Data / Rankings / Urban population share / Countries

Countries by share of urban population

Bahrain had the highest share of urban population of 215 countries in 2015, at 100%. Papua New Guinea had the lowest, at 13.2%. The median was 62.6% and the figure for the World was 54.4%. Source: the World Bank.

Highest100Bahrain
Lowest13.2Papua New Guinea
Median62.6215 countries
World54.4History

Top 40 countries, 2015

CSVChart (SVG)

BahrainBahrain: 100 %100BermudaBermuda: 100 %100Cayman IslandsCayman Islands: 100 %100GibraltarGibraltar: 100 %100Hong KongHong Kong: 100 %100KuwaitKuwait: 100 %100MacaoMacao: 100 %100MonacoMonaco: 100 %100NauruNauru: 100 %100Saint MartinSaint Martin: 100 %100SingaporeSingapore: 100 %100Sint MaartenSint Maarten: 100 %100QatarQatar: 98.9 %98.9San MarinoSan Marino: 97.1 %97.1UruguayUruguay: 95.1 %95.1U.S. Virgin IslandsU.S. Virgin Islands: 94.9 %94.9MaltaMalta: 94.4 %94.4GuamGuam: 94.1 %94.1Puerto RicoPuerto Rico: 93.8 %93.8IcelandIceland: 93.7 %93.7Turks and Caicos IslandsTurks and Caicos Islands: 91.9 %91.9IsraelIsrael: 91.7 %91.7ArgentinaArgentina: 91.5 %91.5JapanJapan: 91.4 %91.4Northern Mariana IslandsNorthern Mariana Islands: 91.3 %91.3CuraçaoCuraçao: 91.3 %91.3LuxembourgLuxembourg: 91 %91NetherlandsNetherlands: 90.3 %90.3JordanJordan: 89.9 %89.9VenezuelaVenezuela: 89 %89LebanonLebanon: 88.6 %88.6AndorraAndorra: 88.5 %88.5GabonGabon: 88.1 %88.1LibyaLibya: 87.8 %87.8DenmarkDenmark: 87.7 %87.7ChileChile: 87.5 %87.5TürkiyeTürkiye: 87.2 %87.2AustraliaAustralia: 86.9 %86.9SwedenSweden: 86.6 %86.6BelgiumBelgium: 86.2 %86.2
%. Source: World Bank. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankCountries2015 (%)Change on 2014
1Bahrain1000 pts
1Bermuda1000 pts
1Cayman Islands1000 pts
1Gibraltar1000 pts
1Hong Kong1000 pts
1Kuwait1000 pts
1Macao1000 pts
1Monaco1000 pts
1Nauru1000 pts
1Saint Martin1000 pts
1Singapore1000 pts
1Sint Maarten1000 pts
13Qatar98.90 pts
14San Marino97.10 pts
15Uruguay95.1+0.1 pts
16U.S. Virgin Islands94.9+0.1 pts
17Malta94.40 pts
18Guam94.10 pts
19Puerto Rico93.80 pts
20Iceland93.7+0.1 pts
21Turks and Caicos Islands91.9+0.3 pts
22Israel91.7-0 pts
23Argentina91.5+0.1 pts
24Japan91.4+0.1 pts
25Northern Mariana Islands91.3+0.1 pts
26Curaçao91.30 pts
27Luxembourg91+0.5 pts
28Netherlands90.3+0.4 pts
29Jordan89.9+1.9 pts
30Venezuela890 pts
31Lebanon88.6+0.2 pts
32Andorra88.5-0 pts
33Gabon88.1+0.5 pts
34Libya87.8-0.2 pts
35Denmark87.70 pts
36Chile87.5+0.2 pts
37Türkiye87.2+3.6 pts
38Australia86.9+0.2 pts
39Sweden86.6+0.4 pts
40Belgium86.2+0.2 pts
41Greenland86+0.4 pts
42Brazil85.7+0.3 pts
43Palestine85.2+0.2 pts
44New Zealand85.2-0.4 pts
