Ethiopia vs United States of America: Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas

Ethiopia
42.37 million people
in 2020
United States of America
88.17 million people
in 2020
Ethiopia rank
5th
United States of America rank
3rd

Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas over time

  • Ethiopia
  • United States of America
20.0M40.0M60.0M80.0M195019852020

How they compare

United States of America currently reports 88.17 million people against 42.37 million people in Ethiopia, a difference of 45.80 million people.

That makes United States of America's figure about 2.1 times Ethiopia's.

Across all 15 years both countries report, United States of America has been ahead every year.

Ethiopia ranks 5th and United States of America ranks 3rd of 236 countries.

United States of America has averaged higher in every one of the 8 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade Ethiopia United States of America Difference Ahead
1950s 11.17 million people 65.57 million people 54.40 million people United States of America
1960s 13.04 million people 70.97 million people 57.93 million people United States of America
1970s 15.59 million people 75.52 million people 59.93 million people United States of America
1980s 20.01 million people 79.54 million people 59.53 million people United States of America
1990s 26.62 million people 82.60 million people 55.97 million people United States of America
2000s 34.40 million people 84.56 million people 50.16 million people United States of America
2010s 40.40 million people 87.43 million people 47.03 million people United States of America
2020s 42.37 million people 88.17 million people 45.80 million people United States of America

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 United States of America?
United States of America, at 88.17 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 United States of America?
45.80 million people, with United States of America ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Ethiopia and United States of America?
15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
How do Ethiopia and United States of America rank globally for number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas?
Ethiopia ranks 5th and United States of America ranks 3rd 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.

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Ethiopia vs United States of America: Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas. Statizoid, drawing on European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 11 September 2026, from https://population.statizoid.com/compare/population-of-cities-towns-and-villages/ethiopia/united-states/

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<a href="https://population.statizoid.com/compare/population-of-cities-towns-and-villages/ethiopia/united-states/">Ethiopia vs United States of America: Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas
Unit
people
Source
European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
236 places, 3,540 data points, 1950–2020
Last refreshed

Estimated number of people living in rural areas. Rural areas are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.