Share of population living in urban areas in Syria
Syria: Share of population living in urban areas was 79.0% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Share of population living in urban areas in Syria, 1950–2020
Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Syria recorded 79.0% for share of population living in urban areas in 2020.
That represents a change of down 1.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in urban areas in Syria peaked at 80.5% in 2010 and was at its lowest, 42.2%, in 1950.
That places Syria 83rd 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.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 43.6% | 42.2% | 44.9% | 2 |
| 1960s | 50.4% | 48.5% | 52.3% | 2 |
| 1970s | 58.4% | 56.3% | 60.5% | 2 |
| 1980s | 65.4% | 64.2% | 66.6% | 2 |
| 1990s | 70.4% | 69.0% | 71.8% | 2 |
| 2000s | 75.8% | 74.8% | 76.9% | 2 |
| 2010s | 79.0% | 77.4% | 80.5% | 2 |
| 2020s | 79.0% | 79.0% | 79.0% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Syria
- 80 San Marino 80.5% compare
- 81 Algeria 79.8% compare
- 82 Brazil 79.2% compare
- 84 Azerbaijan 78.9% compare
- 85 Russia 78.8% compare
- 86 Seychelles 78.7% compare
More reference data data for Syria
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 4.23 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.1191 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.5377 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 7.23 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 7.23 (2050)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.329 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month -0.3623 °C (2026)
- Spring temperature anomalies -1.58 °C (2026)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - Burning - Crop residues 121.57 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 7,753 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population living in urban areas in Syria?
- Share of population living in urban areas in Syria was 79.0% 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 Syria?
- The highest recorded value was 80.5% in 2010.
- What is the lowest share of population living in urban areas recorded in Syria?
- The lowest recorded value was 42.2% in 1950.
- How does Syria rank for share of population living in urban areas?
- Syria ranks 83rd out of 236 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of population living in urban areas rising or falling in Syria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Syria 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.