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Data for 1987

Urban Population Share (National Definitions), 1987

1987, 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), 1987 covers 222 countries. 10 countries share the highest reading, 100.00000; Rwanda is lowest, at 5.08978. The middle country reads 51.80268. Against 1986, 211 values changed (191 up, 20 down), the same countries are covered.

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Urban Population Share (National Definitions) · Data for 1987

Highest10 countries share it

100.00000

LowestRwanda

5.08978

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), 1987, 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), 1987: every country, as published by UN DESA Population Division.
AnguillaAIACaribbean100.00000
BermudaBMUNorthern America100.00000
Cayman IslandsCYMCaribbean100.00000
GibraltarGIBSouthern Europe100.00000
MonacoMCOWestern Europe100.00000
NauruNRUMicronesia100.00000
Saint MartinMAFCaribbean100.00000
SingaporeSGPSouth-eastern Asia100.00000
Sint MaartenSXMCaribbean100.00000
Vatican CityVATSouthern Europe100.00000
MacauMACEastern Asia99.30530
KuwaitKWTWestern Asia97.94754
AndorraANDSouthern Europe95.37737
Hong KongHKGEastern Asia94.50971
QatarQATWestern Asia91.11268
San MarinoSMRSouthern Europe90.43904
IsraelISRWestern Asia90.12912
MaltaMLTSouthern Europe90.06382
GuamGUMMicronesia90.00625
IcelandISLNorthern Europe89.82773
Northern Mariana IslandsMNPMicronesia89.21981
UruguayURYSouth America87.96879
BahrainBHRWestern Asia85.98929
ArgentinaARGSouth America85.82959
AustraliaAUSAustralia and New Zealand85.35812

02In 1987

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline.

Highest

  1. Anguillashared100.00000
  2. Bermudashared100.00000
  3. Cayman Islandsshared100.00000
  4. Gibraltarshared100.00000
  5. Saint Martinshared100.00000

Lowest

  1. Rwanda5.08978
  2. Burundi5.66101
  3. Uganda8.80112
  4. South Sudan10.40874
  5. Malawi10.61865

Neither end is better. The values describe a shape, not a score. The middle country reads 51.80268. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

031986 → 1987

Since 1986

  • +0 / −0countries joined / left
  • 211values changed, of 222 in both
  • 191 · 20rose · 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 1987.

  • 213 distinct values among 222

    Values are stored exactly as published, to 14 decimals. 10 countries share 100.00000. 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 (1987). Urban Population Share (National Definitions), 1987 [data set], describing 1987. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/urban-population-share/1987

0676 held

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