Share of population living in urban areas in Pakistan
Pakistan: Share of population living in urban areas was 88.0% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Share of population living in urban areas in Pakistan, 1950–2020
Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Pakistan recorded 88.0% for share of population living in urban areas in 2020. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.
The figure is up 5.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in urban areas in Pakistan peaked at 88.0% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 39.3%, in 1950.
Pakistan ranks 39th 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
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 40.9% | 39.3% | 42.5% | 2 |
| 1960s | 48.2% | 46.2% | 50.1% | 2 |
| 1970s | 56.1% | 54.1% | 58.1% | 2 |
| 1980s | 63.5% | 61.3% | 65.7% | 2 |
| 1990s | 72.9% | 70.9% | 74.9% | 2 |
| 2000s | 79.9% | 78.6% | 81.2% | 2 |
| 2010s | 84.7% | 83.8% | 85.7% | 2 |
| 2020s | 88.0% | 88.0% | 88.0% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Pakistan
- 36 Equatorial Guinea 89.5% compare
- 37 Venezuela 88.5% compare
- 38 Reunion 88.3% compare
- 40 Iraq 87.5% compare
- 41 Trinidad and Tobago 87.4% compare
- 42 Saint Barthelemy 87.2% compare
More reference data data for Pakistan
- Temperature anomalies by month -0.2084 °C (2026)
- Spring temperature anomalies 2.2 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.3588 °C (2026)
- Elected parliament 1 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Consumer price index 400.52 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Democracy 3 (2025)
- Chief executive of the government is elected 1 (2025)
- Competitive elections 0 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population living in urban areas in Pakistan?
- Share of population living in urban areas in Pakistan was 88.0% 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 Pakistan?
- The highest recorded value was 88.0% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of population living in urban areas recorded in Pakistan?
- The lowest recorded value was 39.3% in 1950.
- How does Pakistan rank for share of population living in urban areas?
- Pakistan ranks 39th out of 236 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of population living in urban areas rising or falling in Pakistan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Pakistan 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.