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Data for 1986

Urban Population Share (National Definitions), 1986

1986, as UN DESA Population Division’s 2025 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten

The share of a country's people living in places its own government classifies as urban. It is the familiar per-cent-urban figure and tracks one of the great shifts of the last century — but each country draws the line between town and countryside in its own way.

Urban Population Share (National Definitions), 1986 covers 222 countries. 10 countries share the highest reading, 100.0000; Rwanda is lowest, at 5.0489. The middle country reads 51.2211. Against 1985, 211 values changed (189 up, 22 down), the same countries are covered.

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Urban Population Share (National Definitions) · Data for 1986

Highest10 countries share it

100.0000

LowestRwanda

5.0489

Shaded by value in five groups of equal size, darkest at the highest end.

01Values only

The table

Every country and every column of Urban Population Share (National Definitions), 1986, as published. The file carries values only, so no position is shown. “=” marks a shared position.

Showing 25 of 222 countries · select a heading to sort

Urban Population Share (National Definitions), 1986: every country, as published by UN DESA Population Division.
AnguillaAIACaribbean100.0000
BermudaBMUNorthern America100.0000
Cayman IslandsCYMCaribbean100.0000
GibraltarGIBSouthern Europe100.0000
MonacoMCOWestern Europe100.0000
NauruNRUMicronesia100.0000
Saint MartinMAFCaribbean100.0000
SingaporeSGPSouth-eastern Asia100.0000
Sint MaartenSXMCaribbean100.0000
Vatican CityVATSouthern Europe100.0000
MacauMACEastern Asia99.1913
KuwaitKWTWestern Asia97.9303
AndorraANDSouthern Europe95.3922
Hong KongHKGEastern Asia93.3278
QatarQATWestern Asia90.4232
San MarinoSMRSouthern Europe90.1951
IsraelISRWestern Asia90.0082
MaltaMLTSouthern Europe89.8859
GuamGUMMicronesia89.7620
IcelandISLNorthern Europe89.5553
Northern Mariana IslandsMNPMicronesia88.8469
UruguayURYSouth America87.5925
ArgentinaARGSouth America85.4178
AustraliaAUSAustralia and New Zealand85.3532
BahrainBHRWestern Asia85.0155

02In 1986

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline.

Highest

  1. Anguillashared100.0000
  2. Bermudashared100.0000
  3. Cayman Islandsshared100.0000
  4. Gibraltarshared100.0000
  5. Saint Martinshared100.0000

Lowest

  1. Rwanda5.0489
  2. Burundi5.4604
  3. Uganda8.4428
  4. South Sudan9.7277
  5. Malawi10.3705

Neither end is better. The values describe a shape, not a score. The middle country reads 51.2211. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

031985 → 1986

Since 1985

  • +0 / −0countries joined / left
  • 211values changed, of 222 in both
  • 189 · 22rose · fell
  • 11unchanged

Rose most

Fell most

04Caveats

Read before you use

How values are stored

  • One year of the 2025 release

    Every year in this series comes from UN DESA Population Division’s 2025 release, recalculated on one method, so a change from one year to the next is not a revision. It can differ from what was first published for 1986.

  • 213 distinct values among 222

    Values are stored exactly as published, to 14 decimals. 10 countries share 100.0000. Countries sharing a value share a position too.

  • Nothing missing

    Every one of the 222 countries has every column.

05The files

Download and cite

Licence in full

What this site changed: Reshaped to one row per country, with its ISO code; no value recalculated, rescaled or rounded. In full

Licence: CC BY 3.0 IGO · what it allows, in plain words

Cite this edition

UN DESA Population Division (1986). Urban Population Share (National Definitions), 1986 [data set], describing 1986. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/urban-population-share/1986

0676 held

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