Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka: Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas
Bangladesh
3.40 million people
in 2020
Sri Lanka
3.46 million people
in 2020
Bangladesh rank
81st
Sri Lanka rank
78th
Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas over time
- Bangladesh
- Sri Lanka
How they compare
Sri Lanka currently reports 3.46 million people against 3.40 million people in Bangladesh, a difference of 60,200 people.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Bangladesh ahead.
Bangladesh ranks 81st and Sri Lanka ranks 78th of 236 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Bangladesh averaged higher in 7 and Sri Lanka in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Bangladesh | Sri Lanka | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 9.76 million people | 3.23 million people | 6.53 million people | Bangladesh |
| 1960s | 9.89 million people | 3.53 million people | 6.36 million people | Bangladesh |
| 1970s | 9.86 million people | 3.80 million people | 6.05 million people | Bangladesh |
| 1980s | 7.81 million people | 3.83 million people | 3.98 million people | Bangladesh |
| 1990s | 5.74 million people | 3.76 million people | 1.98 million people | Bangladesh |
| 2000s | 5.03 million people | 3.72 million people | 1.31 million people | Bangladesh |
| 2010s | 4.24 million people | 3.64 million people | 604,390 people | Bangladesh |
| 2020s | 3.40 million people | 3.46 million people | 60,200 people | Sri Lanka |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas, Bangladesh or Sri Lanka?
- Sri Lanka, at 3.46 million people against 3.40 million people in Bangladesh as of 2020.
- What is the difference in number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas between Bangladesh and Sri Lanka?
- 60,200 people, with Sri Lanka ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Bangladesh and Sri Lanka?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Bangladesh and Sri Lanka rank globally for number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas?
- Bangladesh ranks 81st and Sri Lanka ranks 78th of 236 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Estimated number of people living in rural areas. Rural areas are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.