651 % of total population2020: 0.651 % of total population

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

Analysis

South Africa recorded 0.7% for urban population, total in 2020. That is the highest value across all 20 years on record.

That represents a change of up 3.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, urban population, total in South Africa peaked at 0.7% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.5%, in 1995.

That places South Africa 43rd out of 103 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 20 years of available data.

Urban population, total in South Africa, year by year

Annual values for Urban population, total (% of total population) in South Africa, 1995 to 2020.
Year % of total population Change
1995 0.5%
2000 0.6% +9.9%
2001 0.6% -0.7%
2002 0.5% -5.9%
2003 0.5% +1.1%
2004 0.5% +0.4%
2005 0.6% +7.3%
2008 0.6% +6.7%
2009 0.6% -0.1%
2010 0.6% +0.0%
2011 0.6% +0.8%
2012 0.6% +0.6%
2013 0.6% +0.8%
2014 0.6% +0.3%
2015 0.6% -1.8%
2016 0.6% +0.2%
2017 0.6% +2.0%
2018 0.6% +0.0%
2019 0.7% +0.5%
2020 0.7% +0.0%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 0.5% 0.5% 0.5% 1
2000s 0.6% 0.5% 0.6% 8
2010s 0.6% 0.6% 0.7% 10
2020s 0.7% 0.7% 0.7% 1

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 40 Bulgaria 0.7% compare
  2. 41 Denmark 0.7% compare
  3. 42 France 0.7% compare
  4. 44 Paraguay 0.6% compare
  5. 45 Montenegro 0.6% compare
  6. 46 Latvia 0.6% compare

See the full ranking of 103 places →

More reference data data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is urban population, total in South Africa?
Urban population, total in South Africa was 0.7% in 2020, according to the World Bank.
What is the highest urban population, total recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 0.7% in 2020.
What is the lowest urban population, total recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 0.5% in 1995.
How does South Africa rank for urban population, total?
South Africa ranks 43rd out of 103 countries with data for 2020.
Is urban population, total rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is up 3.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this South Africa 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 South Africa. Statizoid. Retrieved 28 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/urban-population-total-percent-of-total-population/south-africa/

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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