Ethiopia vs India: Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas
Ethiopia
42.37 million people
in 2020
India
232.95 million people
in 2020
Ethiopia rank
5th
India rank
2nd
Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas over time
- Ethiopia
- India
How they compare
India currently reports 232.95 million people against 42.37 million people in Ethiopia, a difference of 190.58 million people.
That makes India's figure about 5.5 times Ethiopia's.
Across all 15 years both countries report, India has been ahead every year.
Ethiopia ranks 5th and India ranks 2nd of 236 countries.
India has averaged higher in every one of the 8 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Ethiopia | India | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 11.17 million people | 175.23 million people | 164.06 million people | India |
| 1960s | 13.04 million people | 193.87 million people | 180.83 million people | India |
| 1970s | 15.59 million people | 210.65 million people | 195.06 million people | India |
| 1980s | 20.01 million people | 229.43 million people | 209.41 million people | India |
| 1990s | 26.62 million people | 236.90 million people | 210.28 million people | India |
| 2000s | 34.40 million people | 238.50 million people | 204.10 million people | India |
| 2010s | 40.40 million people | 241.92 million people | 201.52 million people | India |
| 2020s | 42.37 million people | 232.95 million people | 190.58 million people | India |
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, Ethiopia or India?
- India, at 232.95 million people against 42.37 million people in Ethiopia as of 2020.
- What is the difference in number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas between Ethiopia and India?
- 190.58 million people, with India ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Ethiopia and India?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Ethiopia and India rank globally for number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas?
- Ethiopia ranks 5th and India ranks 2nd 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.