France vs United States of America: Share of population living in cities
France
34.3%
in 2020
United States of America
34.4%
in 2020
France rank
124th
United States of America rank
123rd
Share of population living in cities over time
- France
- United States of America
How they compare
United States of America currently reports 34.4% against 34.3% in France, a difference of 0.1%.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was France ahead.
France ranks 124th and United States of America ranks 123rd of 236 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, France averaged higher in 7 and United States of America in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | France | United States of America | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 29.8% | 18.2% | 11.6% | France |
| 1960s | 32.7% | 19.8% | 12.9% | France |
| 1970s | 35.7% | 20.7% | 15.0% | France |
| 1980s | 36.1% | 21.1% | 15.0% | France |
| 1990s | 36.1% | 23.4% | 12.7% | France |
| 2000s | 35.7% | 26.8% | 8.9% | France |
| 2010s | 34.9% | 30.5% | 4.4% | France |
| 2020s | 34.3% | 34.4% | 0.0% | United States of America |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of population living in cities, France or United States of America?
- United States of America, at 34.4% against 34.3% in France as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of population living in cities between France and United States of America?
- 0.1%, with United States of America ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for France and United States of America?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do France and United States of America rank globally for share of population living in cities?
- France ranks 124th and United States of America ranks 123rd 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.