Data / Rankings / Urban population share / Countries

Countries by share of urban population

Bahrain had the highest share of urban population of 215 countries in 2016, at 100%. Papua New Guinea had the lowest, at 13.4%. The median was 62.7% and the figure for the World was 54.9%. Source: the World Bank.

Highest100Bahrain
Lowest13.4Papua New Guinea
Median62.7215 countries
World54.9History

Top 40 countries, 2016

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: 99 %99San MarinoSan Marino: 97.1 %97.1UruguayUruguay: 95.2 %95.2U.S. Virgin IslandsU.S. Virgin Islands: 95 %95MaltaMalta: 94.5 %94.5GuamGuam: 94.1 %94.1Puerto RicoPuerto Rico: 93.8 %93.8IcelandIceland: 93.8 %93.8Turks and Caicos IslandsTurks and Caicos Islands: 92.1 %92.1IsraelIsrael: 91.7 %91.7ArgentinaArgentina: 91.6 %91.6LuxembourgLuxembourg: 91.5 %91.5JapanJapan: 91.5 %91.5Northern Mariana IslandsNorthern Mariana Islands: 91.4 %91.4CuraçaoCuraçao: 91.3 %91.3NetherlandsNetherlands: 90.6 %90.6JordanJordan: 90.6 %90.6VenezuelaVenezuela: 89 %89LebanonLebanon: 88.8 %88.8GabonGabon: 88.5 %88.5AndorraAndorra: 88.5 %88.5TürkiyeTürkiye: 88.1 %88.1LibyaLibya: 87.8 %87.8DenmarkDenmark: 87.7 %87.7ChileChile: 87.6 %87.6AustraliaAustralia: 87 %87SwedenSweden: 87 %87BelgiumBelgium: 86.5 %86.5
%. Source: World Bank. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankCountries2016 (%)Change on 2015
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
13Qatar990 pts
14San Marino97.10 pts
15Uruguay95.2+0.1 pts
16U.S. Virgin Islands95+0.1 pts
17Malta94.50 pts
18Guam94.10 pts
19Puerto Rico93.80 pts
20Iceland93.8+0.1 pts
21Turks and Caicos Islands92.1+0.3 pts
22Israel91.7-0 pts
23Argentina91.6+0.1 pts
24Luxembourg91.5+0.5 pts
25Japan91.5+0.1 pts
26Northern Mariana Islands91.4+0.1 pts
27Curaçao91.30 pts
28Netherlands90.6+0.3 pts
29Jordan90.6+0.7 pts
30Venezuela890 pts
31Lebanon88.8+0.2 pts
32Gabon88.5+0.5 pts
33Andorra88.5-0 pts
34Türkiye88.1+0.9 pts
35Libya87.80 pts
36Denmark87.7-0 pts
37Chile87.6+0.2 pts
38Australia87+0.1 pts
39Sweden87+0.4 pts
40Belgium86.5+0.2 pts
41Greenland86.2+0.2 pts
42Brazil85.9+0.3 pts
43Palestine85.3+0.1 pts
44New Zealand84.7-0.5 pts
45United Arab Emirates84.5+0.2 pts
46American Samoa84.3-0.4 pts
47Saudi Arabia83.1+0.2 pts
48Bahamas82.2-0.1 pts
49United Kingdom82+0.2 pts
50Norway81.7+0.4 pts
51South Korea81.6-0.1 pts
52Peru81.4+0.7 pts
53Canada81.3+0.1 pts
54Germany80.8+0.1 pts
55United States80.5-0.1 pts
56Palau80.1-0.3 pts
57Spain79.4+0.1 pts
58France78.6+0.8 pts
59Oman77.8+0.4 pts
60Greece77.7+0.2 pts
61Mexico77.4+0.3 pts
62Colombia77.20 pts
63Cuba76.90 pts
64Belarus76.8+0.2 pts
65Switzerland76.7+1.1 pts
66Marshall Islands75.9+0.4 pts
67Costa Rica75.5+0.5 pts
68Syria75.2-0.6 pts
69Brunei74.9-0.1 pts
70Russia74.4+0.1 pts
71Dominican Republic74.1-0.1 pts
72Iran73.9+0.5 pts
73Malaysia73.9+0.4 pts
74Bulgaria73.2+0.1 pts
75Czechia73-0.1 pts
76Finland71.6+0.3 pts
77Djibouti71.1+0.1 pts
78Algeria70.7+0.6 pts
79Hungary70.5-0 pts
80El Salvador70.4+0.7 pts
81Dominica70.3+0.4 pts
82Iraq69.9-0 pts
83Italy69.6-0 pts
84Equatorial Guinea69.3+0.3 pts
85Ukraine69.2+0.1 pts
86Bolivia68.7+0.3 pts
87Estonia68.7+0.2 pts
88Tunisia68.1+0.2 pts
89Cape Verde68+1.1 pts
90Mongolia68-0 pts
91Latvia67.90 pts
92Austria67.7+0.2 pts
