Countries by Urban Population Share 2026

About This Dataset

Countries ranked by the percentage of total population living in urban areas in 2026, according to UN World Urbanisation Prospects 2024 revision data. Singapore achieves 100% urbanisation by definition — as a city-state with no rural hinterland, its entire territory is classified as urban, making it the paradigm case of complete urbanisation. Beyond city-states, the most highly urbanised nations are typically those with either very small total land areas that cannot sustain dispersed rural settlement, oil-wealthy Gulf states where economic activity and infrastructure are concentrated in a small number of cities, or highly developed Western European nations where sustained deindustrialisation of agriculture across the twentieth century pulled working-age populations into cities at a rate that has left rural areas with ageing, declining populations.

✨ AI Insight

The data reveals a stark contrast between the most urbanised countries and those with lower urban population shares. For instance, Singapore, Qatar, and Kuwait are all above 99%, showcasing how geographical constraints and economic factors drive urbanisation. In contrast, Germany and the United Kingdom, with urban shares of 77.5% and 84.6% respectively, indicate a slower transition towards urban living. This gap suggests that while wealth and infrastructure play crucial roles in urbanisation, historical factors such as industrialisation and rural depopulation also significantly influence these trends. The high urbanisation rates in Gulf states can be attributed to concentrated economic activity in cities, while European nations reflect a more gradual shift influenced by demographic changes over decades.

Source: Wikipedia

Key Findings

Auto-computed highlights from this dataset

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Singapore leads with 100 in 2026.

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Average value in 2026: 93 · median: 96.

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Gap in 2026: Singapore is 1.3× larger than Germany.