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Data for 2020

Urban Population Share (National Definitions), 2020

2020, 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), 2020 covers 222 countries. 14 countries share the highest reading, 100.000; Montserrat is lowest, at 8.516. The middle country reads 63.454. Against 2019, 207 values changed (175 up, 32 down), the same countries are covered.

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Urban Population Share (National Definitions) · Data for 2020

Highest14 countries share it

100.000

LowestMontserrat

8.516

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), 2020, 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), 2020: every country, as published by UN DESA Population Division.
AnguillaAIACaribbean100.000
BahrainBHRWestern Asia100.000
BermudaBMUNorthern America100.000
Cayman IslandsCYMCaribbean100.000
GibraltarGIBSouthern Europe100.000
Hong KongHKGEastern Asia100.000
KuwaitKWTWestern Asia100.000
MacauMACEastern Asia100.000
MonacoMCOWestern Europe100.000
NauruNRUMicronesia100.000
Saint MartinMAFCaribbean100.000
SingaporeSGPSouth-eastern Asia100.000
Sint MaartenSXMCaribbean100.000
Vatican CityVATSouthern Europe100.000
QatarQATWestern Asia99.162
San MarinoSMRSouthern Europe97.100
UruguayURYSouth America95.400
MaltaMLTSouthern Europe95.184
United States Virgin IslandsVIRCaribbean95.097
NetherlandsNLDWestern Europe94.253
IcelandISLNorthern Europe94.137
GuamGUMMicronesia94.080
Puerto RicoPRICaribbean94.012
LuxembourgLUXWestern Europe93.860
Turks and Caicos IslandsTCACaribbean93.196

02In 2020

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline.

Highest

  1. Anguillashared100.000
  2. Bahrainshared100.000
  3. Bermudashared100.000
  4. Cayman Islandsshared100.000
  5. Gibraltarshared100.000

Lowest

  1. Montserrat8.516
  2. Papua New Guinea14.170
  3. Liechtenstein14.667
  4. Malawi16.296
  5. Niger17.008

Neither end is better. The values describe a shape, not a score. The middle country reads 63.454. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

032019 → 2020

Since 2019

  • +0 / −0countries joined / left
  • 207values changed, of 222 in both
  • 175 · 32rose · fell
  • 15unchanged

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 2020.

  • 209 distinct values among 222

    Values are stored exactly as published, to 14 decimals. 14 countries share 100.000. 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 (2020). Urban Population Share (National Definitions), 2020 [data set], describing 2020. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/urban-population-share/2020

0676 held

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