Botswana vs Namibia: Share of population living in cities, towns and rural areas
Botswana
19.4%
in 2020
Namibia
20.5%
in 2020
Botswana rank
174th
Namibia rank
172nd
Share of population living in cities, towns and rural areas over time
- Botswana
- Namibia
How they compare
Namibia currently reports 20.5% against 19.4% in Botswana, a difference of 1.1%.
That makes Namibia's figure about 1.1 times Botswana's.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Namibia ahead.
Botswana ranks 174th and Namibia ranks 172nd of 236 countries.
Namibia has averaged higher in every one of the 8 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Botswana | Namibia | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | — |
| 1960s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | — |
| 1970s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | — |
| 1980s | 0.0% | 5.9% | 5.9% | Namibia |
| 1990s | 1.8% | 7.8% | 5.9% | Namibia |
| 2000s | 3.9% | 11.0% | 7.1% | Namibia |
| 2010s | 14.1% | 14.5% | 0.4% | Namibia |
| 2020s | 19.4% | 20.5% | 1.1% | Namibia |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of population living in cities, towns and rural areas, Botswana or Namibia?
- Namibia, at 20.5% against 19.4% in Botswana as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of population living in cities, towns and rural areas between Botswana and Namibia?
- 1.1%, with Namibia ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Botswana and Namibia?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Botswana and Namibia rank globally for share of population living in cities, towns and rural areas?
- Botswana ranks 174th and Namibia ranks 172nd 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 Share of population 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 share of the population living in cities. Cities are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.