Share of population living in urban areas in Estonia

Estonia: Share of population living in urban areas was 65.0% in 2020. ▼ Falling

Latest (2020)
65.0%
World rank
161st
of 236 countries
All-time high
71.8%
in 1980
All-time low
63.3%
in 2010
Years of data
15
1950–2020

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

0204060801950198520201950: 66.1 %1955: 67.4 %1960: 68.3 %1965: 69.5 %1970: 70.5 %1975: 71.3 %1980: 71.8 %1985: 70.9 %1990: 69 %1995: 67.5 %2000: 65.4 %2005: 64 %2010: 63.3 %2015: 63.6 %2020: 65 %

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

Analysis

Estonia recorded 65.0% for share of population living in urban areas in 2020.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of population living in urban areas in Estonia peaked at 71.8% in 1980 and was at its lowest, 63.3%, in 2010.

That places Estonia 161st out of 236 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 66.7% 66.1% 67.4% 2
1960s 68.9% 68.3% 69.5% 2
1970s 70.9% 70.5% 71.3% 2
1980s 71.4% 70.9% 71.8% 2
1990s 68.2% 67.5% 69.0% 2
2000s 64.7% 64.0% 65.4% 2
2010s 63.5% 63.3% 63.6% 2
2020s 65.0% 65.0% 65.0% 1

Countries ranked near Estonia

  1. 158 Kiribati 66.5% compare
  2. 159 New Caledonia 65.6% compare
  3. 160 South Sudan 65.2% compare
  4. 162 Serbia 64.8% compare
  5. 163 Denmark 64.8% compare
  6. 164 Norway 64.5% compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More reference data data for Estonia

All data for Estonia →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of population living in urban areas in Estonia?
Share of population living in urban areas in Estonia was 65.0% 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 Estonia?
The highest recorded value was 71.8% in 1980.
What is the lowest share of population living in urban areas recorded in Estonia?
The lowest recorded value was 63.3% in 2010.
How does Estonia rank for share of population living in urban areas?
Estonia ranks 161st out of 236 countries with data for 2020.
Is share of population living in urban areas rising or falling in Estonia?
Over the last ten years it is up 2.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Estonia 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.