% of total · World Bank
Urban population
Share of the total population living in areas defined as urban by the national statistical office.
Methodology & source
How this is measured.
Definition
Share of the total population living in areas defined as urban by the national statistical office.
Calculation
UN World Urbanization Prospects estimates, harmonising national urban definitions.
Primary source
World Bank · SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS
License: CC BY 4.0
View source Caveats
Urban definitions vary by country — direct cross-country comparison is approximate.
Cross the bridge
Behind the numbers, the country.
Numbers tell you the trajectory. Tourism shows you the people, the parks, the streets — the lives the data is measuring.
Keep going
Other indicators in this topic.
Bulk download
Every country, every year — Urban population.
All 1,000 data points for this indicator across all 54 African countries (1960–2024). Free for any non-commercial use; please cite World Bank.
Continent average
48.2
% of total
Continental view
Africa, color-coded.
Hover or tap any country to see its rate.
Time series
How it's changed.
Continent average vs. Nigeria, Kenya, South Africa. Values in % of total.
Continent average
Nigeria
Kenya
South Africa
Biggest improvers
Largest gains since 2000
Burundi↑ 162%
2006: 9.5 % of total2024: 24.8 % of total
Uganda↑ 114%
2006: 14.6 % of total2024: 31.3 % of total
Lesotho↑ 87%
2006: 23.3 % of total2024: 43.7 % of total
Rwanda↑ 77%
2006: 16.9 % of total2024: 29.9 % of total
Stalled or worse
Smallest gains, or moved the wrong way
Open the data
Every country, latest available value.
Sorted highest to lowest — higher is better. Click any country to open its dataset detail page.
Showing 20 of 54.
2006: 41.0 % of total2024: 39.0 % of total
Eritrea↓ 2%
2006: 35.3 % of total2024: 34.5 % of total
Egypt↓ 0%
2007: 43.0 % of total2024: 42.8 % of total
Libya↓ 0%
2007: 88.2 % of total2024: 87.9 % of total