Share of population living in urban areas in Botswana
Botswana: Share of population living in urban areas was 69.2% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Share of population living in urban areas in Botswana, 1950–2020
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 Botswana is 69.2%, measured in 2020.
That represents a change of down 0.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in urban areas in Botswana peaked at 69.7% in 2015 and was at its lowest, 46.4%, in 1950.
Botswana ranks 147th 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
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 47.2% | 46.4% | 48.0% | 2 |
| 1960s | 50.1% | 49.3% | 50.9% | 2 |
| 1970s | 51.7% | 50.3% | 53.1% | 2 |
| 1980s | 60.4% | 58.5% | 62.4% | 2 |
| 1990s | 64.9% | 63.8% | 66.0% | 2 |
| 2000s | 67.9% | 67.8% | 68.1% | 2 |
| 2010s | 69.5% | 69.3% | 69.7% | 2 |
| 2020s | 69.2% | 69.2% | 69.2% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Botswana
More reference data data for Botswana
- Spring temperature anomalies -1.39 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.8179 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month -0.391 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 1.76 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies -1.55 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 202.64 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 1 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population living in urban areas in Botswana?
- Share of population living in urban areas in Botswana was 69.2% 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 Botswana?
- The highest recorded value was 69.7% in 2015.
- What is the lowest share of population living in urban areas recorded in Botswana?
- The lowest recorded value was 46.4% in 1950.
- How does Botswana rank for share of population living in urban areas?
- Botswana ranks 147th out of 236 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of population living in urban areas rising or falling in Botswana?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Botswana 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.