Israel vs Palestine: Share of population living in cities, towns and rural areas
Israel
67.4%
in 2020
Palestine
71.0%
in 2020
Israel rank
20th
Palestine rank
17th
Share of population living in cities, towns and rural areas over time
- Israel
- Palestine
How they compare
Palestine currently reports 71.0% against 67.4% in Israel, a difference of 3.6%.
That makes Palestine's figure about 1.1 times Israel's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Israel ahead.
Israel ranks 20th and Palestine ranks 17th of 236 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Israel averaged higher in 4 and Palestine in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Israel | Palestine | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 28.2% | 24.3% | 3.9% | Israel |
| 1960s | 32.6% | 30.8% | 1.8% | Israel |
| 1970s | 42.0% | 37.5% | 4.6% | Israel |
| 1980s | 49.6% | 46.9% | 2.7% | Israel |
| 1990s | 56.2% | 57.7% | 1.5% | Palestine |
| 2000s | 60.2% | 63.0% | 2.8% | Palestine |
| 2010s | 64.9% | 66.2% | 1.3% | Palestine |
| 2020s | 67.4% | 71.0% | 3.6% | Palestine |
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, Israel or Palestine?
- Palestine, at 71.0% against 67.4% in Israel as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of population living in cities, towns and rural areas between Israel and Palestine?
- 3.6%, with Palestine ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Israel and Palestine?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Israel and Palestine rank globally for share of population living in cities, towns and rural areas?
- Israel ranks 20th and Palestine ranks 17th 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.