Namibia vs Zimbabwe: Share of population living in cities, towns and rural areas
Namibia
20.5%
in 2020
Zimbabwe
21.8%
in 2020
Namibia rank
172nd
Zimbabwe rank
170th
Share of population living in cities, towns and rural areas over time
- Namibia
- Zimbabwe
How they compare
Zimbabwe currently reports 21.8% against 20.5% in Namibia, a difference of 1.3%.
That makes Zimbabwe's figure about 1.1 times Namibia's.
Across all 15 years both countries report, Zimbabwe has been ahead every year.
Namibia ranks 172nd and Zimbabwe ranks 170th of 236 countries.
Zimbabwe has averaged higher in every one of the 8 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Namibia | Zimbabwe | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 0.0% | 9.1% | 9.1% | Zimbabwe |
| 1960s | 0.0% | 10.8% | 10.8% | Zimbabwe |
| 1970s | 0.0% | 12.8% | 12.8% | Zimbabwe |
| 1980s | 5.9% | 14.4% | 8.4% | Zimbabwe |
| 1990s | 7.8% | 21.2% | 13.4% | Zimbabwe |
| 2000s | 11.0% | 23.1% | 12.0% | Zimbabwe |
| 2010s | 14.5% | 24.6% | 10.1% | Zimbabwe |
| 2020s | 20.5% | 21.8% | 1.3% | Zimbabwe |
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, Namibia or Zimbabwe?
- Zimbabwe, at 21.8% against 20.5% in Namibia as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of population living in cities, towns and rural areas between Namibia and Zimbabwe?
- 1.3%, with Zimbabwe ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Namibia and Zimbabwe?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Namibia and Zimbabwe rank globally for share of population living in cities, towns and rural areas?
- Namibia ranks 172nd and Zimbabwe ranks 170th 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.