Australia vs South Africa: Share of population living in cities
Australia
48.9%
in 2020
South Africa
48.8%
in 2020
Australia rank
59th
South Africa rank
61st
Share of population living in cities over time
- Australia
- South Africa
How they compare
Australia currently reports 48.9% against 48.8% in South Africa, a difference of 0.1%.
Across all 15 years both countries report, Australia has been ahead every year.
Australia ranks 59th and South Africa ranks 61st of 236 countries.
Australia has averaged higher in every one of the 8 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Australia | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 28.7% | 13.6% | 15.0% | Australia |
| 1960s | 30.3% | 15.6% | 14.7% | Australia |
| 1970s | 33.2% | 18.7% | 14.6% | Australia |
| 1980s | 36.6% | 22.7% | 13.9% | Australia |
| 1990s | 40.0% | 28.3% | 11.7% | Australia |
| 2000s | 41.1% | 36.9% | 4.3% | Australia |
| 2010s | 45.2% | 43.7% | 1.5% | Australia |
| 2020s | 48.9% | 48.8% | 0.1% | Australia |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of population living in cities, Australia or South Africa?
- Australia, at 48.9% against 48.8% in South Africa as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of population living in cities between Australia and South Africa?
- 0.1%, with Australia ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Australia and South Africa?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Australia and South Africa rank globally for share of population living in cities?
- Australia ranks 59th and South Africa ranks 61st 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. 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.