Share of population living in urban areas in Liberia

Liberia: Share of population living in urban areas was 59.0% in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)
59.0%
World rank
185th
of 236 countries
All-time high
61.5%
in 1990
All-time low
38.4%
in 1950
Years of data
15
1950–2020

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

02040601950198520201950: 38.4 %1955: 38.5 %1960: 39 %1965: 39.8 %1970: 40.8 %1975: 41.9 %1980: 43.2 %1985: 46.8 %1990: 61.5 %1995: 45.9 %2000: 52.1 %2005: 58.6 %2010: 54.4 %2015: 56.7 %2020: 59 %

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 Liberia stood at 59.0%.

The figure is up 8.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of population living in urban areas in Liberia peaked at 61.5% in 1990 and was at its lowest, 38.4%, in 1950.

Liberia ranks 185th of 236 countries on this measure, 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 38.4% 38.4% 38.5% 2
1960s 39.4% 39.0% 39.8% 2
1970s 41.3% 40.8% 41.9% 2
1980s 45.0% 43.2% 46.8% 2
1990s 53.7% 45.9% 61.5% 2
2000s 55.4% 52.1% 58.6% 2
2010s 55.6% 54.4% 56.7% 2
2020s 59.0% 59.0% 59.0% 1

Countries ranked near Liberia

  1. 182 Paraguay 59.4% compare
  2. 183 Mauritania 59.1% compare
  3. 184 Honduras 59.1% compare
  4. 186 Austria 58.7% compare
  5. 187 Lithuania 57.9% compare
  6. 188 Samoa 57.8% compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More reference data data for Liberia

All data for Liberia →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of population living in urban areas in Liberia?
Share of population living in urban areas in Liberia was 59.0% 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 Liberia?
The highest recorded value was 61.5% in 1990.
What is the lowest share of population living in urban areas recorded in Liberia?
The lowest recorded value was 38.4% in 1950.
How does Liberia rank for share of population living in urban areas?
Liberia ranks 185th out of 236 countries with data for 2020.
Is share of population living in urban areas rising or falling in Liberia?
Over the last ten years it is up 8.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Liberia 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.