Share of population living in urban areas in Western Sahara
Western Sahara: Share of population living in urban areas was 90.1% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Share of population living in urban areas in Western Sahara, 1950–2020
Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Western Sahara recorded 90.1% for share of population living in urban areas in 2020.
The figure is up 1.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in urban areas in Western Sahara peaked at 91.2% in 2015 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1950.
Western Sahara ranks 31st of 236 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 17.9% | 0.0% | 35.7% | 2 |
| 1960s | 41.8% | 39.7% | 44.0% | 2 |
| 1970s | 49.9% | 48.1% | 51.6% | 2 |
| 1980s | 70.0% | 65.0% | 75.0% | 2 |
| 1990s | 85.6% | 85.3% | 86.0% | 2 |
| 2000s | 87.3% | 86.7% | 87.9% | 2 |
| 2010s | 89.9% | 88.5% | 91.2% | 2 |
| 2020s | 90.1% | 90.1% | 90.1% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Western Sahara
- 28 Mauritius 90.9% compare
- 29 Jersey 90.8% compare
- 30 United Arab Emirates 90.3% compare
- 32 South Korea 90.1% compare
- 34 Saint Martin (French part) 89.7% compare
More reference data data for Western Sahara
- Free country 0 (2025)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Democracy 1 (2025)
- Chief executive of the government is elected 1 (2025)
- Competitive elections 0 (2025)
- Elected parliament 1 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
- Civil liberties rating 7 (2025)
- FAO projections of arable land 4,000 hectares (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population living in urban areas in Western Sahara?
- Share of population living in urban areas in Western Sahara was 90.1% 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 Western Sahara?
- The highest recorded value was 91.2% in 2015.
- What is the lowest share of population living in urban areas recorded in Western Sahara?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1950.
- How does Western Sahara rank for share of population living in urban areas?
- Western Sahara ranks 31st out of 236 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of population living in urban areas rising or falling in Western Sahara?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Western Sahara 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.