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

Tanzania: Do more people live in urban or rural areas? was 36.9% in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
36.9%
Change on year
up 2.0%
World rank
197th
of 238 countries
All-time high
36.9%
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 Tanzania, 1000–2025

010203040100015122025

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

In 2025, do more people live in urban or rural areas? in Tanzania stood at 36.9%. That is the highest value across all 108 years on record.

That represents a change of up 2.0% on the previous year and up 18.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, do more people live in urban or rural areas? in Tanzania peaked at 36.9% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1000.

Tanzania ranks 197th of 238 countries on this measure, 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 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1
1600s 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 1
1700s 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 1
1710s 0.4% 0.4% 0.4% 1
1720s 0.4% 0.4% 0.4% 1
1730s 0.5% 0.5% 0.5% 1
1740s 0.5% 0.5% 0.5% 1
1750s 0.6% 0.6% 0.6% 1
1760s 0.6% 0.6% 0.6% 1
1770s 0.7% 0.7% 0.7% 1
1780s 0.7% 0.7% 0.7% 1
1790s 0.8% 0.8% 0.8% 1
1800s 0.9% 0.9% 0.9% 1
1810s 1.0% 1.0% 1.0% 1
1820s 1.1% 1.1% 1.1% 1
1830s 1.2% 1.2% 1.2% 1
1840s 1.3% 1.3% 1.3% 1
1850s 1.4% 1.4% 1.4% 1
1860s 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1
1870s 1.7% 1.7% 1.7% 1
1880s 1.8% 1.8% 1.8% 1
1890s 2.0% 2.0% 2.0% 1
1900s 2.2% 2.2% 2.2% 1
1910s 2.4% 2.4% 2.4% 1
1920s 2.7% 2.7% 2.7% 1
1930s 2.9% 2.9% 2.9% 1
1940s 3.2% 3.2% 3.2% 1
1950s 4.4% 3.7% 4.9% 10
1960s 5.0% 4.9% 5.6% 10
1970s 10.5% 6.3% 14.2% 10
1980s 16.7% 14.8% 18.6% 10
1990s 20.4% 18.9% 21.8% 10
2000s 24.6% 22.2% 27.5% 10
2010s 30.9% 28.2% 33.3% 10
2020s 35.3% 33.9% 36.9% 6

Countries ranked near Tanzania

  1. 194 Mozambique 37.2% compare
  2. 195 Niue 37.2% compare
  3. 196 Yemen 37.0% compare
  4. 198 Grenada 36.7% compare
  5. 199 India 35.7% compare
  6. 200 Sudan 34.9% compare

See the full ranking of 239 places →

More reference data data for Tanzania

All data for Tanzania →

Frequently asked questions

What is do more people live in urban or rural areas? in Tanzania?
Do more people live in urban or rural areas? in Tanzania was 36.9% 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 Tanzania?
The highest recorded value was 36.9% in 2025.
What is the lowest do more people live in urban or rural areas? recorded in Tanzania?
The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1000.
How does Tanzania rank for do more people live in urban or rural areas??
Tanzania ranks 197th out of 238 countries with data for 2025.
Is do more people live in urban or rural areas? rising or falling in Tanzania?
Over the last ten years it is up 18.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Tanzania 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.