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

Finland: Do more people live in urban or rural areas? was 74.5% in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
74.5%
Change on year
up 0.4%
World rank
90th
of 238 countries
All-time high
74.5%
in 2025
All-time low
0.1%
in 1000
Years of data
108
1000–2025

Do more people live in urban or rural areas? in Finland, 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 Finland is 74.5%, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 108 years on record.

That represents a change of up 0.4% on the previous year and up 4.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, do more people live in urban or rural areas? in Finland peaked at 74.5% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0.1%, in 1000.

That places Finland 90th out of 238 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.

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

Do more people live in urban or rural areas? in Finland, year by year

Annual values for Do more people live in urban or rural areas? in Finland, 1000 to 2025.
Year % Change
1000 0.1%
1100 0.2% +50.0%
1200 0.3% +50.0%
1300 0.4% +50.0%
1400 0.6% +50.0%
1500 0.9% +50.0%
1600 1.4% +55.6%
1700 4.0% +185.7%
1710 5.1% +27.9%
1720 6.2% +21.8%
1730 7.4% +17.9%
1740 8.5% +15.2%
1750 9.6% +13.2%
1760 10.7% +11.7%
1770 11.8% +10.4%
1780 12.9% +9.5%
1790 14.1% +8.6%
1800 15.2% +7.9%
1810 16.3% +7.4%
1820 17.4% +6.9%
1830 18.5% +6.4%
1840 19.6% +6.0%
1850 20.8% +5.7%
1860 21.9% +5.4%
1870 23.0% +5.1%
1880 24.1% +4.9%
1890 25.2% +4.6%
1900 26.3% +4.4%
1910 27.5% +4.2%
1920 28.6% +4.1%
1930 29.7% +3.9%
1940 30.8% +3.8%
1950 43.6% +41.6%
1951 45.1% +3.4%
1952 46.6% +3.2%
1953 48.0% +3.0%
1954 49.3% +2.8%
1955 50.6% +2.6%
1956 51.8% +2.4%
1957 52.9% +2.1%
1958 53.9% +1.9%
1959 54.8% +1.7%
1960 55.6% +1.4%
1961 56.3% +1.2%
1962 56.8% +1.1%
1963 57.4% +0.9%
1964 57.9% +0.8%
1965 58.3% +0.8%
1966 58.7% +0.7%
1967 59.1% +0.7%
1968 59.5% +0.6%
1969 59.9% +0.6%
1970 60.3% +0.6%
1971 60.7% +0.7%
1972 61.1% +0.7%
1973 61.6% +0.8%
1974 62.1% +0.8%
1975 62.4% +0.5%
1976 62.6% +0.4%
1977 62.8% +0.3%
1978 62.9% +0.2%
1979 63.0% +0.1%
1980 63.1% +0.2%
1981 63.2% +0.1%
1982 63.2% +0.1%
1983 63.3% +0.1%
1984 63.4% +0.1%
1985 63.5% +0.2%
1986 63.6% +0.2%
1987 63.7% +0.2%
1988 63.8% +0.2%
1989 63.8% +0.1%
1990 63.9% +0.1%
1991 64.0% +0.1%
1992 64.1% +0.2%
1993 64.3% +0.2%
1994 64.5% +0.4%
1995 64.8% +0.5%
1996 65.2% +0.6%
1997 65.7% +0.7%
1998 66.2% +0.8%
1999 66.7% +0.7%
2000 67.1% +0.7%
2001 67.5% +0.6%
2002 67.8% +0.4%
2003 68.0% +0.4%
2004 68.3% +0.3%
2005 68.5% +0.3%
2006 68.8% +0.4%
2007 69.0% +0.4%
2008 69.3% +0.4%
2009 69.5% +0.4%
2010 69.8% +0.3%
2011 70.1% +0.4%
2012 70.4% +0.4%
2013 70.7% +0.4%
2014 71.0% +0.4%
2015 71.3% +0.4%
2016 71.6% +0.4%
2017 72.0% +0.5%
2018 72.3% +0.5%
2019 72.7% +0.6%
2020 73.1% +0.5%
2021 73.4% +0.4%
2022 73.7% +0.4%
2023 74.0% +0.4%
2024 74.3% +0.3%
2025 74.5% +0.4%

Finland compared with similar countries

  • Finland's 74.5% is below the median for high income countries, which is 81.3%, 92% of the median. (85 countries reporting)
  • Finland's 74.5% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 69.6%, 1.1× the median. (56 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Do more people live in urban or rural areas? in Finland changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.

