Share of population living in urban areas in Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands: Share of population living in urban areas was 21.9% in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)
21.9%
World rank
227th
of 236 countries
All-time high
21.9%
in 2020
All-time low
5.5%
in 1950
Years of data
15
1950–2020

Share of population living in urban areas in Solomon Islands, 1950–2020

51015201950198520201950: 5.5 %1955: 5.8 %1960: 6.3 %1965: 6.7 %1970: 7.2 %1975: 7.7 %1980: 9.9 %1985: 11.8 %1990: 12.7 %1995: 14.6 %2000: 15.8 %2005: 16.5 %2010: 17 %2015: 19.5 %2020: 21.9 %

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 Solomon Islands is 21.9%, measured in 2020. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 29.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of population living in urban areas in Solomon Islands peaked at 21.9% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 5.5%, in 1950.

Solomon Islands ranks 227th 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 5.6% 5.5% 5.8% 2
1960s 6.5% 6.3% 6.7% 2
1970s 7.4% 7.2% 7.7% 2
1980s 10.9% 9.9% 11.8% 2
1990s 13.6% 12.7% 14.6% 2
2000s 16.1% 15.8% 16.5% 2
2010s 18.2% 17.0% 19.5% 2
2020s 21.9% 21.9% 21.9% 1

Countries ranked near Solomon Islands

  1. 224 Vanuatu 30.0% compare
  2. 225 Micronesia (country) 29.4% compare
  3. 226 Eswatini 23.5% compare
  4. 228 Anguilla 0.0% compare
  5. 228 Cook Islands 0.0% compare
  6. 228 Falkland Islands 0.0% compare
  7. 228 Montserrat 0.0% compare
  8. 228 Niue 0.0% compare
  9. 228 Saint Helena 0.0% compare
  10. 228 Saint Pierre and Miquelon 0.0% compare
  11. 228 Tokelau 0.0% compare
  12. 228 Wallis and Futuna 0.0% compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More reference data data for Solomon Islands

All data for Solomon Islands →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of population living in urban areas in Solomon Islands?
Share of population living in urban areas in Solomon Islands was 21.9% 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 Solomon Islands?
The highest recorded value was 21.9% in 2020.
What is the lowest share of population living in urban areas recorded in Solomon Islands?
The lowest recorded value was 5.5% in 1950.
How does Solomon Islands rank for share of population living in urban areas?
Solomon Islands ranks 227th out of 236 countries with data for 2020.
Is share of population living in urban areas rising or falling in Solomon Islands?
Over the last ten years it is up 29.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Solomon Islands 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.