Data / Rankings / Urban population share / Countries

Countries by share of urban population

Bahrain had the highest share of urban population of 215 countries in 2020, at 100%. Papua New Guinea had the lowest, at 14.2%. The median was 63.4% and the figure for the World was 56.4%. Source: the World Bank.

Highest100Bahrain
Lowest14.2Papua New Guinea
Median63.4215 countries
World56.4History

Top 40 countries, 2020

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: 99.2 %99.2San MarinoSan Marino: 97.1 %97.1UruguayUruguay: 95.4 %95.4MaltaMalta: 95.2 %95.2U.S. Virgin IslandsU.S. Virgin Islands: 95.1 %95.1NetherlandsNetherlands: 94.3 %94.3IcelandIceland: 94.1 %94.1GuamGuam: 94.1 %94.1Puerto RicoPuerto Rico: 94 %94LuxembourgLuxembourg: 93.9 %93.9Turks and Caicos IslandsTurks and Caicos Islands: 93.2 %93.2ArgentinaArgentina: 91.9 %91.9JordanJordan: 91.8 %91.8JapanJapan: 91.8 %91.8Northern Mariana IslandsNorthern Mariana Islands: 91.7 %91.7IsraelIsrael: 91.6 %91.6CuraçaoCuraçao: 91.4 %91.4GabonGabon: 90.3 %90.3LebanonLebanon: 89.7 %89.7VenezuelaVenezuela: 89.1 %89.1TürkiyeTürkiye: 88.9 %88.9AndorraAndorra: 88.6 %88.6ChileChile: 88.3 %88.3DenmarkDenmark: 88.2 %88.2SwedenSweden: 87.9 %87.9LibyaLibya: 87.8 %87.8BelgiumBelgium: 87.3 %87.3GreenlandGreenland: 87.3 %87.3
%. Source: World Bank. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankCountries2020 (%)Change on 2019
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
13Qatar99.20 pts
14San Marino97.10 pts
15Uruguay95.4+0.1 pts
16Malta95.2+0.3 pts
17U.S. Virgin Islands95.10 pts
18Netherlands94.3+0.4 pts
19Iceland94.1+0.2 pts
20Guam94.10 pts
21Puerto Rico94+0.1 pts
22Luxembourg93.9+0.6 pts
23Turks and Caicos Islands93.2+0.3 pts
24Argentina91.9+0.1 pts
25Jordan91.8+0.3 pts
26Japan91.8+0.1 pts
27Northern Mariana Islands91.7+0.1 pts
28Israel91.6-0 pts
29Curaçao91.40 pts
30Gabon90.3+0.4 pts
31Lebanon89.7+0.2 pts
32Venezuela89.10 pts
33Türkiye88.9+0.3 pts
34Andorra88.6+0.1 pts
35Chile88.3+0.2 pts
36Denmark88.20 pts
37Sweden87.9+0.2 pts
38Libya87.80 pts
39Belgium87.3+0.2 pts
40Greenland87.3+0.3 pts
41Australia87.3-0 pts
42Brazil86.9+0.2 pts
43Palestine86.1+0.3 pts
44United Arab Emirates85.2+0.2 pts
45New Zealand83.80 pts
46Saudi Arabia83.8+0.2 pts
47Peru83.5+0.4 pts
48United Kingdom82.9+0.2 pts
49Norway82.7+0.2 pts
50American Samoa82.6-0.4 pts
51Switzerland82.3+1.6 pts
52Canada82+0.2 pts
53Bahamas81.7-0.2 pts
54Germany81.5+0.2 pts
55South Korea81.2-0.1 pts
56Oman80+0.4 pts
57United States80-0.1 pts
58Spain79.7+0.1 pts
59Palau79.1-0.2 pts
60France78.70 pts
61Mexico78.7+0.3 pts
62Greece78.3+0.1 pts
63Belarus77.8+0.3 pts
64Colombia77.6+0.2 pts
65Costa Rica77.5+0.5 pts
66Marshall Islands77.3+0.3 pts
67Cuba77.10 pts
68Iran75.6+0.4 pts
69Malaysia75.1+0.2 pts
70Brunei74.8-0 pts
71Russia74.7+0.1 pts
72Syria73.4-0.4 pts
73Bulgaria73.3-0.4 pts
74Dominican Republic73.3-0.3 pts
75Finland73.1+0.3 pts
76El Salvador73.1+0.6 pts
77Algeria73.1+0.6 pts
78Cape Verde72.9+1.3 pts
79Czechia72.7-0.1 pts
80Djibouti72+0.3 pts
81Dominica71.8+0.4 pts
82Equatorial Guinea70.4+0.3 pts
83Hungary70.3-0.2 pts
84Bolivia70+0.3 pts
85Estonia69.9+0.3 pts
86Iraq69.9-0 pts
87Italy69.50 pts
88Ukraine69.40 pts
89Tunisia69.1+0.3 pts
90Austria68.5+0.2 pts
91Latvia68.1+0.1 pts
92Mongolia68.1+0.3 pts
