Share of population living in urban areas in Algeria

Algeria: Share of population living in urban areas was 79.8% in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)
79.8%
World rank
81st
of 236 countries
All-time high
79.8%
in 2020
All-time low
46.0%
in 1950
Years of data
15
1950–2020

Share of population living in urban areas in Algeria, 1950–2020

0204060801950198520201950: 46 %1955: 49.1 %1960: 51.7 %1965: 53.6 %1970: 56.1 %1975: 58.8 %1980: 61.5 %1985: 64.5 %1990: 67 %1995: 70.3 %2000: 72.9 %2005: 74.7 %2010: 76.6 %2015: 78.3 %2020: 79.8 %

Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

The most recent figure for share of population living in urban areas in Algeria is 79.8%, measured in 2020. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.

That represents a change of up 4.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of population living in urban areas in Algeria peaked at 79.8% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 46.0%, in 1950.

Algeria ranks 81st 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.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 47.6% 46.0% 49.1% 2
1960s 52.7% 51.7% 53.6% 2
1970s 57.4% 56.1% 58.8% 2
1980s 63.0% 61.5% 64.5% 2
1990s 68.6% 67.0% 70.3% 2
2000s 73.8% 72.9% 74.7% 2
2010s 77.5% 76.6% 78.3% 2
2020s 79.8% 79.8% 79.8% 1

Countries ranked near Algeria

  1. 78 Brunei 80.8% compare
  2. 79 Nigeria 80.6% compare
  3. 80 San Marino 80.5% compare
  4. 82 Brazil 79.2% compare
  5. 83 Syria 79.0% compare
  6. 84 Azerbaijan 78.9% compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More reference data data for Algeria

All data for Algeria →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of population living in urban areas in Algeria?
Share of population living in urban areas in Algeria was 79.8% 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 areas recorded in Algeria?
The highest recorded value was 79.8% in 2020.
What is the lowest share of population living in urban areas recorded in Algeria?
The lowest recorded value was 46.0% in 1950.
How does Algeria rank for share of population living in urban areas?
Algeria ranks 81st out of 236 countries with data for 2020.
Is share of population living in urban areas rising or falling in Algeria?
Over the last ten years it is up 4.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Algeria 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 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

Indicator
Share of population living in urban areas
Unit
%
Source
European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
236 places, 3,540 data points, 1950–2020
Last refreshed

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.