This statistic shows the share of the population living in urban areas worldwide from 1950 to 2050, by development status determined by income level. High-income countries are projected to have **** percent of their populations living in urban areas by 2050.

In 2020, about 82.66 percent of the total population in the United States lived in cities and urban areas. As the United States was one of the earliest nations to industrialize, it has had a comparatively high rate of urbanization over the past two centuries. The urban population became larger than the rural population during the 1910s, and by the middle of the century it is expected that almost 90 percent of the population will live in an urban setting. Regional development of urbanization in the U.S. The United States began to urbanize on a larger scale in the 1830s, as technological advancements reduced the labor demand in agriculture, and as European migration began to rise. One major difference between early urbanization in the U.S. and other industrializing economies, such as the UK or Germany, was population distribution. Throughout the 1800s, the Northeastern U.S. became the most industrious and urban region of the country, as this was the main point of arrival for migrants. Disparities in industrialization and urbanization was a key contributor to the Union's victory in the Civil War, not only due to population sizes, but also through production capabilities and transport infrastructure. The Northeast's population reached an urban majority in the 1870s, whereas this did not occur in the South until the 1950s. As more people moved westward in the late 1800s, not only did their population growth increase, but the share of the urban population also rose, with an urban majority established in both the West and Midwest regions in the 1910s. The West would eventually become the most urbanized region in the 1960s, and over 90 percent of the West's population is urbanized today. Urbanization today New York City is the most populous city in the United States, with a population of 8.3 million, while California has the largest urban population of any state. California also has the highest urbanization rate, although the District of Columbia is considered 100 percent urban. Only four U.S. states still have a rural majority, these are Maine, Mississippi, Montana, and West Virginia.

In 2025, the degree of urbanization worldwide was at 58 percent. North America, Latin America, and the Caribbean were the regions with the highest level of urbanization, with over four-fifths of the population residing in urban areas. The degree of urbanization defines the share of the population living in areas defined as "cities". On the other hand, less than half of Africa's population lives in urban settlements. Globally, China accounts for over one-quarter of the built-up areas of more than 500,000 inhabitants. The definition of a city differs across various world regions - some countries count settlements with 100 houses or more as urban, while others only include the capital of a country or provincial capitals in their count. Largest agglomerations worldwideThough North America is the most urbanized continent, no U.S. city was among the top ten urban agglomerations worldwide in 2023. Tokyo-Yokohama in Japan was the largest urban area in the world that year, with 37.7 million inhabitants. New York ranked 13th, with 21.4 million inhabitants. Eight of the 10 most populous cities are located in Asia. ConnectivityIt may be hard to imagine how the reality will look in 2050, with 70 percent of the global population living in cities, but some statistics illustrate the ways urban living differs from suburban and rural living. American urbanites may lead more “connected” (i.e., internet-connected) lives than their rural and/or suburban counterparts. As of 2021, around 89 percent of people living in urban areas owned a smartphone. Internet usage was also higher in cities than in rural areas. On the other hand, rural areas always have, and always will, attract those who want to escape the rush of the city.

CN: Population: Usual Residence: Urbanization Rate: Fujian data was reported at 71.800 % in 2024. This records an increase from the previous number of 71.040 % for 2023. CN: Population: Usual Residence: Urbanization Rate: Fujian data is updated yearly, averaging 59.320 % from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2024, with 25 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 71.800 % in 2024 and a record low of 41.960 % in 2000. CN: Population: Usual Residence: Urbanization Rate: Fujian 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.

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.

This statistic shows the percentage of the total population living in urban areas worldwide from 1950 to 2050, by regional development level. By 2050, more developed regions of the world will have 86.6 percent of their populations living in urban areas.

The resilience of population urbanisation development in countries along the Belt and Road reflects the level of resilience of population urbanisation development in the countries along the Belt and Road, with higher values indicating stronger resilience of population urbanisation development in the countries along the Belt and Road. The data on the resilience of population urbanisation development are prepared with reference to the World Bank's statistical database, using year-on-year data on two indicators, namely the number of urban population and the number of population in urban agglomerations with a population of over one million, from 2000 to 2019, and based on sensitivity and adaptability analysis, taking into account the year-on-year changes of each indicator. Based on the sensitivity and adaptability analysis, the product of the resilience of population urbanisation development was prepared through comprehensive diagnosis. "The data set on the resilience of population urbanisation development in the countries along the Belt and Road is an important reference for analysing and comparing the resilience of population urbanisation development in various countries.