YearChange FromTo
1700 +185.7% 1.4% 4.0%
1600 +55.6% 0.9% 1.4%
1100 +50.0% 0.1% 0.2%
1200 +50.0% 0.2% 0.3%
1300 +50.0% 0.3% 0.4%
1400 +50.0% 0.4% 0.6%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1000s 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 1
1100s 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 1
1200s 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 1
1300s 0.4% 0.4% 0.4% 1
1400s 0.6% 0.6% 0.6% 1
1500s 0.9% 0.9% 0.9% 1
1600s 1.4% 1.4% 1.4% 1
1700s 4.0% 4.0% 4.0% 1
1710s 5.1% 5.1% 5.1% 1
1720s 6.2% 6.2% 6.2% 1
1730s 7.4% 7.4% 7.4% 1
1740s 8.5% 8.5% 8.5% 1
1750s 9.6% 9.6% 9.6% 1
1760s 10.7% 10.7% 10.7% 1
1770s 11.8% 11.8% 11.8% 1
1780s 12.9% 12.9% 12.9% 1
1790s 14.1% 14.1% 14.1% 1
1800s 15.2% 15.2% 15.2% 1
1810s 16.3% 16.3% 16.3% 1
1820s 17.4% 17.4% 17.4% 1
1830s 18.5% 18.5% 18.5% 1
1840s 19.6% 19.6% 19.6% 1
1850s 20.8% 20.8% 20.8% 1
1860s 21.9% 21.9% 21.9% 1
1870s 23.0% 23.0% 23.0% 1
1880s 24.1% 24.1% 24.1% 1
1890s 25.2% 25.2% 25.2% 1
1900s 26.3% 26.3% 26.3% 1
1910s 27.5% 27.5% 27.5% 1
1920s 28.6% 28.6% 28.6% 1
1930s 29.7% 29.7% 29.7% 1
1940s 30.8% 30.8% 30.8% 1
1950s 49.6% 43.6% 54.8% 10
1960s 57.9% 55.6% 59.9% 10
1970s 61.9% 60.3% 63.0% 10
1980s 63.5% 63.1% 63.8% 10
1990s 64.9% 63.9% 66.7% 10
2000s 68.4% 67.1% 69.5% 10
2010s 71.2% 69.8% 72.7% 10
2020s 73.8% 73.1% 74.5% 6

Countries ranked near Finland

  1. 87 El Salvador 75.5% compare
  2. 88 Russia 75.3% compare
  3. 89 Brunei 75.0% compare
  4. 91 Bulgaria 74.2% compare
  5. 92 Dominica 74.0% compare
  6. 93 Netherlands Antilles 73.5% compare

See the full ranking of 239 places →

More reference data data for Finland

All data for Finland →

Frequently asked questions

What is do more people live in urban or rural areas? in Finland?
Do more people live in urban or rural areas? in Finland was 74.5% 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 Finland?
The highest recorded value was 74.5% in 2025.
What is the lowest do more people live in urban or rural areas? recorded in Finland?
The lowest recorded value was 0.1% in 1000.
How does Finland rank for do more people live in urban or rural areas??
Finland ranks 90th out of 238 countries with data for 2025.
Is do more people live in urban or rural areas? rising or falling in Finland?
Over the last ten years it is up 4.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Finland 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.

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Do more people live in urban or rural areas? in Finland. Statizoid, drawing on HYDE (2023); United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/urban-vs-rural-majority/finland/

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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 modeled historical data.