World

What is the total urban population in the world?



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According to World Bank 2017 estimates, urban population represents 55 percent of the total world population.

The Industrial Revolution came into existence in 18th century, and with it human and machine labor.

Ever since the Industrial Revolutions beginning, there has been a fundamental change in the methods of production. There was a shift from the agrarian economy to a more capitalist economy, and people started migrating from rural pockets to cities and townships.

This rural-urban migration is ongoing process and is known as urbanization. As the population in the urban areas swell, there is a holistic development in the cities to cater to the needs of the people. This brings about an economic, cultural, social, and political transformation.


City populations are swelling due to the disparity between the urban and the rural living styles. In cities, one can find:

  • Better infrastructure
  • Better income
  • Better education
  • Better health facilities

The factors that attract people to settle in urban areas are called the pull factor. As the words suggests, the ‘pull factor’ is the attraction that induces people to migrate to a new place. People consider the movement healthy because of lifestyle upgrade as a result of the political, economic, and cultural policies in the new place. The pull factor does not operate in isolation, it is supported by the push factor. The push factor of a place includes lack of sustainable opportunities and lack of economic security.

People are moving away from the rural areas because of:

  • Poor living conditions
  • Lack of resources; educational, health, etc.
  • Lack of proper planning policies
  • Lack of implementation of policies
  • Inconsistent source of employment (seasonal unemployment)
  • Dwindling income from farming activities

The population division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) provides the data on world population. It is an authentic source that has been monitoring the patterns of population- change, rise, and fall, for more than a decade. The World Bank report is based on the data provided by UN DESA.

Here is a table that reflects the urban population percentage over the years. On analyzing the trends from 1960 to 2017, one would infer that with the rapid globalization, the urban population is rising at an alarming rate.

Country Name 2017(%)
Bermuda 100
Cayman Islands 100
Gibraltar 100
Hong Kong 100
Macao 100
Monaco 100
Nauru 100
Singapore 100
Sint Maarten 100
Qatar 99.381
Kuwait 98.374
Belgium 97.934
Malta 95.644
Uruguay 95.601
United States Virgin Islands 95.576
Guam 94.667
Iceland 94.319
Japan 94.316
San Marino 94.244
Puerto Rico 93.543
Turks and Caicos Islands 92.795
Israel 92.27
Argentina 92.03
Netherlands 91.524
Luxembourg 90.689
Chile 89.857
Australia 89.683
Northern Mariana Islands 89.187
Curacao 89.159
Venezuela 89.098
Bahrain 88.899
Palau 88.151
Lebanon 88.037
Denmark 88.015
Gabon 87.55
Greenland 87.16
American Samoa 87.103
New Zealand 86.365
Brazil 86.172
Sweden 86.112
United Arab Emirates 86.058
Finland 84.495
Andorra 84.127
Jordan 84.127
Saudi Arabia 83.53
United Kingdom 83.073
Bahamas 83.031
Korea, South 82.712
Canada 82.183
United States of America 81.96
Norway 80.99
Dominican Republic 80.647
Spain 80.024
France 79.978
Mexico 79.784
Peru 79.233
Libya 78.961
Greece 78.644
Oman 78.519
Costa Rica 78.479
Brunei Darussalam 77.797
Djibouti 77.523
Belarus 77.416
Cuba 77.3
Colombia 76.978
Malaysia 76.006
Germany 75.721
Palestine 75.71
Bulgaria 74.581
Iran 74.368
Turkey 74.363
Russia 74.203
Switzerland 74.077
Mongolia 73.57
Marshall Islands 73.192
Czech Republic 72.983
Hungary 72.108
Algeria 71.861
New Caledonia 71.246
Ukraine 70.14
Dominica 70.098
Iraq 69.723
Bolivia 69.303
Italy 69.277
El Salvador 67.643
Estonia 67.415
Latvia 67.357
Tunisia 67.259
Panama 67.2
Cabo Verde 66.823
Cyprus 66.774
Lithuania 66.533
Republic of the Congo 66.212
Sao Tome and Principe 66.174
Austria 66.11
Suriname 66
South Africa 65.782
Portugal 64.556
Montenegro 64.424
Ecuador 64.216
Ireland 63.834
Armenia 62.467
Tuvalu 61.489
Korea, North 61.235
Morocco 61.172
Mauritania 61.017
Haiti 60.883
Gambia, The 60.79
Poland 60.545
Paraguay 60.19
Croatia 59.613
Nicaragua 59.441
Albania 59.316
Syria 58.467
Botswana 57.984
China 57.903
Macedonia 57.329
Honduras 55.893
Serbia 55.799
French Polynesia 55.741
Cote d’Ivoire 55.545
Cameroon 55.489
Ghana 55.313
Jamaica 55.283
Azerbaijan 55.181
Indonesia 55.177
Romania 54.947
Seychelles 54.541
Fiji 54.468
Georgia 54.025
Slovakia 53.368
Kazakhstan 53.239
Thailand 52.671
Guatemala 52.492
Isle of Man 52.371
St. Vincent and the Grenadines 51.247
Guinea-Bissau 50.834
Turkmenistan 50.766
Liberia 50.505
Slovenia 49.628
Nigeria 49.403
Namibia 48.571
Maldives 47.505
British Virgin Islands 46.82
Angola 45.578
Moldova 45.208
Benin 44.847
Kiribati 44.603
Senegal 44.424
Philippines 44.235
Belize 43.742
Democratic Republic of the Congo 43.537
Egypt 43.33
Faroe Islands 42.417
Zambia 41.84
Mali 41.441
Aruba 41.107
Togo 40.965
Sierra Leone 40.707
Laos 40.669
Central African Republic 40.646
Somalia 40.517
Equatorial Guinea 40.296
Bosnia and Herzegovina 40.135
Bhutan 40.095
Pakistan 39.7
Mauritius 39.447
Guinea 38.15
Uzbekistan 36.62
Madagascar 36.376
Kyrgyzstan 36.014
Bangladesh 35.79
Yemen 35.769
Grenada 35.656
Myanmar 35.206
Vietnam 34.879
Sudan 34.227
Timor-Leste 34.022
India 33.535
Tanzania 33.023
Mozambique 32.816
St. Kitts and Nevis 32.279
Zimbabwe 32.207
Channel Islands 31.698
Burkina Faso 31.511
Barbados 31.374
Rwanda 30.731
Guyana 28.784
Comoros 28.541
Lesotho 28.372
Afghanistan 27.57
Tajikistan 27.018
Vanuatu 26.754
Kenya 26.494
Tonga 23.898
Solomon Islands 23.226
Antigua and Barbuda 23.047
Chad 22.782
Federated States of Micronesia 22.548
Swaziland 21.337
Cambodia 21.18
Ethiopia 20.379
Nepal 19.383
Niger 19.303
South Sudan 19.268
Samoa 18.83
St. Lucia 18.586
Sri Lanka 18.475
Uganda 16.794
Malawi 16.648
Liechtenstein 14.286
Papua New Guinea 13.085
Burundi 12.667
Trinidad and Tobago 8.27
Eritrea NA
Kosovo NA
St. Martin (French part) NA

 

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