Share of population living in urban areas in Samoa
Samoa: Share of population living in urban areas was 57.8% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Share of population living in urban areas in Samoa, 1950–2020
Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of population living in urban areas in Samoa is 57.8%, measured in 2020. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.
The figure is up 3.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in urban areas in Samoa peaked at 57.8% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 35.9%, in 1950.
That places Samoa 188th out of 236 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.
Share of population living in urban areas in Samoa, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 35.9% | — |
| 1955 | 38.1% | +6.2% |
| 1960 | 40.6% | +6.5% |
| 1965 | 43.3% | +6.5% |
| 1970 | 45.2% | +4.5% |
| 1975 | 46.8% | +3.6% |
| 1980 | 50.4% | +7.6% |
| 1985 | 51.2% | +1.5% |
| 1990 | 52.4% | +2.5% |
| 1995 | 53.4% | +1.8% |
| 2000 | 55.1% | +3.3% |
| 2005 | 55.6% | +0.8% |
| 2010 | 55.7% | +0.3% |
| 2015 | 56.4% | +1.3% |
| 2020 | 57.8% | +2.3% |
Samoa compared with similar countries
- Samoa's 57.8% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 74.7%, 77% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Samoa's 57.8% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 70.5%, 82% of the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 37.0% | 35.9% | 38.1% | 2 |
| 1960s | 41.9% | 40.6% | 43.3% | 2 |
| 1970s | 46.0% | 45.2% | 46.8% | 2 |
| 1980s | 50.8% | 50.4% | 51.2% | 2 |
| 1990s | 52.9% | 52.4% | 53.4% | 2 |
| 2000s | 55.4% | 55.1% | 55.6% | 2 |
| 2010s | 56.1% | 55.7% | 56.4% | 2 |
| 2020s | 57.8% | 57.8% | 57.8% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Samoa
More reference data data for Samoa
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.023 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.0165 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.0396 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.0396 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.077 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.0626 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.0918 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.2319 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Burning - Crop residues 0 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.1693 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population living in urban areas in Samoa?
- Share of population living in urban areas in Samoa was 57.8% 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 Samoa?
- The highest recorded value was 57.8% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of population living in urban areas recorded in Samoa?
- The lowest recorded value was 35.9% in 1950.
- How does Samoa rank for share of population living in urban areas?
- Samoa ranks 188th out of 236 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of population living in urban areas rising or falling in Samoa?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Samoa 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.