Urban population share in Sub-Saharan Africa
44.7% of people in Sub-Saharan Africa lived in urban areas in 2025. The value for 2025 is the highest in the series, which starts in 1960.
Sub-Saharan Africa is a group: World Bank region. The value is the aggregate published by World Bank, not an average calculated on this site.
Sub-Saharan Africa, 2025
44.7%
Change from 2024
+0.5percentage points
World, 2025
57.8%
Urban population share in Sub-Saharan Africa over time
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Sub-Saharan Africa
World
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The chart loads when you scroll to it. The table below shows the same data.
The chart shows a calculation from the published values. The table below keeps the published values.
% of total population. Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators. Gaps mean no published value; points are not joined across missing years.
| Period | Sub-Saharan Africa | World |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 44.7% | 57.8% |
| 2024 | 44.1% | 57.6% |
| 2023 | 43.6% | 57.3% |
| 2022 | 43.2% | 57.1% |
| 2021 | 42.6% | 56.8% |
| 2020 | 42.2% | 56.4% |
| 2019 | 41.7% | 56.1% |
| 2018 | 41.3% | 55.8% |
| 2017 | 40.8% | 55.3% |
| 2016 | 40.3% | 54.9% |
| 2015 | 39.8% | 54.4% |
| 2014 | 39.4% | 53.9% |
| 2013 | 38.9% | 53.4% |
| 2012 | 38.4% | 52.9% |
| 2011 | 38.0% | 52.5% |
| 2010 | 37.5% | 51.8% |
| 2009 | 37.1% | 51.4% |
| 2008 | 36.6% | 50.9% |
| 2007 | 36.1% | 50.4% |
| 2006 | 35.6% | 49.9% |
| 2005 | 35.1% | 49.4% |
| 2004 | 34.6% | 48.9% |
| 2003 | 34.1% | 48.4% |
| 2002 | 33.6% | 47.8% |
| 2001 | 33.1% | 47.3% |
A dash means no value was published for that period.
In short
- That is a change of +0.5 percentage points from 44.1% in 2024.
- Since 2015, when it was 39.8%, the figure has changed by +4.8 percentage points.
- The figure for the world in 2025 was 57.8%.
More for Sub-Saharan Africa
All statistics for Sub-Saharan Africa
Population
1,321,654,217 people
2025 · World Bank
Population growth
2.43%
2025 · World Bank
Population aged 65 and over
3.2%
2025 · World Bank
Population aged 0 to 14
40.4%
2025 · World Bank
Fertility rate
4.26 births per woman
2024 · World Bank
Crude birth rate
32.8 per 1,000 people
2024 · World Bank