In 2024, approximately 67 percent of the total population in China lived in cities. The urbanization rate has increased steadily in China over the last decades. Degree of urbanization in China Urbanization is generally defined as a process of people migrating from rural to urban areas, during which towns and cities are formed and increase in size. Even though urbanization is not exclusively a modern phenomenon, industrialization and modernization did accelerate its progress. As shown in the statistic at hand, the degree of urbanization of China, the world's second-largest economy, rose from 36 percent in 2000 to around 51 percent in 2011. That year, the urban population surpassed the number of rural residents for the first time in the country's history.The urbanization rate varies greatly in different parts of China. While urbanization is lesser advanced in western or central China, in most coastal regions in eastern China more than two-thirds of the population lives already in cities. Among the ten largest Chinese cities in 2021, six were located in coastal regions in East and South China. Urbanization in international comparison Brazil and Russia, two other BRIC countries, display a much higher degree of urbanization than China. On the other hand, in India, the country with the worlds’ largest population, a mere 36.3 percent of the population lived in urban regions as of 2023. Similar to other parts of the world, the progress of urbanization in China is closely linked to modernization. From 2000 to 2024, the contribution of agriculture to the gross domestic product in China shrank from 14.7 percent to 6.8 percent. Even more evident was the decrease of workforce in agriculture.

In 2023, the urbanization rate in different provinces of China varied between 89.5 percent in Shanghai municipality and 38.9 percent in Tibet. The national average urbanization rate reached around 66.2 percent in 2023. Urbanization and economic development During China’s rapid economic development, the share of people living in cities increased from only 19.4 percent in 1980 to nearly 64 percent in 2020. Urbanization rates are now coming closer to those in developed countries. However, the degree of urbanization still varies significantly between different regions in China. This correlates generally with the level of economic development across different regions in China. In eastern Chinese regions with high personal income levels and high per capita GDP, more inhabitants are living in cities than in the countryside. Influence of geography Another reason for different urbanization rates lies in the huge geographic differences of regions in China. Basically, those regions with a low population density often also display lower urbanization rates, because their inhabitants live more scattered across the land area. These differences will most probably remain despite further economic progress.

China Population: Urbanization Rate: Usual Residence data was reported at 67.000 % in 2024. This records an increase from the previous number of 66.160 % for 2023. China Population: Urbanization Rate: Usual Residence data is updated yearly, averaging 40.530 % from Dec 1982 (Median) to 2024, with 43 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 67.000 % in 2024 and a record low of 21.131 % in 1982. China Population: Urbanization Rate: Usual Residence data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GA: Population: Urbanization Rate.

CN: Population: Usual Residence: Urbanization Rate: Hubei data was reported at 66.350 % in 2024. This records an increase from the previous number of 65.470 % for 2023. CN: Population: Usual Residence: Urbanization Rate: Hubei data is updated yearly, averaging 26.810 % from Dec 1949 (Median) to 2024, with 71 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 66.350 % in 2024 and a record low of 8.790 % in 1949. CN: Population: Usual Residence: Urbanization Rate: Hubei data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GA: Population: Urbanization Rate.

The share of urban population in China amounted to 64.57 percent in 2023. Between 1960 and 2023, the share rose by 48.37 percentage points, though the increase followed an uneven trajectory rather than a consistent upward trend.

CN: Population: Usual Residence: Urbanization Rate: Zhejiang data was reported at 75.500 % in 2024. This records an increase from the previous number of 74.230 % for 2023. CN: Population: Usual Residence: Urbanization Rate: Zhejiang data is updated yearly, averaging 62.910 % from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2024, with 25 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 75.500 % in 2024 and a record low of 48.700 % in 2000. CN: Population: Usual Residence: Urbanization Rate: Zhejiang data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GA: Population: Urbanization Rate.

Urban population (% of total population) in China was reported at 65.54 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. China - Urban population (% of total) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on November of 2025.

In 2024, about 943.5 million people lived in urban regions in China and 464.8 million in rural. That year, the country had a total population of approximately 1.41 billion people. As of 2024, China was the second most populous country in the world. Urbanization in China Urbanization refers to the process by which people move from rural to urban areas and how a society adapts to the population shift. It is usually seen as a driving force in economic growth, accompanied by industrialization, modernization and the spread of education. Urbanization levels tend to be higher in industrial countries, whereas the degree of urbanization in developing countries remains relatively low. According to World Bank, a mere 19.4 percent of the Chinese population had been living in urban areas in 1980. Since then, China’s urban population has skyrocketed. By 2024, about 67 percent of the Chinese population lived in urban areas. Regional urbanization rates In the last decades, urbanization has progressed greatly in every region of China. Even in most of the more remote Chinese provinces, the urbanization rate surpassed 50 percent in recent years. However, the most urbanized areas are still to be found in the coastal eastern and southern regions of China. The population of Shanghai, the largest city in China and the world’s seventh largest city ranged at around 24 million people in 2023. China’s urban areas are characterized by a developing middle class. Per capita disposable income of Chinese urban households has more than doubled between 2010 and 2020. The emerging middle class is expected to become a significant driver for the continuing growth of the Chinese economy.

CN: Population: Usual Residence: Urbanization Rate: Anhui data was reported at 62.570 % in 2024. This records an increase from the previous number of 61.510 % for 2023. CN: Population: Usual Residence: Urbanization Rate: Anhui data is updated yearly, averaging 50.140 % from Dec 2005 (Median) to 2024, with 20 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 62.570 % in 2024 and a record low of 35.460 % in 2005. CN: Population: Usual Residence: Urbanization Rate: Anhui data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GA: Population: Urbanization Rate.

