Norway vs United Kingdom: Share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050
Norway
83.6%
in 2025
United Kingdom
83.3%
in 2025
Norway rank
59th
United Kingdom rank
60th
Share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 over time
- Norway
- United Kingdom
How they compare
Norway currently reports 83.6% against 83.3% in United Kingdom, a difference of 0.3%.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 108 shared years of data; in 1000 it was United Kingdom ahead.
Norway ranks 59th and United Kingdom ranks 60th of 238 countries.
Across the 40 decades both report, Norway averaged higher in 1 and United Kingdom in 39.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Norway | United Kingdom | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1000s | 0.1% | 2.4% | 2.3% | United Kingdom |
| 1100s | 0.2% | 3.1% | 2.9% | United Kingdom |
| 1200s | 0.3% | 2.2% | 1.9% | United Kingdom |
| 1300s | 0.4% | 2.2% | 1.8% | United Kingdom |
| 1400s | 0.6% | 2.5% | 1.9% | United Kingdom |
| 1500s | 0.9% | 2.1% | 1.2% | United Kingdom |
| 1600s | 1.4% | 2.1% | 0.7% | United Kingdom |
| 1700s | 4.0% | 2.1% | 1.9% | Norway |
| 1710s | 5.9% | 6.3% | 0.5% | United Kingdom |
| 1720s | 7.7% | 10.5% | 2.8% | United Kingdom |
| 1730s | 9.6% | 14.8% | 5.2% | United Kingdom |
| 1740s | 11.4% | 19.0% | 7.5% | United Kingdom |
| 1750s | 13.3% | 23.2% | 9.9% | United Kingdom |
| 1760s | 15.1% | 24.3% | 9.2% | United Kingdom |
| 1770s | 17.0% | 25.4% | 8.4% | United Kingdom |
| 1780s | 18.9% | 26.5% | 7.6% | United Kingdom |
| 1790s | 20.7% | 27.6% | 6.9% | United Kingdom |
| 1800s | 22.6% | 28.7% | 6.1% | United Kingdom |
| 1810s | 24.4% | 32.1% | 7.6% | United Kingdom |
| 1820s | 26.3% | 35.4% | 9.1% | United Kingdom |
| 1830s | 28.2% | 38.8% | 10.6% | United Kingdom |
| 1840s | 30.0% | 42.1% | 12.1% | United Kingdom |
| 1850s | 31.9% | 45.5% | 13.6% | United Kingdom |
| 1860s | 33.7% | 48.8% | 15.1% | United Kingdom |
| 1870s | 35.6% | 52.2% | 16.6% | United Kingdom |
| 1880s | 37.4% | 55.5% | 18.1% | United Kingdom |
| 1890s | 39.3% | 58.9% | 19.6% | United Kingdom |
| 1900s | 41.2% | 62.2% | 21.1% | United Kingdom |
| 1910s | 43.0% | 65.6% | 22.6% | United Kingdom |
| 1920s | 44.9% | 68.9% | 24.0% | United Kingdom |
| 1930s | 46.7% | 72.3% | 25.5% | United Kingdom |
| 1940s | 48.6% | 75.6% | 27.0% | United Kingdom |
| 1950s | 48.2% | 79.7% | 31.5% | United Kingdom |
| 1960s | 55.5% | 77.7% | 22.3% | United Kingdom |
| 1970s | 68.4% | 77.5% | 9.2% | United Kingdom |
| 1980s | 71.2% | 78.4% | 7.2% | United Kingdom |
| 1990s | 73.8% | 78.7% | 4.9% | United Kingdom |
| 2000s | 77.6% | 80.4% | 2.7% | United Kingdom |
| 2010s | 80.8% | 81.8% | 0.9% | United Kingdom |
| 2020s | 83.1% | 83.1% | 0.0% | United Kingdom |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050, Norway or United Kingdom?
- Norway, at 83.6% against 83.3% in United Kingdom as of 2025.
- What is the difference in share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 between Norway and United Kingdom?
- 0.3%, with Norway ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Norway and United Kingdom?
- 108 years are reported by both, from 1000 to 2025.
- How do Norway and United Kingdom rank globally for share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050?
- Norway ranks 59th and United Kingdom ranks 60th of 238 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- HYDE (2023); United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Share of the population living in urban areas, combining UN estimates with modeled historical data.