Do more people live in urban or rural areas? in Marshall Islands
Marshall Islands: Do more people live in urban or rural areas? was 79.1% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Do more people live in urban or rural areas? in Marshall Islands, 1950–2025
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
Marshall Islands recorded 79.1% for do more people live in urban or rural areas? in 2025. That is the highest value across all 76 years on record.
The figure is up 0.5% on the previous year and up 4.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, do more people live in urban or rural areas? in Marshall Islands peaked at 79.1% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 25.7%, in 1950.
Marshall Islands ranks 77th of 238 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 76 years of available data.
Do more people live in urban or rural areas? in Marshall Islands, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 25.7% | — |
| 1951 | 26.4% | +2.7% |
| 1952 | 27.2% | +2.9% |
| 1953 | 28.0% | +3.0% |
| 1954 | 28.9% | +3.2% |
| 1955 | 29.8% | +3.2% |
| 1956 | 30.8% | +3.3% |
| 1957 | 31.8% | +3.4% |
| 1958 | 32.9% | +3.3% |
| 1959 | 33.8% | +2.7% |
| 1960 | 34.8% | +3.1% |
| 1961 | 36.0% | +3.5% |
| 1962 | 37.4% | +3.7% |
| 1963 | 38.8% | +3.9% |
| 1964 | 40.4% | +4.0% |
| 1965 | 42.1% | +4.1% |
| 1966 | 43.8% | +4.1% |
| 1967 | 45.6% | +4.1% |
| 1968 | 47.9% | +5.1% |
| 1969 | 51.0% | +6.4% |
| 1970 | 54.3% | +6.5% |
| 1971 | 57.4% | +5.8% |
| 1972 | 59.9% | +4.3% |
| 1973 | 61.3% | +2.3% |
| 1974 | 61.5% | +0.3% |
| 1975 | 61.2% | -0.4% |
| 1976 | 60.9% | -0.6% |
| 1977 | 60.5% | -0.7% |
| 1978 | 60.1% | -0.7% |
| 1979 | 59.8% | -0.5% |
| 1980 | 59.6% | -0.2% |
| 1981 | 59.9% | +0.4% |
| 1982 | 60.6% | +1.2% |
| 1983 | 61.6% | +1.6% |
| 1984 | 62.8% | +1.9% |
| 1985 | 64.0% | +1.9% |
| 1986 | 65.1% | +1.8% |
| 1987 | 66.1% | +1.4% |
| 1988 | 66.7% | +0.9% |
| 1989 | 66.9% | +0.4% |
| 1990 | 67.1% | +0.2% |
| 1991 | 67.2% | +0.2% |
| 1992 | 67.3% | +0.1% |
| 1993 | 67.4% | +0.1% |
| 1994 | 67.5% | +0.1% |
| 1995 | 67.5% | +0.1% |
| 1996 | 67.6% | +0.1% |
| 1997 | 67.7% | +0.2% |
| 1998 | 67.9% | +0.2% |
| 1999 | 68.0% | +0.2% |
| 2000 | 68.3% | +0.4% |
| 2001 | 68.6% | +0.5% |
| 2002 | 69.0% | +0.6% |
| 2003 | 69.5% | +0.7% |
| 2004 | 70.1% | +0.8% |
| 2005 | 70.6% | +0.8% |
| 2006 | 71.2% | +0.8% |
| 2007 | 71.8% | +0.8% |
| 2008 | 72.4% | +0.8% |
| 2009 | 72.9% | +0.8% |
| 2010 | 73.4% | +0.7% |
| 2011 | 73.9% | +0.6% |
| 2012 | 74.3% | +0.6% |
| 2013 | 74.7% | +0.6% |
| 2014 | 75.1% | +0.5% |
| 2015 | 75.5% | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 75.9% | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 76.2% | +0.5% |
| 2018 | 76.6% | +0.5% |
| 2019 | 76.9% | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 77.3% | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 77.6% | +0.4% |
| 2022 | 78.0% | +0.5% |
| 2023 | 78.4% | +0.5% |
| 2024 | 78.7% | +0.5% |
| 2025 | 79.1% | +0.5% |
Marshall Islands compared with similar countries
- Marshall Islands's 79.1% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 65.5%, 1.2× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Marshall Islands's 79.1% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 65.4%, 1.2× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 29.5% | 25.7% | 33.8% | 10 |
| 1960s | 41.8% | 34.8% | 51.0% | 10 |
| 1970s | 59.7% | 54.3% | 61.5% | 10 |
| 1980s | 63.3% | 59.6% | 66.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 67.5% | 67.1% | 68.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 70.4% | 68.3% | 72.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 75.2% | 73.4% | 76.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 78.2% | 77.3% | 79.1% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Marshall Islands
More reference data data for Marshall Islands
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CH4) - IPCC Agriculture 0 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 0 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 0 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - IPCC Agriculture 0 (2019)
- Global number of reported disasters by size, gaps filled 0 events (2024)
- Free country 2 (2025)
- Civil liberties rating 1 (2025)
- Free country, gaps filled 2 (2025)
- Civil liberties rating, gaps filled 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is do more people live in urban or rural areas? in Marshall Islands?
- Do more people live in urban or rural areas? in Marshall Islands was 79.1% 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 Marshall Islands?
- The highest recorded value was 79.1% in 2025.
- What is the lowest do more people live in urban or rural areas? recorded in Marshall Islands?
- The lowest recorded value was 25.7% in 1950.
- How does Marshall Islands rank for do more people live in urban or rural areas??
- Marshall Islands ranks 77th out of 238 countries with data for 2025.
- Is do more people live in urban or rural areas? rising or falling in Marshall Islands?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Marshall Islands 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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About this data
Share of the population living in urban areas, combining UN estimates with modeled historical data.