Share of population living in urbanized areas in Sweden

Sweden: Share of population living in urbanized areas was 88.0% in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
88.0%
Change on year
up 0.2%
World rank
33rd
of 202 countries
All-time high
88.0%
in 2025
All-time low
0.0%
in 1000
Years of data
108
1000–2025

Share of population living in urbanized areas in Sweden, 1000–2025

020406080100015122025

Source: HYDE (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

The most recent figure for share of population living in urbanized areas in Sweden is 88.0%, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 108 years on record.

That represents a change of up 0.2% on the previous year and up 2.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of population living in urbanized areas in Sweden peaked at 88.0% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1000.

Sweden ranks 33rd of 202 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 108 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1000s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1
1100s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1
1200s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1
1300s 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 1
1400s 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 1
1500s 0.9% 0.9% 0.9% 1
1600s 1.4% 1.4% 1.4% 1
1700s 4.0% 4.0% 4.0% 1
1710s 6.5% 6.5% 6.5% 1
1720s 8.9% 8.9% 8.9% 1
1730s 11.4% 11.4% 11.4% 1
1740s 13.9% 13.9% 13.9% 1
1750s 16.4% 16.4% 16.4% 1
1760s 18.8% 18.8% 18.8% 1
1770s 21.3% 21.3% 21.3% 1
1780s 23.8% 23.8% 23.8% 1
1790s 26.2% 26.2% 26.2% 1
1800s 28.7% 28.7% 28.7% 1
1810s 31.2% 31.2% 31.2% 1
1820s 33.6% 33.6% 33.6% 1
1830s 36.1% 36.1% 36.1% 1
1840s 38.6% 38.6% 38.6% 1
1850s 41.1% 41.1% 41.1% 1
1860s 43.5% 43.5% 43.5% 1
1870s 46.0% 46.0% 46.0% 1
1880s 48.5% 48.5% 48.5% 1
1890s 50.9% 50.9% 50.9% 1
1900s 53.4% 53.4% 53.4% 1
1910s 55.9% 55.9% 55.9% 1
1920s 58.4% 58.4% 58.4% 1
1930s 60.8% 60.8% 60.8% 1
1940s 63.3% 63.3% 63.3% 1
1950s 68.9% 65.8% 71.8% 10
1960s 76.4% 72.5% 80.2% 10
1970s 82.4% 80.9% 83.1% 10
1980s 83.0% 82.9% 83.1% 10
1990s 83.7% 83.1% 84.0% 10
2000s 84.3% 84.0% 84.6% 10
2010s 85.7% 84.7% 86.8% 10
2020s 87.5% 87.0% 88.0% 6

Countries ranked near Sweden

  1. 30 France 88.3% compare
  2. 32 Finland 88.2% compare
  3. 34 United Arab Emirates 87.6% compare
  4. 35 Greenland 87.5% compare
  5. 36 Bahamas 87.0% compare

See the full ranking of 202 places →

More population data for Sweden

All data for Sweden →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of population living in urbanized areas in Sweden?
Share of population living in urbanized areas in Sweden was 88.0% in 2025, according to HYDE (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of population living in urbanized areas recorded in Sweden?
The highest recorded value was 88.0% in 2025.
What is the lowest share of population living in urbanized areas recorded in Sweden?
The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1000.
How does Sweden rank for share of population living in urbanized areas?
Sweden ranks 33rd out of 202 countries with data for 2025.
Is share of population living in urbanized areas rising or falling in Sweden?
Over the last ten years it is up 2.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Sweden data come from?
The figures come from HYDE (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of population living in urbanized areas. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 108 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Share of population living in urbanized areas
Unit
%
Source
HYDE (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
202 places, 21,784 data points, 1000–2025
Last refreshed

Share of population living in urban areas in a country over time.