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

Vietnam: Do more people live in urban or rural areas? was 38.8% in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
38.8%
Change on year
up 0.9%
World rank
191st
of 238 countries
All-time high
38.8%
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 Vietnam, 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

Vietnam recorded 38.8% for do more people live in urban or rural areas? in 2025. That is the highest value across all 108 years on record.

That represents a change of up 0.9% on the previous year and up 19.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, do more people live in urban or rural areas? in Vietnam peaked at 38.8% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1000.

That places Vietnam 191st out of 238 countries with data for 2025, putting it 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 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 1
1600s 0.4% 0.4% 0.4% 1
1700s 1.3% 1.3% 1.3% 1
1710s 1.4% 1.4% 1.4% 1
1720s 1.6% 1.6% 1.6% 1
1730s 1.7% 1.7% 1.7% 1
1740s 1.9% 1.9% 1.9% 1
1750s 2.1% 2.1% 2.1% 1
1760s 2.3% 2.3% 2.3% 1
1770s 2.5% 2.5% 2.5% 1
1780s 2.7% 2.7% 2.7% 1
1790s 3.0% 3.0% 3.0% 1
1800s 3.3% 3.3% 3.3% 1
1810s 3.6% 3.6% 3.6% 1
1820s 3.9% 3.9% 3.9% 1
1830s 4.3% 4.3% 4.3% 1
1840s 4.7% 4.7% 4.7% 1
1850s 5.2% 5.2% 5.2% 1
1860s 5.7% 5.7% 5.7% 1
1870s 6.2% 6.2% 6.2% 1
1880s 6.8% 6.8% 6.8% 1
1890s 7.4% 7.4% 7.4% 1
1900s 8.1% 8.1% 8.1% 1
1910s 8.9% 8.9% 8.9% 1
1920s 9.8% 9.8% 9.8% 1
1930s 10.7% 10.7% 10.7% 1
1940s 11.7% 11.7% 11.7% 1
1950s 11.6% 10.0% 14.7% 10
1960s 17.6% 15.3% 20.6% 10
1970s 20.2% 19.2% 20.7% 10
1980s 19.1% 19.0% 19.2% 10
1990s 21.3% 19.2% 23.8% 10
2000s 27.1% 24.4% 29.8% 10
2010s 32.3% 30.3% 34.6% 10
2020s 37.5% 35.6% 38.8% 6

Countries ranked near Vietnam

  1. 188 Faroe Islands 39.6% compare
  2. 189 Pakistan 39.5% compare
  3. 190 Mauritius 39.0% compare
  4. 192 Guinea 38.5% compare
  5. 193 Saint Helena 37.2% compare
  6. 194 Mozambique 37.2% compare

See the full ranking of 239 places →

More reference data data for Vietnam

All data for Vietnam →

Frequently asked questions

What is do more people live in urban or rural areas? in Vietnam?
Do more people live in urban or rural areas? in Vietnam was 38.8% 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 Vietnam?
The highest recorded value was 38.8% in 2025.
What is the lowest do more people live in urban or rural areas? recorded in Vietnam?
The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1000.
How does Vietnam rank for do more people live in urban or rural areas??
Vietnam ranks 191st out of 238 countries with data for 2025.
Is do more people live in urban or rural areas? rising or falling in Vietnam?
Over the last ten years it is up 19.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Vietnam 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.