Share of population living in urban areas in Bangladesh
Bangladesh: Share of population living in urban areas was 98.0% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Share of population living in urban areas in Bangladesh, 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 areas in Bangladesh stood at 98.0%. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in urban areas in Bangladesh peaked at 98.0% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 76.4%, in 1950.
That places Bangladesh 8th out of 236 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 77.5% | 76.4% | 78.6% | 2 |
| 1960s | 82.2% | 81.0% | 83.4% | 2 |
| 1970s | 86.5% | 85.7% | 87.4% | 2 |
| 1980s | 91.6% | 90.1% | 93.1% | 2 |
| 1990s | 95.1% | 94.7% | 95.5% | 2 |
| 2000s | 96.4% | 96.1% | 96.6% | 2 |
| 2010s | 97.3% | 97.1% | 97.5% | 2 |
| 2020s | 98.0% | 98.0% | 98.0% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Bangladesh
More reference data data for Bangladesh
- Temperature anomalies by month 0.3245 °C (2026)
- Spring temperature anomalies -0.2576 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.5165 °C (2026)
- Consumer price index 285 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote in practice 0 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 1.07 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies -0.3565 °C (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 0 (2025)
- Chief executive of the government is elected 0 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population living in urban areas in Bangladesh?
- Share of population living in urban areas in Bangladesh was 98.0% 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 Bangladesh?
- The highest recorded value was 98.0% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of population living in urban areas recorded in Bangladesh?
- The lowest recorded value was 76.4% in 1950.
- How does Bangladesh rank for share of population living in urban areas?
- Bangladesh ranks 8th out of 236 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of population living in urban areas rising or falling in Bangladesh?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Bangladesh 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
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.