45American Samoa84.7-0.4 pts
46United Arab Emirates84.3+0.2 pts
47Saudi Arabia83+0.2 pts
48Bahamas82.3-0.1 pts
49United Kingdom81.8+0.2 pts
50South Korea81.6-0.1 pts
51Canada81.20 pts
52Norway81.2+0.6 pts
53Peru80.7+0.7 pts
54Germany80.7+0.1 pts
55United States80.6-0.1 pts
56Palau80.4-0.3 pts
57Spain79.2+0.1 pts
58France77.8+0.4 pts
59Greece77.5+0.2 pts
60Oman77.3+0.4 pts
61Mexico77.2+0.2 pts
62Colombia77.2+0.1 pts
63Cuba76.90 pts
64Belarus76.6+0.3 pts
65Syria75.8-0.2 pts
66Switzerland75.6+0.9 pts
67Marshall Islands75.5+0.4 pts
68Costa Rica75+0.5 pts
69Brunei74.9-0.1 pts
70Russia74.3+0.1 pts
71Dominican Republic74.1-0.1 pts
72Malaysia73.4+0.5 pts
73Iran73.4+0.5 pts
74Bulgaria73.10 pts
75Czechia73-0.1 pts
76Finland71.3+0.3 pts
77Djibouti71+0.1 pts
78Hungary70.5+0.2 pts
79Algeria70.1+0.6 pts
80Iraq69.9+0.3 pts
81Dominica69.9+0.4 pts
82El Salvador69.7+0.8 pts
83Italy69.60 pts
84Ukraine69.2+0.1 pts
85Equatorial Guinea69+3.4 pts
86Estonia68.5+0.2 pts
87Bolivia68.4+0.4 pts
88Mongolia680 pts
89Latvia67.90 pts
90Tunisia67.9+0.1 pts
91Austria67.6+0.1 pts
92São Tomé and Príncipe67.4+0.1 pts
93Lithuania67.2+0.1 pts
94Cyprus67-0.1 pts
95Cape Verde66.9+1.1 pts
96New Caledonia66.80 pts
97Suriname66.2-0 pts
98Panama65.5+0.1 pts
99Botswana65.4+0.3 pts
100Nepal65+0.4 pts
101Montenegro64.8+0.1 pts
102Armenia64.5+0.1 pts
103Angola63.5+0.8 pts
104Aruba63.2-0.2 pts
105South Africa63.2+0.1 pts
106Republic of the Congo63.1+0.1 pts
107Ecuador630 pts
108Ireland62.6+0.1 pts
109French Polynesia61.7+0.1 pts
110Paraguay61.3+0.6 pts
111North Korea61.3+0.2 pts
112Portugal61.1-0 pts
113Morocco60.6+0.3 pts
114Poland60.3-0.1 pts
115Serbia60.1+0.3 pts
116Gambia59.2+0.6 pts
117Barbados59.20 pts
118North Macedonia59.1+0.3 pts
119Tuvalu58.9+0.6 pts
120Nicaragua57.8+0.2 pts
121Georgia57.4+0.4 pts
122China57.3+1.6 pts
123Kazakhstan56.1+0.6 pts
124Nigeria55.7+0.8 pts
125Croatia55.6+0.1 pts
126Jamaica55.2+0.3 pts
127Albania55.2+0.4 pts
128Azerbaijan55.2+0.5 pts
129Fiji54.6+0.5 pts
130Honduras54.4+0.5 pts
131Trinidad and Tobago53.90 pts
132Slovakia53.9-0.1 pts
133Romania53.7-0.1 pts
134Slovenia53.7+2.7 pts
135Ghana53.6+0.6 pts
136Guatemala53.4+0.3 pts
137Indonesia53.2+0.7 pts
138Cameroon52.6+0.3 pts
139Isle of Man52.10 pts
140Mauritania51.7+1.2 pts
141Philippines51.2+0.9 pts
142Kiribati51+0.6 pts
143Liberia50.7+0.5 pts
144Uzbekistan50.7-0.2 pts
145British Virgin Islands49.5+0.7 pts
146Côte d’Ivoire49.5+0.5 pts
147Haiti49.4+0.7 pts
148Bosnia and Herzegovina47.6+0.4 pts
149Turkmenistan470 pts
150Thailand47+0.6 pts
151Saint Vincent and the Grenadines46.7+0.1 pts
152Senegal46.3+0.7 pts
153Benin45.9+0.7 pts
154Namibia45.5+0.7 pts
