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

5101520195019872025

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.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest 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

  1. 225 Ethiopia 24.1% compare
  2. 226 Micronesia (country) 22.5% compare
  3. 227 Vanuatu 22.3% compare
  4. 229 Tonga 21.2% compare
  5. 230 Sri Lanka 20.5% compare
  6. 231 Niger 18.4% compare

See the full ranking of 239 places →

More reference data data for South Sudan

All data for South Sudan →

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

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.