Do more people live in urban or rural areas? in (UN M49)
(UN M49): Do more people live in urban or rural areas? was 69.3% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Do more people live in urban or rural areas? in (UN M49), 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
In 2025, do more people live in urban or rural areas? in (UN M49) stood at 69.3%. That is the highest value across all 76 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.3% on the previous year and up 3.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, do more people live in urban or rural areas? in (UN M49) peaked at 69.3% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 24.3%, in 1950.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 76 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 30.2% | 24.3% | 40.4% | 10 |
| 1960s | 51.6% | 47.2% | 54.8% | 10 |
| 1970s | 57.3% | 55.2% | 58.9% | 10 |
| 1980s | 60.7% | 59.0% | 62.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 63.3% | 62.6% | 64.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 65.8% | 65.3% | 66.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 67.1% | 66.8% | 67.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 68.7% | 68.1% | 69.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near (UN M49)
- 1 Anguilla 100.0% compare
- 1 Bahrain 100.0% compare
- 1 Bermuda 100.0% compare
- 1 Cayman Islands 100.0% compare
- 1 Gibraltar 100.0% compare
- 1 Hong Kong 100.0% compare
- 1 Kuwait 100.0% compare
- 1 Macao 100.0% compare
- 1 Monaco 100.0% compare
- 1 Nauru 100.0% compare
- 1 Saint Barthelemy 100.0% compare
- 1 Saint Martin (French part) 100.0% compare
- 1 Singapore 100.0% compare
- 1 Sint Maarten (Dutch part) 100.0% compare
- 1 Vatican 100.0% compare
Frequently asked questions
- What is do more people live in urban or rural areas? in (UN M49)?
- Do more people live in urban or rural areas? in (UN M49) was 69.3% 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 (UN M49)?
- The highest recorded value was 69.3% in 2025.
- What is the lowest do more people live in urban or rural areas? recorded in (UN M49)?
- The lowest recorded value was 24.3% in 1950.
- How does (UN M49) rank for do more people live in urban or rural areas??
- (UN M49) ranks 1st out of 1 groups with data for 2025.
- Is do more people live in urban or rural areas? rising or falling in (UN M49)?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this (UN M49) 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 modelled historical data.