Do more people live in urban or rural areas? in El Salvador

El Salvador: Do more people live in urban or rural areas? was 75.5% in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
75.5%
Change on year
up 0.6%
World rank
87th
of 238 countries
All-time high
75.5%
in 2025
All-time low
0.0%
in 1000
Years of data
108
1000–2025

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

020406080100015122025

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 El Salvador is 75.5%, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 108 years on record.

That represents a change of up 0.6% on the previous year and up 8.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, do more people live in urban or rural areas? in El Salvador peaked at 75.5% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1000.

That places El Salvador 87th out of 238 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1000s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1
1100s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1
1200s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1
1300s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1
1400s 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 1
1500s 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 1
1600s 0.7% 0.7% 0.7% 1
1700s 2.0% 2.0% 2.0% 1
1710s 2.2% 2.2% 2.2% 1
1720s 2.4% 2.4% 2.4% 1
1730s 2.7% 2.7% 2.7% 1
1740s 3.1% 3.1% 3.1% 1
1750s 3.5% 3.5% 3.5% 1
1760s 3.9% 3.9% 3.9% 1
1770s 4.4% 4.4% 4.4% 1
1780s 4.9% 4.9% 4.9% 1
1790s 5.5% 5.5% 5.5% 1
1800s 6.2% 6.2% 6.2% 1
1810s 7.0% 7.0% 7.0% 1
1820s 7.9% 7.9% 7.9% 1
1830s 8.9% 8.9% 8.9% 1
1840s 10.0% 10.0% 10.0% 1
1850s 11.2% 11.2% 11.2% 1
1860s 12.6% 12.6% 12.6% 1
1870s 14.2% 14.2% 14.2% 1
1880s 16.0% 16.0% 16.0% 1
1890s 18.0% 18.0% 18.0% 1
1900s 20.3% 20.3% 20.3% 1
1910s 22.8% 22.8% 22.8% 1
1920s 25.6% 25.6% 25.6% 1
1930s 28.8% 28.8% 28.8% 1
1940s 32.5% 32.5% 32.5% 1
1950s 37.4% 36.4% 38.2% 10
1960s 38.9% 38.4% 39.3% 10
1970s 40.6% 39.4% 42.3% 10
1980s 45.5% 42.8% 48.3% 10
1990s 52.2% 49.0% 55.7% 10
2000s 60.6% 56.6% 64.5% 10
2010s 69.1% 65.4% 72.4% 10
2020s 74.3% 73.1% 75.5% 6

Countries ranked near El Salvador

  1. 84 Cuba 77.2% compare
  2. 85 Cook Islands 76.9% compare
  3. 86 Algeria 75.8% compare
  4. 88 Russia 75.3% compare
  5. 89 Brunei 75.0% compare
  6. 90 Finland 74.5% compare

See the full ranking of 239 places →

More reference data data for El Salvador

All data for El Salvador →

Frequently asked questions

What is do more people live in urban or rural areas? in El Salvador?
Do more people live in urban or rural areas? in El Salvador was 75.5% 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 El Salvador?
The highest recorded value was 75.5% in 2025.
What is the lowest do more people live in urban or rural areas? recorded in El Salvador?
The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1000.
How does El Salvador rank for do more people live in urban or rural areas??
El Salvador ranks 87th out of 238 countries with data for 2025.
Is do more people live in urban or rural areas? rising or falling in El Salvador?
Over the last ten years it is up 8.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this El Salvador 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.