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

Mali: Do more people live in urban or rural areas? was 32.2% in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
32.2%
Change on year
up 1.9%
World rank
207th
of 238 countries
All-time high
32.2%
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 Mali, 1000–2025

0102030100015122025

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

Mali recorded 32.2% for do more people live in urban or rural areas? in 2025. That is the highest value across all 108 years on record.

The figure is up 1.9% on the previous year and up 24.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, do more people live in urban or rural areas? in Mali peaked at 32.2% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1000.

That places Mali 207th out of 238 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.

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 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1
1500s 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 1
1600s 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 1
1700s 0.8% 0.8% 0.8% 1
1710s 0.9% 0.9% 0.9% 1
1720s 0.9% 0.9% 0.9% 1
1730s 1.0% 1.0% 1.0% 1
1740s 1.1% 1.1% 1.1% 1
1750s 1.2% 1.2% 1.2% 1
1760s 1.4% 1.4% 1.4% 1
1770s 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1
1780s 1.6% 1.6% 1.6% 1
1790s 1.8% 1.8% 1.8% 1
1800s 2.0% 2.0% 2.0% 1
1810s 2.1% 2.1% 2.1% 1
1820s 2.4% 2.4% 2.4% 1
1830s 2.6% 2.6% 2.6% 1
1840s 2.8% 2.8% 2.8% 1
1850s 3.1% 3.1% 3.1% 1
1860s 3.4% 3.4% 3.4% 1
1870s 3.7% 3.7% 3.7% 1
1880s 4.1% 4.1% 4.1% 1
1890s 4.4% 4.4% 4.4% 1
1900s 4.9% 4.9% 4.9% 1
1910s 5.3% 5.3% 5.3% 1
1920s 5.8% 5.8% 5.8% 1
1930s 6.4% 6.4% 6.4% 1
1940s 7.0% 7.0% 7.0% 1
1950s 5.4% 4.5% 6.7% 10
1960s 8.7% 7.0% 10.4% 10
1970s 12.3% 10.8% 13.8% 10
1980s 15.3% 14.0% 16.4% 10
1990s 17.6% 16.6% 18.7% 10
2000s 20.7% 19.0% 22.7% 10
2010s 25.6% 23.1% 28.4% 10
2020s 30.7% 29.0% 32.2% 6

Countries ranked near Mali

  1. 204 Comoros 33.9% compare
  2. 205 Bangladesh 33.2% compare
  3. 206 Madagascar 32.9% compare
  4. 208 Kenya 32.2% compare
  5. 209 Uganda 31.9% compare
  6. 210 Saint Kitts and Nevis 31.9% compare

See the full ranking of 239 places →

More reference data data for Mali

All data for Mali →

Frequently asked questions

What is do more people live in urban or rural areas? in Mali?
Do more people live in urban or rural areas? in Mali was 32.2% 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 Mali?
The highest recorded value was 32.2% in 2025.
What is the lowest do more people live in urban or rural areas? recorded in Mali?
The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1000.
How does Mali rank for do more people live in urban or rural areas??
Mali ranks 207th out of 238 countries with data for 2025.
Is do more people live in urban or rural areas? rising or falling in Mali?
Over the last ten years it is up 24.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Mali 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.