Share of population living in urban areas in Somalia
Somalia: Share of population living in urban areas was 82.7% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Share of population living in urban areas in Somalia, 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 Somalia is 82.7%, measured in 2020. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in urban areas in Somalia peaked at 82.7% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 50.1%, in 1950.
Somalia ranks 67th of 236 countries on this measure, 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 Somalia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 50.1% | — |
| 1955 | 52.9% | +5.8% |
| 1960 | 55.6% | +5.1% |
| 1965 | 58.4% | +5.0% |
| 1970 | 61.2% | +4.7% |
| 1975 | 63.9% | +4.4% |
| 1980 | 66.2% | +3.6% |
| 1985 | 69.3% | +4.7% |
| 1990 | 72.1% | +4.1% |
| 1995 | 75.6% | +4.8% |
| 2000 | 78.3% | +3.6% |
| 2005 | 80.2% | +2.4% |
| 2010 | 81.7% | +1.8% |
| 2015 | 82.3% | +0.7% |
| 2020 | 82.7% | +0.5% |
Somalia compared with similar countries
- Somalia's 82.7% is above the median for low income countries, which is 64.4%, 1.3× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Somalia's 82.7% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 69.4%, 1.2× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 51.5% | 50.1% | 52.9% | 2 |
| 1960s | 57.0% | 55.6% | 58.4% | 2 |
| 1970s | 62.5% | 61.2% | 63.9% | 2 |
| 1980s | 67.7% | 66.2% | 69.3% | 2 |
| 1990s | 73.9% | 72.1% | 75.6% | 2 |
| 2000s | 79.3% | 78.3% | 80.2% | 2 |
| 2010s | 82.0% | 81.7% | 82.3% | 2 |
| 2020s | 82.7% | 82.7% | 82.7% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Somalia
More reference data data for Somalia
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CH4) - Burning - Crop residues 0.4444 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.3652 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 41.78 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Manure applied 234.3 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 43.31 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - Manure Management 96.78 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - Enteric Fermentation 28,272 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - Crop Residues 71.14 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CH4) - Enteric Fermentation 1,010 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.2685 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population living in urban areas in Somalia?
- Share of population living in urban areas in Somalia was 82.7% 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 Somalia?
- The highest recorded value was 82.7% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of population living in urban areas recorded in Somalia?
- The lowest recorded value was 50.1% in 1950.
- How does Somalia rank for share of population living in urban areas?
- Somalia ranks 67th out of 236 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of population living in urban areas rising or falling in Somalia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Somalia 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.