Data / Rankings / Urban population share / Countries

Countries by share of urban population

Bahrain had the highest share of urban population of 215 countries in 2021, at 100%. Papua New Guinea had the lowest, at 14.4%. The median was 63.5% and the figure for the World was 56.8%. Source: the World Bank.

Highest100Bahrain
Lowest14.4Papua New Guinea
Median63.5215 countries
World56.8History

Top 40 countries, 2021

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 %97.1MaltaMalta: 95.5 %95.5UruguayUruguay: 95.4 %95.4U.S. Virgin IslandsU.S. Virgin Islands: 95.2 %95.2NetherlandsNetherlands: 94.6 %94.6LuxembourgLuxembourg: 94.6 %94.6IcelandIceland: 94.2 %94.2GuamGuam: 94.1 %94.1Puerto RicoPuerto Rico: 94.1 %94.1Turks and Caicos IslandsTurks and Caicos Islands: 93.4 %93.4JordanJordan: 92.1 %92.1ArgentinaArgentina: 92 %92JapanJapan: 91.9 %91.9Northern Mariana IslandsNorthern Mariana Islands: 91.8 %91.8IsraelIsrael: 91.5 %91.5CuraçaoCuraçao: 91.4 %91.4GabonGabon: 90.8 %90.8LebanonLebanon: 90 %90VenezuelaVenezuela: 89.2 %89.2TürkiyeTürkiye: 89.2 %89.2AndorraAndorra: 88.7 %88.7ChileChile: 88.5 %88.5DenmarkDenmark: 88.3 %88.3SwedenSweden: 88.2 %88.2LibyaLibya: 87.8 %87.8GreenlandGreenland: 87.5 %87.5BelgiumBelgium: 87.4 %87.4
%. Source: World Bank. Retrieved 2026-10-09.

