Data / Rankings / Urban population share / Countries

Countries by share of urban population

Bahrain had the highest share of urban population of 215 countries in 2018, at 100%. Papua New Guinea had the lowest, at 13.7%. The median was 63% and the figure for the World was 55.8%. Source: the World Bank.

Highest100Bahrain
Lowest13.7Papua New Guinea
Median63215 countries
World55.8History

Top 40 countries, 2018

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: 99.1 %99.1San MarinoSan Marino: 97.1 %97.1UruguayUruguay: 95.3 %95.3U.S. Virgin IslandsU.S. Virgin Islands: 95.1 %95.1MaltaMalta: 94.7 %94.7GuamGuam: 94.1 %94.1Puerto RicoPuerto Rico: 93.9 %93.9IcelandIceland: 93.9 %93.9Turks and Caicos IslandsTurks and Caicos Islands: 92.7 %92.7LuxembourgLuxembourg: 92.7 %92.7NetherlandsNetherlands: 92.6 %92.6ArgentinaArgentina: 91.8 %91.8IsraelIsrael: 91.6 %91.6JapanJapan: 91.6 %91.6Northern Mariana IslandsNorthern Mariana Islands: 91.5 %91.5CuraçaoCuraçao: 91.4 %91.4JordanJordan: 91.2 %91.2GabonGabon: 89.5 %89.5LebanonLebanon: 89.3 %89.3VenezuelaVenezuela: 89.1 %89.1AndorraAndorra: 88.5 %88.5TürkiyeTürkiye: 88.2 %88.2DenmarkDenmark: 88.1 %88.1ChileChile: 88 %88LibyaLibya: 87.8 %87.8SwedenSweden: 87.5 %87.5AustraliaAustralia: 87.2 %87.2BelgiumBelgium: 86.9 %86.9
%. Source: World Bank. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankCountries2018 (%)Change on 2017
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
13Qatar99.10 pts
14San Marino97.10 pts
15Uruguay95.3+0.1 pts
16U.S. Virgin Islands95.10 pts
17Malta94.7+0.2 pts
18Guam94.10 pts
19Puerto Rico93.90 pts
20Iceland93.9+0.1 pts
21Turks and Caicos Islands92.7+0.3 pts
22Luxembourg92.7+0.6 pts
23Netherlands92.6+1.5 pts
24Argentina91.8+0.1 pts
25Israel91.6-0 pts
26Japan91.6+0.1 pts
27Northern Mariana Islands91.5+0.1 pts
28Curaçao91.40 pts
29Jordan91.2+0.3 pts
30Gabon89.5+0.5 pts
31Lebanon89.3+0.2 pts
32Venezuela89.10 pts
33Andorra88.50 pts
34Türkiye88.2+0.1 pts
35Denmark88.1+0.1 pts
36Chile88+0.2 pts
37Libya87.80 pts
38Sweden87.5+0.2 pts
39Australia87.2+0.1 pts
40Belgium86.9+0.2 pts
41Greenland86.7+0.3 pts
42Brazil86.4+0.2 pts
43Palestine85.5+0.2 pts
44United Arab Emirates84.9+0.2 pts
45New Zealand83.8-0.4 pts
46American Samoa83.5-0.4 pts
47Saudi Arabia83.5+0.2 pts
48Peru82.7+0.5 pts
49United Kingdom82.4+0.2 pts
50Norway82.2+0.3 pts
51Bahamas82-0.1 pts
52Canada81.6+0.1 pts
53South Korea81.4-0.1 pts
54Germany81.1+0.2 pts
55United States80.3-0.1 pts
56Spain79.6+0.1 pts
57Palau79.6-0.3 pts
58Switzerland79.3+1.4 pts
59Oman79+0.7 pts
60France78.70 pts
61Greece78+0.2 pts
62Mexico78+0.3 pts
63Colombia77.3+0.1 pts
64Belarus77.2+0.2 pts
65Cuba77+0.1 pts
66Marshall Islands76.6+0.4 pts
67Costa Rica76.6+0.5 pts
68Brunei74.8-0 pts
69Iran74.8+0.4 pts
70Malaysia74.6+0.3 pts
71Russia74.5+0.1 pts
72Syria74.1-0.5 pts
73Dominican Republic73.8-0.2 pts
74Bulgaria73.6+0.2 pts
75Czechia72.8-0.1 pts
76Finland72.3+0.4 pts
77Algeria71.9+0.6 pts
78El Salvador71.8+0.7 pts
79Djibouti71.5+0.2 pts
80Dominica71+0.4 pts
81Hungary70.50 pts
82Cape Verde70.4+1.2 pts
83Iraq69.9-0 pts
84Equatorial Guinea69.8+0.3 pts
85Italy69.5-0 pts
86Bolivia69.4+0.3 pts
87Ukraine69.3+0.1 pts
88Estonia69.3+0.3 pts
89Tunisia68.5+0.3 pts
90Austria68.1+0.2 pts
91Latvia680 pts
92Mongolia67.9-0.1 pts
