Do more people live in urban or rural areas? in Egypt

Egypt: Do more people live in urban or rural areas? was 42.9% in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
42.9%
Change on year
up 0.2%
World rank
182nd
of 238 countries
All-time high
44.0%
in 1986
All-time low
2.4%
in 1000
Years of data
108
1000–2025

Do more people live in urban or rural areas? in Egypt, 1000–2025

010203040100015122025

Source: HYDE (2023); United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

The most recent figure for do more people live in urban or rural areas? in Egypt is 42.9%, measured in 2025.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.2% on the previous year and up 0.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, do more people live in urban or rural areas? in Egypt peaked at 44.0% in 1986 and was at its lowest, 2.4%, in 1000.

Egypt ranks 182nd of 238 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 108 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1000s 2.4% 2.4% 2.4% 1
1100s 2.5% 2.5% 2.5% 1
1200s 2.6% 2.6% 2.6% 1
1300s 2.8% 2.8% 2.8% 1
1400s 2.9% 2.9% 2.9% 1
1500s 3.0% 3.0% 3.0% 1
1600s 3.2% 3.2% 3.2% 1
1700s 3.3% 3.3% 3.3% 1
1710s 3.7% 3.7% 3.7% 1
1720s 4.1% 4.1% 4.1% 1
1730s 4.5% 4.5% 4.5% 1
1740s 4.9% 4.9% 4.9% 1
1750s 5.4% 5.4% 5.4% 1
1760s 5.9% 5.9% 5.9% 1
1770s 6.4% 6.4% 6.4% 1
1780s 7.1% 7.1% 7.1% 1
1790s 7.7% 7.7% 7.7% 1
1800s 8.5% 8.5% 8.5% 1
1810s 9.3% 9.3% 9.3% 1
1820s 10.2% 10.2% 10.2% 1
1830s 11.1% 11.1% 11.1% 1
1840s 12.2% 12.2% 12.2% 1
1850s 13.4% 13.4% 13.4% 1
1860s 14.6% 14.6% 14.6% 1
1870s 16.0% 16.0% 16.0% 1
1880s 17.5% 17.5% 17.5% 1
1890s 19.2% 19.2% 19.2% 1
1900s 21.0% 21.0% 21.0% 1
1910s 23.0% 23.0% 23.0% 1
1920s 25.2% 25.2% 25.2% 1
1930s 27.6% 27.6% 27.6% 1
1940s 30.3% 30.3% 30.3% 1
1950s 34.3% 31.4% 37.2% 10
1960s 40.3% 37.8% 42.3% 10
1970s 43.4% 42.6% 43.9% 10
1980s 43.9% 43.7% 44.0% 10
1990s 42.9% 42.6% 43.6% 10
2000s 42.9% 42.7% 43.0% 10
2010s 42.7% 42.4% 42.9% 10
2020s 42.7% 42.5% 42.9% 6

Countries ranked near Egypt

  1. 179 Togo 44.4% compare
  2. 180 Moldova 43.7% compare
  3. 181 Bhutan 43.4% compare
  4. 183 Maldives 42.5% compare
  5. 184 Belize 41.6% compare
  6. 185 Cambodia 41.1% compare

See the full ranking of 239 places →

More reference data data for Egypt

All data for Egypt →

Frequently asked questions

What is do more people live in urban or rural areas? in Egypt?
Do more people live in urban or rural areas? in Egypt was 42.9% in 2025, according to HYDE (2023); United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest do more people live in urban or rural areas? recorded in Egypt?
The highest recorded value was 44.0% in 1986.
What is the lowest do more people live in urban or rural areas? recorded in Egypt?
The lowest recorded value was 2.4% in 1000.
How does Egypt rank for do more people live in urban or rural areas??
Egypt ranks 182nd out of 238 countries with data for 2025.
Is do more people live in urban or rural areas? rising or falling in Egypt?
Over the last ten years it is up 0.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Egypt data come from?
The figures come from HYDE (2023); United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Do more people live in urban or rural areas?. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 108 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Do more people live in urban or rural areas?
Unit
%
Source
HYDE (2023); United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
239 places, 24,444 data points, 1000–2025
Last refreshed

Share of the population living in urban areas, combining UN estimates with modelled historical data.