Italy vs South Africa: Number of people living in urban and rural areas
Italy
41.21 million people
in 2025
South Africa
41.32 million people
in 2025
Italy rank
25th
South Africa rank
24th
Number of people living in urban and rural areas over time
- Italy
- South Africa
How they compare
South Africa currently reports 41.32 million people against 41.21 million people in Italy, a difference of 105,200 people.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 76 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Italy ahead.
Italy ranks 25th and South Africa ranks 24th of 236 countries.
Italy has averaged higher in every one of the 8 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Italy | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 27.03 million people | 6.44 million people | 20.60 million people | Italy |
| 1960s | 31.64 million people | 8.93 million people | 22.71 million people | Italy |
| 1970s | 36.08 million people | 12.20 million people | 23.88 million people | Italy |
| 1980s | 37.95 million people | 17.08 million people | 20.87 million people | Italy |
| 1990s | 38.23 million people | 23.54 million people | 14.70 million people | Italy |
| 2000s | 39.45 million people | 29.32 million people | 10.13 million people | Italy |
| 2010s | 41.81 million people | 35.30 million people | 6.51 million people | Italy |
| 2020s | 41.41 million people | 39.89 million people | 1.53 million people | Italy |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher number of people living in urban and rural areas, Italy or South Africa?
- South Africa, at 41.32 million people against 41.21 million people in Italy as of 2025.
- What is the difference in number of people living in urban and rural areas between Italy and South Africa?
- 105,200 people, with South Africa ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Italy and South Africa?
- 76 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2025.
- How do Italy and South Africa rank globally for number of people living in urban and rural areas?
- Italy ranks 25th and South Africa ranks 24th of 236 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Number of people living in urban and rural areas. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Number of people living in urban areas, based on each country's national definition.