93São Tomé and Príncipe67.8+0.1 pts
94Lithuania67.10 pts
95New Caledonia67.1+0.1 pts
96Cyprus66.8-0.1 pts
97Botswana66.2+0.2 pts
98Suriname66.1-0 pts
99Angola65.9+0.8 pts
100Nepal65.8+0.2 pts
101Panama65.7+0.1 pts
102Montenegro65.1+0.1 pts
103Armenia64.9+0.1 pts
104Paraguay63.9+1 pts
105Republic of the Congo63.4+0.1 pts
106South Africa63.40 pts
107Ireland63.1+0.2 pts
108Ecuador630 pts
109Aruba62.5-0.2 pts
110North Korea62.1+0.3 pts
111French Polynesia61.8-0 pts
112Morocco61.6+0.3 pts
113China61.5+1.3 pts
114Portugal61.1-0 pts
115Gambia61.1+0.6 pts
116Serbia60.8+0.2 pts
117Tuvalu60.6+0.6 pts
118North Macedonia60.2+0.4 pts
119Poland60.1-0.1 pts
120Barbados59.30 pts
121Nicaragua58.4+0.2 pts
122Georgia58.3+0.3 pts
123Kazakhstan58.2+0.8 pts
124Nigeria58.2+0.8 pts
125Azerbaijan57.2+0.8 pts
126Albania56.4+0.4 pts
127Jamaica56.3+0.4 pts
128Fiji56.2+0.5 pts
129Croatia56.1+0.2 pts
130Honduras55.9+0.5 pts
131Ghana55.2+0.5 pts
132Slovenia55.2-0.1 pts
133Mauritania55.1+0.9 pts
134Indonesia55.1+0.6 pts
135Thailand54.6+5.4 pts
136Kiribati54.5+1.5 pts
137Trinidad and Tobago53.90 pts
138Guatemala53.80 pts
139Cameroon53.6+0.3 pts
140Slovakia53.5-0.1 pts
141Philippines53.2+0.6 pts
142Romania53.1-0.2 pts
143Liberia52.3+0.5 pts
144Isle of Man52.20 pts
145British Virgin Islands51.6+0.7 pts
146Haiti51.4+0.6 pts
147Somalia51+2.6 pts
148Côte d’Ivoire50.9+0.5 pts
149Uzbekistan50.6-0.1 pts
150Bosnia and Herzegovina49+0.5 pts
151Senegal48.9+1 pts
152Benin48+0.7 pts
153Namibia47.4+0.6 pts
154Saint Vincent and the Grenadines47.1+0.1 pts
155Turkmenistan470 pts
156Seychelles43.7+0.2 pts
157Guinea-Bissau43.4+0.4 pts
158Belize43.2-0.3 pts
159Zambia43.1+0.4 pts
160Democratic Republic of the Congo42.5+0.4 pts
161Egypt42.50 pts
162Sierra Leone42.2+0.5 pts
163Central African Republic41.3+0.5 pts
164Togo41+0.4 pts
165Moldova40.3+0.4 pts
166Maldives39.7+0.4 pts
167Mauritius39.3-0.1 pts
168Bhutan38.5+0.6 pts
169Faroe Islands38.4+0.1 pts
170Cambodia37.6+2.6 pts
171Lesotho37.6+1 pts
172Pakistan36.7+0.3 pts
173Grenada36.1+0.1 pts
174Guinea35.9+0.3 pts
175Zimbabwe35.4+0.7 pts
176Eritrea35.3-0.1 pts
177Laos35.2+0.7 pts
178Kyrgyzstan34.9-0.1 pts
179Sudan34.4+0.1 pts
180Yemen34.2+0.7 pts
181Vietnam33.9+0.6 pts
182India33.5+0.3 pts
183Mozambique33+0.4 pts
184Tanzania32.8+0.5 pts
185Comoros31.4+0.3 pts
186Kenya31.4-0.1 pts
187Saint Kitts and Nevis31.40 pts
188Bangladesh30.5+0.3 pts
189Myanmar30+0.1 pts
190Madagascar29.9+0.2 pts
191Timor-Leste29.2-0.1 pts
192Mali27.7+0.6 pts
193Uganda27.1+0.7 pts
194Guyana26.40 pts
195Solomon Islands26.3+0.9 pts
196Tajikistan26.2-0 pts
197Burkina Faso26.1+0.1 pts
198Afghanistan25+0.2 pts
199Antigua and Barbuda24.8-0.1 pts
200Vanuatu24.3-0.5 pts
201Eswatini24.1+0.3 pts
202Chad23.8+0.4 pts
203Saint Lucia22.9+1.1 pts
204Tonga22.7-0.3 pts
205Micronesia22.30 pts
206Rwanda21.5+1.3 pts
207Ethiopia20.8+0.5 pts
208South Sudan19.6+0.3 pts
209Sri Lanka19.3+0.2 pts
210Samoa18.7-0.2 pts
211Burundi17.7+1.1 pts
212Niger16.6+0.1 pts
213Malawi16+0.1 pts
214Liechtenstein14.60 pts
215Papua New Guinea13.7+0.2 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 2018, according to the World Bank.

Which country has the lowest share of urban population?

Papua New Guinea, with 13.7% in 2018.

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