Share of population living in urban areas in Russia
Russia: Share of population living in urban areas was 78.8% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Share of population living in urban areas in Russia, 1950–2020
Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Russia recorded 78.8% 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 0.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in urban areas in Russia peaked at 78.8% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 71.3%, in 1950.
That places Russia 85th out of 236 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.
Share of population living in urban areas in Russia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 71.3% | — |
| 1955 | 73.0% | +2.4% |
| 1960 | 74.7% | +2.3% |
| 1965 | 75.9% | +1.6% |
| 1970 | 76.5% | +0.8% |
| 1975 | 77.0% | +0.6% |
| 1980 | 77.7% | +1.0% |
| 1985 | 78.0% | +0.4% |
| 1990 | 78.2% | +0.2% |
| 1995 | 78.3% | +0.1% |
| 2000 | 78.5% | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 78.5% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 78.5% | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 78.6% | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 78.8% | +0.3% |
Russia compared with similar countries
- Russia's 78.8% is above the median for high income countries, which is 76.2%, 1.0× the median. (85 countries reporting)
- Russia's 78.8% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 69.7%, 1.1× the median. (56 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 72.2% | 71.3% | 73.0% | 2 |
| 1960s | 75.3% | 74.7% | 75.9% | 2 |
| 1970s | 76.7% | 76.5% | 77.0% | 2 |
| 1980s | 77.9% | 77.7% | 78.0% | 2 |
| 1990s | 78.2% | 78.2% | 78.3% | 2 |
| 2000s | 78.5% | 78.5% | 78.5% | 2 |
| 2010s | 78.5% | 78.5% | 78.6% | 2 |
| 2020s | 78.8% | 78.8% | 78.8% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Russia
- 82 Brazil 79.2% compare
- 83 Syria 79.0% compare
- 84 Azerbaijan 78.9% compare
- 86 Seychelles 78.7% compare
- 87 American Samoa 78.7% compare
- 88 Spain 78.6% compare
More reference data data for Russia
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 9.34 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 4.11 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 26.58 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 4.94 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 26.58 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 31.32 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 19.38 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 18.16 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 129.69 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 26.88 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population living in urban areas in Russia?
- Share of population living in urban areas in Russia was 78.8% 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 Russia?
- The highest recorded value was 78.8% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of population living in urban areas recorded in Russia?
- The lowest recorded value was 71.3% in 1950.
- How does Russia rank for share of population living in urban areas?
- Russia ranks 85th out of 236 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of population living in urban areas rising or falling in Russia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Russia 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.