Share of population urban in Eswatini
Eswatini: Share of population urban was 26.72 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
26.72
Change on year
up 1.8%
World rank
217th
of 236 countries
All-time high
26.72
in 2025
All-time low
1.28
in 1950
Years of data
76
1950–2025
Share of population urban in Eswatini, 1950–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of population urban in Eswatini is 26.72, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 76 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.8% on the previous year and up 14.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population urban in Eswatini peaked at 26.72 in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1.28, in 1950.
That places Eswatini 217th out of 236 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 76 years of available data.
Share of population urban in Eswatini, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 1.28 | — |
| 1951 | 1.43 | +11.5% |
| 1952 | 1.61 | +12.6% |
| 1953 | 1.82 | +13.0% |
| 1954 | 2.06 | +12.9% |
| 1955 | 2.31 | +12.4% |
| 1956 | 2.59 | +11.8% |
| 1957 | 2.9 | +12.0% |
| 1958 | 3.25 | +12.1% |
| 1959 | 3.63 | +11.9% |
| 1960 | 4.06 | +11.6% |
| 1961 | 4.51 | +11.2% |
| 1962 | 4.99 | +10.7% |
| 1963 | 5.5 | +10.2% |
| 1964 | 6.03 | +9.7% |
| 1965 | 6.59 | +9.2% |
| 1966 | 7.16 | +8.7% |
| 1967 | 7.79 | +8.8% |
| 1968 | 8.49 | +9.0% |
| 1969 | 9.25 | +9.0% |
| 1970 | 10.06 | +8.7% |
| 1971 | 10.89 | +8.3% |
| 1972 | 11.75 | +7.9% |
| 1973 | 12.62 | +7.4% |
| 1974 | 13.47 | +6.8% |
| 1975 | 14.31 | +6.2% |
| 1976 | 15.11 | +5.6% |
| 1977 | 15.93 | +5.4% |
| 1978 | 16.84 | +5.7% |
| 1979 | 17.81 | +5.7% |
| 1980 | 18.79 | +5.5% |
| 1981 | 19.75 | +5.1% |
| 1982 | 20.64 | +4.5% |
| 1983 | 21.43 | +3.8% |
| 1984 | 22.07 | +3.0% |
| 1985 | 22.52 | +2.1% |
| 1986 | 22.74 | +1.0% |
| 1987 | 22.8 | +0.3% |
| 1988 | 22.85 | +0.2% |
| 1989 | 22.9 | +0.2% |
| 1990 | 22.93 | +0.2% |
| 1991 | 22.97 | +0.1% |
| 1992 | 23 | +0.1% |
| 1993 | 23.02 | +0.1% |
| 1994 | 23.04 | +0.1% |
| 1995 | 23.05 | +0.1% |
| 1996 | 23.06 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 23.06 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 23.03 | -0.1% |
| 1999 | 22.95 | -0.3% |
| 2000 | 22.84 | -0.5% |
| 2001 | 22.71 | -0.6% |
| 2002 | 22.57 | -0.6% |
| 2003 | 22.43 | -0.6% |
| 2004 | 22.31 | -0.6% |
| 2005 | 22.21 | -0.4% |
| 2006 | 22.15 | -0.3% |
| 2007 | 22.14 | -0.0% |
| 2008 | 22.17 | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 22.23 | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 22.33 | +0.4% |
| 2011 | 22.46 | +0.6% |
| 2012 | 22.62 | +0.7% |
| 2013 | 22.81 | +0.8% |
| 2014 | 23.03 | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 23.27 | +1.0% |
| 2016 | 23.53 | +1.1% |
| 2017 | 23.81 | +1.2% |
| 2018 | 24.06 | +1.1% |
| 2019 | 24.35 | +1.2% |
| 2020 | 24.67 | +1.3% |
| 2021 | 25.02 | +1.4% |
| 2022 | 25.4 | +1.5% |
| 2023 | 25.81 | +1.6% |
| 2024 | 26.25 | +1.7% |
| 2025 | 26.72 | +1.8% |
Eswatini compared with similar countries
- Eswatini's 26.72 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 50.87, 53% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Eswatini's 26.72 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 44.89, 60% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 2.29 | 1.28 | 3.63 | 10 |
| 1960s | 6.44 | 4.06 | 9.25 | 10 |
| 1970s | 13.88 | 10.06 | 17.81 | 10 |
| 1980s | 21.65 | 18.79 | 22.9 | 10 |
| 1990s | 23.01 | 22.93 | 23.06 | 10 |
| 2000s | 22.38 | 22.14 | 22.84 | 10 |
| 2010s | 23.23 | 22.33 | 24.35 | 10 |
| 2020s | 25.64 | 24.67 | 26.72 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Eswatini
- 214 Burkina Faso 28.92 compare
- 215 East Timor 28.79 compare
- 216 Chad 27.57 compare
- 218 Guyana 26.49 compare
- 219 Tajikistan 26.16 compare
- 220 Afghanistan 25.94 compare
More population data for Eswatini
- Population regions with projections, annual growth rate -0.6638 % change on previous year (2100)
- Urban and rural population 2050, annual growth rate 0.312 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population long run with projections, annual growth rate -0.6638 % change on previous year (2100)
- Un population 2024 vs 2022, annual growth rate 0.0005 % change on previous year (2100)
- Projected population under age 5, annual growth rate -1.06 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population growth rate -0.662 (2100)
- Population density 77.96 (2100)
- Projected population under age 5 74,031 (2100)
- Population growth rate by level of development -0.662 (2100)
- Urbanization vs gdp, annual growth rate 1.8 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population urban in Eswatini?
- Share of population urban in Eswatini was 26.72 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of population urban recorded in Eswatini?
- The highest recorded value was 26.72 in 2025.
- What is the lowest share of population urban recorded in Eswatini?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.28 in 1950.
- How does Eswatini rank for share of population urban?
- Eswatini ranks 217th out of 236 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of population urban rising or falling in Eswatini?
- Over the last ten years it is up 14.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Eswatini data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Share of population urban. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 76 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).