Spain vs United States: Share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050
Spain
80.5%
in 2025
United States
80.2%
in 2025
Spain rank
67th
United States rank
69th
Share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 over time
- Spain
- United States
How they compare
Spain currently reports 80.5% against 80.2% in United States, a difference of 0.3%.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 108 shared years of data; in 1000 it was Spain ahead.
Spain ranks 67th and United States ranks 69th of 238 countries.
Across the 40 decades both report, Spain averaged higher in 28 and United States in 12.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Spain | United States | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1000s | 13.5% | 0.0% | 13.5% | Spain |
| 1100s | 16.4% | 0.0% | 16.4% | Spain |
| 1200s | 13.2% | 0.0% | 13.2% | Spain |
| 1300s | 36.2% | 0.0% | 36.2% | Spain |
| 1400s | 23.3% | 0.1% | 23.2% | Spain |
| 1500s | 13.8% | 0.2% | 13.6% | Spain |
| 1600s | 17.1% | 0.7% | 16.4% | Spain |
| 1700s | 20.3% | 2.0% | 18.3% | Spain |
| 1710s | 20.5% | 2.0% | 18.5% | Spain |
| 1720s | 20.7% | 2.2% | 18.5% | Spain |
| 1730s | 21.0% | 2.5% | 18.4% | Spain |
| 1740s | 21.2% | 2.8% | 18.3% | Spain |
| 1750s | 21.4% | 3.2% | 18.2% | Spain |
| 1760s | 21.0% | 3.6% | 17.4% | Spain |
| 1770s | 20.6% | 4.0% | 16.6% | Spain |
| 1780s | 20.3% | 4.5% | 15.7% | Spain |
| 1790s | 19.9% | 5.1% | 14.8% | Spain |
| 1800s | 19.5% | 6.1% | 13.4% | Spain |
| 1810s | 21.7% | 7.3% | 14.4% | Spain |
| 1820s | 23.8% | 7.2% | 16.6% | Spain |
| 1830s | 26.0% | 8.8% | 17.2% | Spain |
| 1840s | 28.1% | 10.8% | 17.3% | Spain |
| 1850s | 30.3% | 15.3% | 15.0% | Spain |
| 1860s | 32.4% | 19.8% | 12.6% | Spain |
| 1870s | 34.6% | 25.7% | 8.9% | Spain |
| 1880s | 36.7% | 28.2% | 8.5% | Spain |
| 1890s | 38.9% | 35.1% | 3.8% | Spain |
| 1900s | 41.0% | 39.6% | 1.4% | Spain |
| 1910s | 43.2% | 45.6% | 2.4% | United States |
| 1920s | 45.3% | 51.2% | 5.9% | United States |
| 1930s | 47.5% | 56.2% | 8.7% | United States |
| 1940s | 49.7% | 60.0% | 10.3% | United States |
| 1950s | 53.6% | 66.9% | 13.3% | United States |
| 1960s | 60.7% | 71.9% | 11.2% | United States |
| 1970s | 68.7% | 73.6% | 4.9% | United States |
| 1980s | 73.2% | 74.3% | 1.1% | United States |
| 1990s | 75.5% | 77.0% | 1.5% | United States |
| 2000s | 77.1% | 80.0% | 2.9% | United States |
| 2010s | 79.1% | 80.5% | 1.4% | United States |
| 2020s | 80.1% | 80.1% | 0.0% | United States |
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, Spain or United States?
- Spain, at 80.5% against 80.2% in United States as of 2025.
- What is the difference in share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 between Spain and United States?
- 0.3%, with Spain ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Spain and United States?
- 108 years are reported by both, from 1000 to 2025.
- How do Spain and United States rank globally for share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050?
- Spain ranks 67th and United States ranks 69th 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.