Share of urban population who live in the largest city in East Timor

East Timor: Share of urban population who live in the largest city was 50.7% in 2020. ▼ Falling

Latest (2020)
50.7%
World rank
25th
of 179 countries
All-time high
73.2%
in 1965
All-time low
49.2%
in 2010
Years of data
12
1965–2020

Share of urban population who live in the largest city in East Timor, 1965–2020

0204060801965199220201965: 73.2 %1970: 69.2 %1975: 66.5 %1980: 60.6 %1985: 59.5 %1990: 52.9 %1995: 50.7 %2000: 56.2 %2005: 49.7 %2010: 49.2 %2015: 50.8 %2020: 50.7 %

Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2020, share of urban population who live in the largest city in East Timor stood at 50.7%.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of urban population who live in the largest city in East Timor peaked at 73.2% in 1965 and was at its lowest, 49.2%, in 2010.

That places East Timor 25th out of 179 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 12 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 73.2% 73.2% 73.2% 1
1970s 67.8% 66.5% 69.2% 2
1980s 60.0% 59.5% 60.6% 2
1990s 51.8% 50.7% 52.9% 2
2000s 53.0% 49.7% 56.2% 2
2010s 50.0% 49.2% 50.8% 2
2020s 50.7% 50.7% 50.7% 1

Countries ranked near East Timor

  1. 22 United Arab Emirates 51.9% compare
  2. 23 French Polynesia 51.8% compare
  3. 24 Latvia 50.8% compare
  4. 26 Equatorial Guinea 50.4% compare
  5. 27 Mauritania 50.2% compare
  6. 28 Estonia 49.9% compare

See the full ranking of 179 places →

More population data for East Timor

All data for East Timor →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of urban population who live in the largest city in East Timor?
Share of urban population who live in the largest city in East Timor was 50.7% in 2020, according to European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of urban population who live in the largest city recorded in East Timor?
The highest recorded value was 73.2% in 1965.
What is the lowest share of urban population who live in the largest city recorded in East Timor?
The lowest recorded value was 49.2% in 2010.
How does East Timor rank for share of urban population who live in the largest city?
East Timor ranks 25th out of 179 countries with data for 2020.
Is share of urban population who live in the largest city rising or falling in East Timor?
Over the last ten years it is up 3.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this East Timor data come from?
The figures come from European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of urban population who live in the largest city. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 12 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Share of urban population who live in the largest city
Unit
%
Source
European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
179 places, 2,452 data points, 1950–2020
Last refreshed

Percentage of the urban population living in the country's largest city (by population). City boundaries are defined using a consistent global approach based on satellite imagery and population data.