Ethiopia vs Indonesia: Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas
Ethiopia
42.37 million people
in 2020
Indonesia
38.74 million people
in 2020
Ethiopia rank
5th
Indonesia rank
7th
Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas over time
- Ethiopia
- Indonesia
How they compare
Ethiopia currently reports 42.37 million people against 38.74 million people in Indonesia, a difference of 3.63 million people.
That makes Ethiopia's figure about 1.1 times Indonesia's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Indonesia ahead.
Ethiopia ranks 5th and Indonesia ranks 7th of 236 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Ethiopia averaged higher in 2 and Indonesia in 6.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Ethiopia | Indonesia | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 11.17 million people | 20.22 million people | 9.05 million people | Indonesia |
| 1960s | 13.04 million people | 22.03 million people | 8.99 million people | Indonesia |
| 1970s | 15.59 million people | 23.73 million people | 8.14 million people | Indonesia |
| 1980s | 20.01 million people | 28.50 million people | 8.49 million people | Indonesia |
| 1990s | 26.62 million people | 31.82 million people | 5.20 million people | Indonesia |
| 2000s | 34.40 million people | 34.53 million people | 134,150 people | Indonesia |
| 2010s | 40.40 million people | 37.02 million people | 3.38 million people | Ethiopia |
| 2020s | 42.37 million people | 38.74 million people | 3.63 million people | Ethiopia |
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 Indonesia?
- Ethiopia, at 42.37 million people against 38.74 million people in Indonesia as of 2020.
- What is the difference in number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas between Ethiopia and Indonesia?
- 3.63 million people, with Ethiopia ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Ethiopia and Indonesia?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Ethiopia and Indonesia rank globally for number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas?
- Ethiopia ranks 5th and Indonesia ranks 7th 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.