93São Tomé and Príncipe68+0.1 pts
94Angola67.5+0.8 pts
95Lithuania67.4+0.2 pts
96New Caledonia67.3+0.1 pts
97Cyprus66.7-0 pts
98Botswana66.4+0.1 pts
99Paraguay66.1+1.1 pts
100Nepal66.1+0.1 pts
101Suriname66-0 pts
102Panama65.80 pts
103Montenegro65.2+0.1 pts
104Armenia65.2+0.2 pts
105Republic of the Congo63.6+0.1 pts
106China63.5+0.8 pts
107Ireland63.5+0.2 pts
108South Africa63.40 pts
109Ecuador63.10 pts
110North Korea62.6+0.3 pts
111Gambia62.2+0.6 pts
112Morocco62.1+0.3 pts
113Aruba62-0.3 pts
114Tuvalu61.9+0.7 pts
115French Polynesia61.8-0 pts
116Serbia61.2+0.2 pts
117North Macedonia61.2+0.5 pts
118Portugal61.1-0 pts
119Kazakhstan60+0.9 pts
120Poland59.9-0.1 pts
121Nigeria59.8+0.8 pts
122Barbados59.30 pts
123Georgia59+0.4 pts
124Nicaragua58.7+0.2 pts
125Kiribati58.4+2.1 pts
126Azerbaijan58.3+0.2 pts
127Thailand57.2+1.3 pts
128Fiji57.2+0.5 pts
129Albania57.1+0.4 pts
130Jamaica57.1+0.4 pts
131Mauritania57+0.9 pts
132Honduras56.9+0.5 pts
133Croatia56.5+0.2 pts
134Indonesia56.3+0.5 pts
135Ghana56.2+0.5 pts
136Slovenia55.4-0.1 pts
137Guatemala54.5+0.4 pts
138Cameroon54.3+0.3 pts
139Philippines54.1+0.4 pts
140Trinidad and Tobago53.90 pts
141Liberia53.4+0.5 pts
142Slovakia53.2-0.1 pts
143British Virgin Islands53.2+0.8 pts
144Haiti52.6+0.6 pts
145Romania52.6-0.3 pts
146Somalia52.3+0.6 pts
147Isle of Man52.20 pts
148Côte d’Ivoire51.8+0.5 pts
149Senegal51.1+1.1 pts
150Uzbekistan50.8+0.2 pts
151Bosnia and Herzegovina50+0.5 pts
152Benin49.4+0.7 pts
153Namibia48.5+0.5 pts
154Saint Vincent and the Grenadines47.3+0.1 pts
155Turkmenistan47.10 pts
156Guinea-Bissau44.3+0.4 pts
157Seychelles44.3+0.3 pts
158Zambia43.9+0.4 pts
159Democratic Republic of the Congo43.3+0.4 pts
160Sierra Leone43.2+0.5 pts
161Belize42.6-0.3 pts
162Egypt42.50 pts
163Central African Republic42.3+0.5 pts
164Togo41.9+0.4 pts
165Moldova41.3+0.6 pts
166Maldives40.4+0.3 pts
167Cambodia39.8+0.2 pts
168Bhutan39.7+0.6 pts
169Lesotho39.6+1 pts
170Mauritius39.2-0.1 pts
171Faroe Islands38.7+0.3 pts
172Pakistan37.5+0.4 pts
173Zimbabwe37+0.8 pts
174Laos36.6+0.7 pts
175Guinea36.5+0.4 pts
176Grenada36.2+0.1 pts
177Yemen35.7+0.8 pts
178Vietnam35.6+0.9 pts
179Eritrea35.1-0.1 pts
180Kyrgyzstan34.8-0.1 pts
181Sudan34.6+0.1 pts
182India34.1+0.3 pts
183Mozambique33.9+0.5 pts
184Tanzania33.9+0.5 pts
185Comoros32.1+0.3 pts
186Saint Kitts and Nevis31.5+0.1 pts
187Kenya31.20 pts
188Bangladesh31.1+0.3 pts
189Madagascar30.7+0.4 pts
190Myanmar30.2+0.1 pts
191Mali29+0.7 pts
192Timor-Leste29-0.2 pts
193Uganda28.5+0.7 pts
194Solomon Islands28+0.8 pts
195Guyana26.40 pts
196Burkina Faso26.4+0.2 pts
197Tajikistan26.2+0.1 pts
198Saint Lucia25.8+1.5 pts
199Afghanistan25.3+0.1 pts
200Chad24.7+0.5 pts
201Eswatini24.7+0.3 pts
202Antigua and Barbuda24.6-0.1 pts
203Rwanda24.5+1.5 pts
204Vanuatu22.4-1.1 pts
205Micronesia22.40 pts
206Tonga21.9-0.5 pts
207Ethiopia21.6+0.4 pts
208South Sudan20.2+0.3 pts
209Burundi19.9+1.1 pts
210Sri Lanka19.7+0.2 pts
211Samoa18.1-0.4 pts
212Niger17+0.2 pts
213Malawi16.3+0.2 pts
214Liechtenstein14.7+0.1 pts
215Papua New Guinea14.2+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 2020, according to the World Bank.

Which country has the lowest share of urban population?

Papua New Guinea, with 14.2% in 2020.

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