Share of population living in urban areas in Vatican

Vatican: Share of population living in urban areas was 100.0% in 2020. ▬ Flat

Latest (2020)
100.0%
World rank
1st
of 236 countries
All-time high
100.0%
in 1950
All-time low
100.0%
in 1950
Years of data
15
1950–2020

Share of population living in urban areas in Vatican, 1950–2020

0204060801001950198520201950: 100 %1955: 100 %1960: 100 %1965: 100 %1970: 100 %1975: 100 %1980: 100 %1985: 100 %1990: 100 %1995: 100 %2000: 100 %2005: 100 %2010: 100 %2015: 100 %2020: 100 %

Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2020, share of population living in urban areas in Vatican stood at 100.0%. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of population living in urban areas in Vatican peaked at 100.0% in 1950 and was at its lowest, 100.0%, in 1950.

That places Vatican 1st out of 236 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top 10%.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 2
1960s 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 2
1970s 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 2
1980s 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 2
1990s 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 2
2000s 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 2
2010s 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 2
2020s 100.0% 100.0% 100.0% 1

Countries ranked near Vatican

  1. 1 Gibraltar 100.0% compare
  2. 1 Monaco 100.0% compare
  3. 4 Singapore 99.9% compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More reference data data for Vatican

All data for Vatican →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of population living in urban areas in Vatican?
Share of population living in urban areas in Vatican was 100.0% 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 Vatican?
The highest recorded value was 100.0% in 1950.
What is the lowest share of population living in urban areas recorded in Vatican?
The lowest recorded value was 100.0% in 1950.
How does Vatican rank for share of population living in urban areas?
Vatican ranks 1st out of 236 countries with data for 2020.
Is share of population living in urban areas rising or falling in Vatican?
Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this Vatican 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.