Do more people live in urban or rural areas? in South Sudan
South Sudan: Do more people live in urban or rural areas? was 21.7% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
21.7%
Change on year
up 1.4%
World rank
228th
of 238 countries
All-time high
21.7%
in 2025
All-time low
6.5%
in 1950
Years of data
76
1950–2025
Do more people live in urban or rural areas? in South Sudan, 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
The most recent figure for do more people live in urban or rural areas? in South Sudan is 21.7%, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 76 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.4% on the previous year and up 15.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, do more people live in urban or rural areas? in South Sudan peaked at 21.7% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 6.5%, in 1950.
That places South Sudan 228th out of 238 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
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 South Sudan, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 6.5% | — |
| 1951 | 7.1% | +9.6% |
| 1952 | 7.7% | +8.8% |
| 1953 | 8.3% | +7.1% |
| 1954 | 8.6% | +4.3% |
| 1955 | 8.8% | +1.9% |
| 1956 | 8.8% | -0.4% |
| 1957 | 8.7% | -0.3% |
| 1958 | 8.7% | -0.3% |
| 1959 | 8.7% | -0.3% |
| 1960 | 8.7% | -0.3% |
| 1961 | 8.6% | -0.2% |
| 1962 | 8.6% | -0.2% |
| 1963 | 8.6% | -0.2% |
| 1964 | 8.6% | -0.2% |
| 1965 | 8.6% | -0.2% |
| 1966 | 8.6% | -0.2% |
| 1967 | 8.5% | -0.1% |
| 1968 | 8.5% | -0.1% |
| 1969 | 8.5% | -0.1% |
| 1970 | 8.5% | -0.1% |
| 1971 | 8.5% | -0.1% |
| 1972 | 8.5% | -0.1% |
| 1973 | 8.5% | -0.1% |
| 1974 | 8.5% | -0.0% |
| 1975 | 8.5% | -0.0% |
| 1976 | 8.5% | -0.0% |
| 1977 | 8.5% | -0.0% |
| 1978 | 8.5% | -0.0% |
| 1979 | 8.5% | -0.0% |
| 1980 | 8.5% | -0.0% |
| 1981 | 8.5% | -0.0% |
| 1982 | 8.5% | -0.0% |
| 1983 | 8.5% | +0.3% |
| 1984 | 8.7% | +2.5% |
| 1985 | 9.2% | +4.8% |
| 1986 | 9.7% | +6.3% |
| 1987 | 10.4% | +7.0% |
| 1988 | 11.2% | +7.1% |
| 1989 | 11.9% | +6.8% |
| 1990 | 12.6% | +6.1% |
| 1991 | 13.3% | +5.1% |
| 1992 | 13.8% | +3.9% |
| 1993 | 14.2% | +2.6% |
| 1994 | 14.5% | +2.0% |
| 1995 | 14.7% | +2.0% |
| 1996 | 15.0% | +1.9% |
| 1997 | 15.3% | +1.8% |
| 1998 | 15.6% | +1.7% |
| 1999 | 15.8% | +1.6% |
| 2000 | 16.0% | +1.5% |
| 2001 | 16.3% | +1.3% |
| 2002 | 16.4% | +1.2% |
| 2003 | 16.6% | +1.0% |
| 2004 | 16.8% | +0.9% |
| 2005 | 16.9% | +0.7% |
| 2006 | 17.0% | +0.5% |
| 2007 | 17.0% | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 17.0% | +0.2% |
| 2009 | 17.3% | +1.5% |
| 2010 | 17.5% | +1.4% |
| 2011 | 17.8% | +1.4% |
| 2012 | 18.0% | +1.4% |
| 2013 | 18.3% | +1.4% |
| 2014 | 18.5% | +1.4% |
| 2015 | 18.8% | +1.4% |
| 2016 | 19.1% | +1.4% |
| 2017 | 19.3% | +1.4% |
| 2018 | 19.6% | +1.4% |
| 2019 | 19.9% | +1.4% |
| 2020 | 20.2% | +1.4% |
| 2021 | 20.5% | +1.4% |
| 2022 | 20.8% | +1.4% |
| 2023 | 21.1% | +1.4% |
| 2024 | 21.4% | +1.4% |
| 2025 | 21.7% | +1.4% |
South Sudan compared with similar countries
- South Sudan's 21.7% is below the median for low income countries, which is 34.5%, 63% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- South Sudan's 21.7% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 44.9%, 48% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 8.2% | 6.5% | 8.8% | 10 |
| 1960s | 8.6% | 8.5% | 8.7% | 10 |
| 1970s | 8.5% | 8.5% | 8.5% | 10 |
| 1980s | 9.5% | 8.5% | 11.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 14.5% | 12.6% | 15.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 16.7% | 16.0% | 17.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 18.7% | 17.5% | 19.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 20.9% | 20.2% | 21.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near South Sudan
More reference data data for South Sudan
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 7 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.3667 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 7.41 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - Enteric 19,422 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - Manure Management 684.53 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - Manure applied to Soils 325.82 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) (AR5) - Manure left on Pasture 8,797 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - Burning - Crop 6.36 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 (AR5) - Manure Management 577.67 (2019)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CH4) - IPCC Agriculture 944.75 (2019)
Frequently asked questions
- What is do more people live in urban or rural areas? in South Sudan?
- Do more people live in urban or rural areas? in South Sudan was 21.7% 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 South Sudan?
- The highest recorded value was 21.7% in 2025.
- What is the lowest do more people live in urban or rural areas? recorded in South Sudan?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.5% in 1950.
- How does South Sudan rank for do more people live in urban or rural areas??
- South Sudan ranks 228th out of 238 countries with data for 2025.
- Is do more people live in urban or rural areas? rising or falling in South Sudan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 15.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Sudan 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 — 76 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of the population living in urban areas, combining UN estimates with modeled historical data.