Share of population living in urban areas in Austria

Austria: Share of population living in urban areas was 58.7% in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)
58.7%
World rank
186th
of 236 countries
All-time high
58.7%
in 2020
All-time low
49.2%
in 1950
Years of data
15
1950–2020

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

02040601950198520201950: 49.2 %1955: 49.2 %1960: 49.6 %1965: 50.5 %1970: 51.4 %1975: 51.9 %1980: 51.7 %1985: 51.9 %1990: 52 %1995: 52.5 %2000: 53.4 %2005: 54.9 %2010: 56 %2015: 57.4 %2020: 58.7 %

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

Analysis

Austria recorded 58.7% for share of population living in urban areas in 2020. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.

That represents a change of up 4.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of population living in urban areas in Austria peaked at 58.7% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 49.2%, in 1950.

That places Austria 186th out of 236 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 49.2% 49.2% 49.2% 2
1960s 50.0% 49.6% 50.5% 2
1970s 51.6% 51.4% 51.9% 2
1980s 51.8% 51.7% 51.9% 2
1990s 52.2% 52.0% 52.5% 2
2000s 54.2% 53.4% 54.9% 2
2010s 56.7% 56.0% 57.4% 2
2020s 58.7% 58.7% 58.7% 1

Countries ranked near Austria

  1. 183 Mauritania 59.1% compare
  2. 184 Honduras 59.1% compare
  3. 185 Liberia 59.0% compare
  4. 187 Lithuania 57.9% compare
  5. 188 Samoa 57.8% compare
  6. 189 Sierra Leone 57.7% compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More reference data data for Austria

All data for Austria →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of population living in urban areas in Austria?
Share of population living in urban areas in Austria was 58.7% 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 Austria?
The highest recorded value was 58.7% in 2020.
What is the lowest share of population living in urban areas recorded in Austria?
The lowest recorded value was 49.2% in 1950.
How does Austria rank for share of population living in urban areas?
Austria ranks 186th out of 236 countries with data for 2020.
Is share of population living in urban areas rising or falling in Austria?
Over the last ten years it is up 4.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Austria 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.