Urban population share in World
57.8% of people in the world lived in urban areas in 2025. The value for 2025 is the highest in the series, which starts in 1960.
World is a group: All economies covered by the World Bank. The value is the aggregate published by World Bank, not an average calculated on this site.
World, 2025
57.8%
Change from 2024
+0.3percentage points
European Union, 2025
75.2%
Urban population share in World over time
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World
European Union
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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 | World | European Union |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 57.8% | 75.2% |
| 2024 | 57.6% | 75.0% |
| 2023 | 57.3% | 74.9% |
| 2022 | 57.1% | 74.8% |
| 2021 | 56.8% | 74.6% |
| 2020 | 56.4% | 74.5% |
| 2019 | 56.1% | 74.5% |
| 2018 | 55.8% | 74.3% |
| 2017 | 55.3% | 74.2% |
| 2016 | 54.9% | 74.1% |
| 2015 | 54.4% | 73.9% |
| 2014 | 53.9% | 73.7% |
| 2013 | 53.4% | 73.5% |
| 2012 | 52.9% | 73.4% |
| 2011 | 52.5% | 73.2% |
| 2010 | 51.8% | 73.1% |
| 2009 | 51.4% | 72.9% |
| 2008 | 50.9% | 72.8% |
| 2007 | 50.4% | 72.7% |
| 2006 | 49.9% | 72.6% |
| 2005 | 49.4% | 72.4% |
| 2004 | 48.9% | 72.2% |
| 2003 | 48.4% | 72.1% |
| 2002 | 47.8% | 71.9% |
| 2001 | 47.3% | 71.8% |
A dash means no value was published for that period.
In short
- That is a change of +0.3 percentage points from 57.6% in 2024.
- Since 2015, when it was 54.4%, the figure has changed by +3.4 percentage points.
- The figure for the European Union in 2025 was 75.2%.
More for World
All statistics for World
Population
8,215,424,893 people
2025 · World Bank
Population growth
0.91%
2025 · World Bank
Population aged 65 and over
10.4%
2025 · World Bank
Population aged 0 to 14
24.4%
2025 · World Bank
Fertility rate
2.19 births per woman
2024 · World Bank
Crude birth rate
16.3 per 1,000 people
2024 · World Bank