Share of population living in urban areas in Lebanon

Lebanon: Share of population living in urban areas was 89.6% in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)
89.6%
World rank
35th
of 236 countries
All-time high
91.3%
in 2015
All-time low
77.9%
in 1950
Years of data
15
1950–2020

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

0204060801001950198520201950: 77.9 %1955: 80.3 %1960: 82.5 %1965: 84.6 %1970: 86.3 %1975: 87.6 %1980: 86.1 %1985: 82.6 %1990: 81.4 %1995: 82.8 %2000: 84.6 %2005: 85.8 %2010: 86.8 %2015: 91.3 %2020: 89.6 %

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 Lebanon stood at 89.6%.

The figure is up 3.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of population living in urban areas in Lebanon peaked at 91.3% in 2015 and was at its lowest, 77.9%, in 1950.

Lebanon ranks 35th of 236 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 79.1% 77.9% 80.3% 2
1960s 83.6% 82.5% 84.6% 2
1970s 86.9% 86.3% 87.6% 2
1980s 84.4% 82.6% 86.1% 2
1990s 82.1% 81.4% 82.8% 2
2000s 85.2% 84.6% 85.8% 2
2010s 89.1% 86.8% 91.3% 2
2020s 89.6% 89.6% 89.6% 1

Countries ranked near Lebanon

  1. 32 South Korea 90.1% compare
  2. 34 Saint Martin (French part) 89.7% compare
  3. 36 Equatorial Guinea 89.5% compare
  4. 37 Venezuela 88.5% compare
  5. 38 Reunion 88.3% compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More reference data data for Lebanon

All data for Lebanon →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of population living in urban areas in Lebanon?
Share of population living in urban areas in Lebanon was 89.6% 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 Lebanon?
The highest recorded value was 91.3% in 2015.
What is the lowest share of population living in urban areas recorded in Lebanon?
The lowest recorded value was 77.9% in 1950.
How does Lebanon rank for share of population living in urban areas?
Lebanon ranks 35th out of 236 countries with data for 2020.
Is share of population living in urban areas rising or falling in Lebanon?
Over the last ten years it is up 3.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Lebanon 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.