Full ranking

RankCountries2021 (%)Change on 2020
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
15Malta95.5+0.3 pts
16Uruguay95.40 pts
17U.S. Virgin Islands95.2+0.1 pts
18Netherlands94.6+0.4 pts
19Luxembourg94.6+0.7 pts
20Iceland94.2+0.1 pts
21Guam94.10 pts
22Puerto Rico94.10 pts
23Turks and Caicos Islands93.4+0.3 pts
24Jordan92.1+0.3 pts
25Argentina92+0.1 pts
26Japan91.9+0.1 pts
27Northern Mariana Islands91.8+0.1 pts
28Israel91.5-0 pts
29Curaçao91.40 pts
30Gabon90.8+0.4 pts
31Lebanon90+0.2 pts
32Venezuela89.20 pts
33Türkiye89.2+0.2 pts
34Andorra88.7+0.1 pts
35Chile88.5+0.2 pts
36Denmark88.30 pts
37Sweden88.2+0.2 pts
38Libya87.80 pts
39Greenland87.5+0.3 pts
40Belgium87.4+0.1 pts
41Australia87.2-0 pts
42Brazil87.1+0.2 pts
43Palestine86.3+0.3 pts
44United Arab Emirates85.4+0.2 pts
45Switzerland84.2+1.9 pts
46Saudi Arabia84+0.2 pts
47Peru83.9+0.4 pts
48New Zealand83.80 pts
49United Kingdom83+0.1 pts
50Norway82.9+0.2 pts
51American Samoa82.2-0.4 pts
52Canada82.2+0.2 pts
53Germany81.6+0.2 pts
54Bahamas81.5-0.2 pts
55South Korea81.2-0 pts
56Oman80.1+0.1 pts
57United States800 pts
58Spain79.8+0.1 pts
59Palau79.10 pts
60Mexico78.9+0.3 pts
61France78.70 pts
62Greece78.4+0.1 pts
63Belarus78.1+0.3 pts
64Costa Rica78+0.5 pts
65Colombia77.8+0.2 pts
66Marshall Islands77.6+0.3 pts
67Cuba77.1-0 pts
68Iran76+0.4 pts
69Malaysia75.5+0.5 pts
70Brunei74.8-0 pts
71Russia74.8+0.1 pts
72Cape Verde74.2+1.3 pts
73El Salvador73.7+0.6 pts
74Algeria73.6+0.6 pts
75Finland73.4+0.3 pts
76Bulgaria73.30 pts
77Syria73-0.4 pts
78Dominican Republic72.9-0.3 pts
79Czechia72.7-0 pts
80Djibouti72.3+0.3 pts
81Dominica72.3+0.4 pts
82Equatorial Guinea70.6+0.3 pts
83Bolivia70.3+0.3 pts
84Hungary70.2-0.1 pts
85Estonia70.2+0.3 pts
86Iraq69.9-0 pts
87Italy69.5-0 pts
88Ukraine69.40 pts
89Tunisia69.4+0.3 pts
90Mongolia69.2+1.1 pts
91Austria68.8+0.2 pts
92Angola68.3+0.8 pts
93Lithuania68.2+0.8 pts
94Latvia68.2+0.1 pts
95São Tomé and Príncipe68.2+0.1 pts
96New Caledonia67.4+0.1 pts
97Paraguay67.3+1.2 pts
98Cyprus66.7-0 pts
99Botswana66.5+0.1 pts
100Nepal66.10 pts
101Suriname66-0 pts
102Panama65.80 pts
103Armenia65.4+0.2 pts
104Montenegro65.3+0.1 pts
105China64.7+1.2 pts
106Ireland63.7+0.2 pts
107Republic of the Congo63.60 pts
108South Africa63.50 pts
109Ecuador63.10 pts
110North Korea62.9+0.3 pts
111Gambia62.8+0.5 pts
112Tuvalu62.6+0.7 pts
113Morocco62.3+0.2 pts
114Aruba61.9-0.1 pts
115French Polynesia61.7-0 pts
116North Macedonia61.7+0.5 pts
117Serbia61.4+0.1 pts
118Portugal61.1-0 pts
119Kazakhstan61+1 pts
120Nigeria60.6+0.8 pts
121Poland59.8-0.1 pts
122Kiribati59.6+1.2 pts
123Georgia59.4+0.4 pts
124Barbados59.30 pts
125Nicaragua58.9+0.2 pts
126Thailand58.5+1.3 pts
127Azerbaijan58.4+0.1 pts
128Mauritania57.9+0.9 pts
129Fiji57.7+0.5 pts
130Jamaica57.5+0.4 pts
131Albania57.5+0.4 pts
132Honduras57.4+0.5 pts
133Indonesia56.9+0.6 pts
134Croatia56.8+0.2 pts
135Ghana56.7+0.5 pts
136Slovenia55.3-0.1 pts
137Guatemala54.9+0.4 pts
138Cameroon54.6+0.3 pts
139Philippines54.5+0.3 pts
140British Virgin Islands54+0.8 pts
141Trinidad and Tobago53.90 pts
142Liberia53.9+0.5 pts
143Haiti53.2+0.6 pts
144Slovakia53.2-0.1 pts
145Somalia52.9+0.6 pts
146Côte d’Ivoire52.3+0.5 pts
147Romania52.2-0.4 pts
148Senegal52.2+1.2 pts
149Isle of Man52.20 pts
150Uzbekistan50.9+0.2 pts
151Bosnia and Herzegovina50.5+0.5 pts
152Benin50.2+0.8 pts
153Namibia49.1+0.5 pts
154Saint Vincent and the Grenadines47.5+0.1 pts
155Turkmenistan47.10 pts
156Guinea-Bissau44.7+0.4 pts
157Seychelles44.6+0.3 pts
158Zambia44.2+0.4 pts
159Sierra Leone43.7+0.5 pts
160Democratic Republic of the Congo43.6+0.4 pts
161Central African Republic42.9+0.5 pts
162Egypt42.6+0.1 pts
163Belize42.4-0.3 pts
164Togo42.3+0.4 pts
165Moldova41.8+0.5 pts
166Maldives40.7+0.3 pts
167Lesotho40.7+1 pts
168Bhutan40.3+0.6 pts
169Cambodia40.1+0.3 pts
170Mauritius39.1-0.1 pts
171Faroe Islands38.8+0.1 pts
172Pakistan37.9+0.4 pts
173Zimbabwe37.9+0.9 pts
174Laos37.3+0.7 pts
175Guinea36.9+0.4 pts
176Vietnam36.7+1.1 pts
177Grenada36.3+0.1 pts
178Yemen36.1+0.4 pts
179Eritrea35-0.1 pts
180Kyrgyzstan34.8-0.1 pts
181Sudan34.6+0.1 pts
182Mozambique34.4+0.5 pts
183India34.4+0.3 pts
184Tanzania34.4+0.5 pts
185Comoros32.4+0.3 pts
186Saint Kitts and Nevis31.5+0.1 pts
187Bangladesh31.4+0.3 pts
188Kenya31.3+0.1 pts
189Madagascar31.1+0.4 pts
190Myanmar30.2+0.1 pts
191Mali29.7+0.7 pts
192Uganda29.2+0.7 pts
193Timor-Leste28.8-0.2 pts
194Solomon Islands28.7+0.7 pts
195Saint Lucia27.4+1.7 pts
196Burkina Faso26.8+0.5 pts
197Guyana26.40 pts
198Tajikistan26.20 pts
199Rwanda26.1+1.6 pts
200Afghanistan25.3+0.1 pts
201Chad25.2+0.5 pts
202Eswatini25+0.4 pts
203Antigua and Barbuda24.6-0.1 pts
204Micronesia22.40 pts
205Vanuatu22.3-0.2 pts
206Ethiopia22.1+0.5 pts
207Tonga21.3-0.6 pts
208Burundi21.1+1.2 pts
209South Sudan20.5+0.3 pts
210Sri Lanka19.8+0.2 pts
211Samoa17.6-0.5 pts
212Niger17.2+0.2 pts
213Malawi16.5+0.2 pts
214Liechtenstein14.70 pts
215Papua New Guinea14.4+0.3 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 2021, according to the World Bank.

Which country has the lowest share of urban population?

Papua New Guinea, with 14.4% in 2021.

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