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.

Population: Usual Residence: Urbanization Rate: Anhui: Chuzhou data was reported at 64.930 % in 2024. This records an increase from the previous number of 63.850 % for 2023. Population: Usual Residence: Urbanization Rate: Anhui: Chuzhou data is updated yearly, averaging 51.890 % from Dec 2010 (Median) to 2024, with 15 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 64.930 % in 2024 and a record low of 41.600 % in 2010. Population: Usual Residence: Urbanization Rate: Anhui: Chuzhou data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Chuzhou Municipal Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GE: Population: Prefecture Level City: Urbanization Rate.

Living Conditions Survey (LCS): At-risk-of-poverty rate, by degree of urbanisation. Annual. National.

Brazil Urbanization Rate data was reported at 84.700 % in 2015. This records a decrease from the previous number of 85.100 % for 2014. Brazil Urbanization Rate data is updated yearly, averaging 84.021 % from Sep 2001 (Median) to 2015, with 14 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 85.100 % in 2014 and a record low of 82.500 % in 2005. Brazil Urbanization Rate data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. The data is categorized under Brazil Premium Database’s Socio and Demographic – Table BR.GAE006: Urbanization Rate.

Brazil Urbanization Rate: Southeast: Rio de Janeiro data was reported at 97.400 % in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 97.300 % for 2014. Brazil Urbanization Rate: Southeast: Rio de Janeiro data is updated yearly, averaging 96.768 % from Sep 2001 (Median) to 2015, with 14 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 97.400 % in 2015 and a record low of 96.400 % in 2005. Brazil Urbanization Rate: Southeast: Rio de Janeiro data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. The data is categorized under Brazil Premium Database’s Socio and Demographic – Table BR.GAE006: Urbanization Rate.

Brazil Urbanization Rate: Southeast: São Paulo data was reported at 96.600 % in 2015. This stayed constant from the previous number of 96.600 % for 2014. Brazil Urbanization Rate: Southeast: São Paulo data is updated yearly, averaging 94.500 % from Sep 2001 (Median) to 2015, with 14 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 96.800 % in 2011 and a record low of 94.200 % in 2005. Brazil Urbanization Rate: Southeast: São Paulo data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. The data is categorized under Brazil Premium Database’s Socio and Demographic – Table BR.GAE006: Urbanization Rate.

The average for 2024 based on 27 countries was 74.63 percent. The highest value was in Belgium: 98.22 percent and the lowest value was in Slovakia: 54.17 percent. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2024. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

In the year 1800, approximately five percent of the world's population lived in urban areas of 10,000 people or more. At this time, the world's population was just under one billion people, and the industrial revolution was in its early stages in Western Europe and North America. As industrialization spread across the world, urbanization rates rose accordingly. In 2021, the global urbanization rate was approximately 56 percent.

Population: Usual Residence: Urbanization Rate: Yunnan: Yuxi data was reported at 54.821 % in 2021. This records an increase from the previous number of 53.822 % for 2020. Population: Usual Residence: Urbanization Rate: Yunnan: Yuxi data is updated yearly, averaging 48.020 % from Dec 2010 (Median) to 2021, with 12 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 54.821 % in 2021 and a record low of 37.750 % in 2010. Population: Usual Residence: Urbanization Rate: Yunnan: Yuxi data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Yuxi Municipal Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GE: Population: Prefecture Level City: Urbanization Rate.

Population: Usual Residence: Urbanization Rate: Gansu: Dingxi data was reported at 41.456 % in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 40.303 % for 2022. Population: Usual Residence: Urbanization Rate: Gansu: Dingxi data is updated yearly, averaging 33.442 % from Dec 2010 (Median) to 2023, with 14 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 41.456 % in 2023 and a record low of 23.417 % in 2010. Population: Usual Residence: Urbanization Rate: Gansu: Dingxi data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Dingxi Municipal Bureau of Statistics. The data is categorized under China Premium Database’s Socio-Demographic – Table CN.GE: Population: Prefecture Level City: Urbanization Rate.

Overcrowding rate by degree of urbanisation - total population

This indicator is defined as the percentage of the population living in a household where the total housing costs (net of housing allowances) represent more than 40% of the total disposable household income (net of housing allowances) presented by degree of urbanisation.