155Belize43.9-0.3 pts
156Somalia43.9+1.5 pts
157Seychelles43.1+0.2 pts
158Egypt42.6-0.1 pts
159Guinea-Bissau42.2+0.4 pts
160Zambia42+0.4 pts
161Democratic Republic of the Congo41.3+0.4 pts
162Sierra Leone40.8+0.4 pts
163Central African Republic40+0.4 pts
164Togo39.7+0.4 pts
165Moldova39.7+0.1 pts
166Mauritius39.7-0.1 pts
167Maldives38.6+0.4 pts
168Faroe Islands38.1+0.2 pts
169Bhutan36.7+0.6 pts
170Grenada35.90 pts
171Pakistan35.9+0.2 pts
172Eritrea35.6-0 pts
173Kyrgyzstan35.1-0 pts
174Guinea35+0.2 pts
175Sudan34.1+0.3 pts
176Lesotho34.1+1.4 pts
177Zimbabwe33.6+0.4 pts
178Laos33.1+0.5 pts
179India32.5+0.3 pts
180Yemen32.4+0.5 pts
181Vietnam32.4+0.4 pts
182Mozambique32.1+0.2 pts
183Kenya31.7-0.1 pts
184Saint Kitts and Nevis31.30 pts
185Tanzania31.2+0.6 pts
186Comoros30.4+0.3 pts
187Cambodia30.1+2.2 pts
188Myanmar29.7+0.1 pts
189Bangladesh29.5+0.3 pts
190Timor-Leste29.5-0 pts
191Madagascar29.2+0.3 pts
192Tajikistan26.5-0.1 pts
193Guyana26.40 pts
194Mali25.8+0.6 pts
195Burkina Faso25.6+0.2 pts
196Antigua and Barbuda25-0.1 pts
197Uganda25+0.8 pts
198Vanuatu24.90 pts
199Afghanistan24.5+0.3 pts
200Solomon Islands23.7+0.8 pts
201Eswatini23.3+0.2 pts
202Tonga23.2-0.1 pts
203Chad22.8+0.3 pts
204Micronesia22.30 pts
205Saint Lucia20+0.6 pts
206Ethiopia19.5+0.4 pts
207Samoa19.2-0.1 pts
208South Sudan18.8+0.3 pts
209Sri Lanka18.8+0.2 pts
210Rwanda18.2+0.7 pts
211Niger16.3+0.1 pts
212Malawi15.8+0.1 pts
213Burundi14.7+0.9 pts
214Liechtenstein14.50 pts
215Papua New Guinea13.2+0.1 pts

Other periods

About this ranking

People living in urban areas, as each national statistical office defines them, as a percentage of total population. World Bank series based on the UN World Urbanization Prospects.

Countries define urban areas differently, so shares are only roughly comparable between countries.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the countries are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

World Bank, World Development Indicators. Urban population, % of total population (SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

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Questions

Which country has the highest share of urban population?

Bahrain, with 100% in 2015, according to the World Bank.

Which country has the lowest share of urban population?

Papua New Guinea, with 13.2% in 2015.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: World Bank, Urban population, % of total population (SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS). Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Urban population share: other rankings

Countries: more rankings