The urbanization rate of Beijing municipality has increased from 57.6 percent in 1980 to 88.2 percent in 2024. The administrative area of Beijing includes several rural districts and suburbs surrounding the central metropolis.

Until 2007, the share of the global population living in urban areas was always smaller than the rural population, but in 2021, the world's level of urbanization has risen to around 56 percent, and by 2050, it is estimated that two thirds of the world will live in urban areas. Urbanization on such a large scale is a relatively new phenomenon, and has a strong correlation with the industrial maturity of a society. For most of pre-industrial times, fewer than five percent of the total population lived in urban centers, which were generally trading and administrative centers. The main reason for this was the agricultural demands of the time, where subsistence farming was the primary method of food production for the general population. Compared to Japan and China, a larger share of Western Europe lived in urban centers in the 16th century, due to higher levels of trade along the Mediterranean and between northern states, but around 94 percent of the population still lived in a rural setting. Effect of industrialization With the onset of the first industrial revolution in the 19th century, the mechanization of agriculture and development of manufacturing industries saw a shift in labor demands in Western Europe. People began migrating to cities on a large scale, and migration to the U.S. also increased due to industrialization in the northeastern states. Urban populations then became more prosperous, although mortality rates were initially higher due to the more rapid spread of disease and poor sanitation infrastructure. This mortality also disproportionately affected children and more recent arrivals. Global trends Waves of industrialization in Europe saw further urbanization throughout the 1800s, and roughly a third of the population had urbanized by the end of the 19th century. Globally, it would take until the 1960s before one third of the population had urbanized, and it was not until the late 1990s where China's urbanization rate had reached this level. However, China's urbanization rate has grown rapidly since the 1980s, and is now around 80 percent of the EU's level, whereas it was closer to 50 percent just two decades previously. Japan's urbanization rate was comparable to Europe's for most of the 20th century, but increased further throughout the 2010s; today it has one of the highest rates among more developed nations, although this has presented some challenges for Japanese society.

Population: Household Registration: Urbanization Rate: Heilongjiang: Harbin data was reported at 56.260 % in 2022. This records an increase from the previous number of 55.800 % for 2021. Population: Household Registration: Urbanization Rate: Heilongjiang: Harbin data is updated yearly, averaging 48.300 % from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2022, with 23 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 56.260 % in 2022 and a record low of 46.800 % in 2001. Population: Household Registration: Urbanization Rate: Heilongjiang: Harbin data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Harbin Municipal Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GE: Population: Prefecture Level City: Urbanization Rate. Since 2015,the donotation of Non-agriculture Population has been adjusted to Urban Population.

China Population: Urbanization Rate: Household Registration data was reported at 48.300 % in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 47.700 % for 2022. China Population: Urbanization Rate: Household Registration data is updated yearly, averaging 19.176 % from Dec 1949 (Median) to 2023, with 30 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 48.300 % in 2023 and a record low of 10.643 % in 1949. China Population: Urbanization Rate: Household Registration data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GA: Population: Urbanization Rate.

By the end of 2022, approximately **** percent of the total population of Henan province in China were living in urban areas. Henan is one of the most populous provinces in China. It is located in China's middle region, next to Hebei, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Anhui and Hubei.

Population: Usual Residence: Urbanization Rate: Beijing data was reported at 88.200 % in 2024. This records an increase from the previous number of 87.800 % for 2023. Population: Usual Residence: Urbanization Rate: Beijing data is updated yearly, averaging 86.233 % from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2024, with 25 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 88.200 % in 2024 and a record low of 77.545 % in 2000. Population: Usual Residence: Urbanization Rate: Beijing data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Beijing Municipal Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GE: Population: Prefecture Level City: Urbanization Rate.

The urbanization rate of Guangdong province has increased from around **** percent in 1982 to **** percent in 2024. Guangdong has one of the highest urbanization rates in China, which is related to its advanced economic development.

Population: Usual Residence: Urbanization Rate: Tibet data was reported at 38.880 % in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 37.390 % for 2022. Population: Usual Residence: Urbanization Rate: Tibet data is updated yearly, averaging 16.765 % from Dec 1970 (Median) to 2023, with 54 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 38.880 % in 2023 and a record low of 7.080 % in 1970. Population: Usual Residence: Urbanization Rate: Tibet data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GA: Population: Urbanization Rate.

This data record provides details of the data supporting the claims of the related article: “An Assessment of Urbanization Sustainability in China between 1990 and 2015 Using Land Use Efficiency Indicators”. The related study aimed to integrate Earth observation and census data to estimate the relationship between land, population and economic domains of urbanization in 433 cities over 25 years using land use efficiency indicators. This dataset includes original information on the ratio of land consumption rate to population growth rate (LCRPGR) and ratio of economic growth rate to land consumption rate (EGRLCR) of georeferenced sample cities with multiple attributes, accuracy assessment for urban impervious surface products, land occupied by construction in Mainland China since 2000. Data access The supporting data files are openly available as part of this figshare metadata record. Data files The LCRPGR and EGRLCR data are each available in the following formats: .cpg, .dbf, .prj, .sbn, .sbx, .shp, .shx Accuracy assessment data; Sample city averages for EGR, LCR, EGRLCR, PGR and LCRPGR; Land occupancy; and EGRLCR/ LCRPGR classification data are all available in Excel format. Corresponding authors for this study Huadong Guo (hdguo@radi.ac.cn) Qihao Weng (qweng@indstate.edu)

The urbanization rate of Zhejiang province has increased from around **** percent in 1978 to **** percent in 2024. Zhejiang has one of the highest urbanization rates in China, which is related to its advanced economic development.

. China Population: Household Registration: Urbanization Rate: Jiangsu: Nanjing data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Nanjing Municipal Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GE: Population: Prefecture Level City: Urbanization Rate.