93São Tomé and Príncipe67.5+0.1 pts
94Lithuania67.2-0 pts
95Cyprus67-0.1 pts
96New Caledonia66.9+0.1 pts
97Suriname66.1-0 pts
98Botswana65.7+0.3 pts
99Panama65.6+0.1 pts
100Nepal65.3+0.3 pts
101Montenegro64.9+0.1 pts
102Armenia64.6+0.1 pts
103Angola64.3+0.8 pts
104South Africa63.3+0.1 pts
105Republic of the Congo63.3+0.1 pts
106Aruba63-0.2 pts
107Ecuador630 pts
108Ireland62.7+0.1 pts
109Paraguay62.1+0.8 pts
110French Polynesia61.80 pts
111North Korea61.6+0.2 pts
112Portugal61.1-0 pts
113Morocco61+0.3 pts
114Serbia60.4+0.2 pts
115Poland60.2-0.1 pts
116Gambia59.9+0.6 pts
117Tuvalu59.5+0.6 pts
118North Macedonia59.4+0.3 pts
119Barbados59.30 pts
120China58.8+1.5 pts
121Nicaragua58+0.2 pts
122Georgia57.7+0.3 pts
123Kazakhstan56.7+0.6 pts
124Nigeria56.5+0.8 pts
125Azerbaijan55.8+0.6 pts
126Croatia55.7+0.1 pts
127Albania55.6+0.4 pts
128Jamaica55.5+0.3 pts
129Fiji55.2+0.6 pts
130Honduras54.9+0.5 pts
131Ghana54.2+0.5 pts
132Trinidad and Tobago53.90 pts
133Indonesia53.8+0.6 pts
134Slovakia53.7-0.1 pts
135Guatemala53.7+0.2 pts
136Slovenia53.6-0 pts
137Romania53.6-0.2 pts
138Cameroon53+0.3 pts
139Mauritania52.9+1.3 pts
140Isle of Man52.10 pts
141Philippines51.9+0.8 pts
142Kiribati51.8+0.8 pts
143Liberia51.3+0.5 pts
144Uzbekistan50.7-0 pts
145British Virgin Islands50.2+0.7 pts
146Haiti50.1+0.7 pts
147Côte d’Ivoire49.9+0.5 pts
148Bosnia and Herzegovina48+0.5 pts
149Thailand47.9+0.9 pts
150Senegal47.1+0.8 pts
151Turkmenistan470 pts
152Saint Vincent and the Grenadines46.8+0.1 pts
153Benin46.6+0.7 pts
154Namibia46.2+0.7 pts
155Somalia45.9+2.1 pts
156Belize43.7-0.3 pts
157Seychelles43.3+0.2 pts
158Guinea-Bissau42.6+0.4 pts
159Egypt42.5-0.1 pts
160Zambia42.3+0.4 pts
161Democratic Republic of the Congo41.7+0.4 pts
162Sierra Leone41.2+0.5 pts
163Central African Republic40.4+0.4 pts
164Togo40.1+0.4 pts
165Moldova39.70 pts
166Mauritius39.6-0.1 pts
167Maldives39+0.4 pts
168Faroe Islands38.3+0.2 pts
169Bhutan37.3+0.6 pts
170Pakistan36.2+0.3 pts
171Grenada360 pts
172Eritrea35.5-0.1 pts
173Lesotho35.5+1.4 pts
174Guinea35.3+0.3 pts
175Kyrgyzstan35.1-0 pts
176Sudan34.2+0.1 pts
177Zimbabwe34.1+0.5 pts
178Laos33.8+0.7 pts
179Yemen33+0.6 pts
180India32.9+0.3 pts
181Vietnam32.8+0.5 pts
182Cambodia32.5+2.4 pts
183Mozambique32.4+0.2 pts
184Tanzania31.8+0.6 pts
185Kenya31.7-0.1 pts
186Saint Kitts and Nevis31.30 pts
187Comoros30.7+0.4 pts
188Bangladesh29.9+0.3 pts
189Myanmar29.8+0.1 pts
190Timor-Leste29.4-0.1 pts
191Madagascar29.4+0.3 pts
192Mali26.4+0.6 pts
193Guyana26.40 pts
194Tajikistan26.4-0.1 pts
195Burkina Faso25.8+0.2 pts
196Uganda25.7+0.7 pts
197Antigua and Barbuda24.9-0.1 pts
198Vanuatu24.90 pts
199Afghanistan24.7+0.2 pts
200Solomon Islands24.5+0.8 pts
201Eswatini23.5+0.3 pts
202Tonga23.1-0.1 pts
203Chad23.1+0.3 pts
204Micronesia22.30 pts
205Saint Lucia20.8+0.8 pts
206Ethiopia19.9+0.4 pts
207Samoa19.1-0.1 pts
208Rwanda19.1+0.9 pts
209South Sudan19.1+0.3 pts
210Sri Lanka19+0.2 pts
211Niger16.4+0.1 pts
212Malawi15.9+0.1 pts
213Burundi15.6+0.9 pts
214Liechtenstein14.50 pts
215Papua New Guinea13.4+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 2016, according to the World Bank.

Which country has the lowest share of urban population?

Papua New Guinea, with 13.4% in 2016.

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