Share of population urban in Libya
Libya: Share of population urban was 87.91 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
87.91
Change on year
up 0.0%
World rank
48th
of 236 countries
All-time high
88.16
in 2006
All-time low
22.22
in 1950
Years of data
76
1950–2025
Share of population urban in Libya, 1950–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
Libya recorded 87.91 for share of population urban in 2025.
The figure is up 0.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population urban in Libya peaked at 88.16 in 2006 and was at its lowest, 22.22, in 1950.
That places Libya 48th out of 236 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 76 years of available data.
Share of population urban in Libya, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 22.22 | — |
| 1951 | 22.26 | +0.2% |
| 1952 | 22.32 | +0.3% |
| 1953 | 22.41 | +0.4% |
| 1954 | 22.5 | +0.4% |
| 1955 | 22.52 | +0.1% |
| 1956 | 22.58 | +0.3% |
| 1957 | 22.69 | +0.5% |
| 1958 | 22.84 | +0.7% |
| 1959 | 23.03 | +0.8% |
| 1960 | 23.27 | +1.0% |
| 1961 | 23.54 | +1.2% |
| 1962 | 23.85 | +1.3% |
| 1963 | 24.2 | +1.5% |
| 1964 | 24.58 | +1.5% |
| 1965 | 25.69 | +4.5% |
| 1966 | 28.21 | +9.8% |
| 1967 | 31.83 | +12.8% |
| 1968 | 36.2 | +13.7% |
| 1969 | 40.98 | +13.2% |
| 1970 | 45.83 | +11.8% |
| 1971 | 50.4 | +10.0% |
| 1972 | 54.35 | +7.8% |
| 1973 | 57.32 | +5.5% |
| 1974 | 59.57 | +3.9% |
| 1975 | 61.7 | +3.6% |
| 1976 | 63.71 | +3.3% |
| 1977 | 65.6 | +3.0% |
| 1978 | 67.37 | +2.7% |
| 1979 | 69.02 | +2.4% |
| 1980 | 70.54 | +2.2% |
| 1981 | 71.94 | +2.0% |
| 1982 | 73.2 | +1.8% |
| 1983 | 74.33 | +1.5% |
| 1984 | 75.32 | +1.3% |
| 1985 | 76.23 | +1.2% |
| 1986 | 77.13 | +1.2% |
| 1987 | 78.02 | +1.2% |
| 1988 | 78.89 | +1.1% |
| 1989 | 79.74 | +1.1% |
| 1990 | 80.58 | +1.0% |
| 1991 | 81.38 | +1.0% |
| 1992 | 82.16 | +1.0% |
| 1993 | 82.91 | +0.9% |
| 1994 | 83.62 | +0.9% |
| 1995 | 84.29 | +0.8% |
| 1996 | 84.92 | +0.7% |
| 1997 | 85.5 | +0.7% |
| 1998 | 86.04 | +0.6% |
| 1999 | 86.52 | +0.6% |
| 2000 | 86.95 | +0.5% |
| 2001 | 87.32 | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 87.63 | +0.4% |
| 2003 | 87.87 | +0.3% |
| 2004 | 88.04 | +0.2% |
| 2005 | 88.14 | +0.1% |
| 2006 | 88.16 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 88.16 | -0.0% |
| 2008 | 88.15 | -0.0% |
| 2009 | 88.13 | -0.0% |
| 2010 | 88.12 | -0.0% |
| 2011 | 88.1 | -0.0% |
| 2012 | 88.07 | -0.0% |
| 2013 | 88.05 | -0.0% |
| 2014 | 88.01 | -0.0% |
| 2015 | 87.82 | -0.2% |
| 2016 | 87.82 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 87.82 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 87.82 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 87.82 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 87.83 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 87.84 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 87.85 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 87.86 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 87.89 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 87.91 | +0.0% |
Libya compared with similar countries
- Libya's 87.91 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 65.53, 1.3× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Libya's 87.91 is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 79.48, 1.1× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 22.54 | 22.22 | 23.03 | 10 |
| 1960s | 28.24 | 23.27 | 40.98 | 10 |
| 1970s | 59.49 | 45.83 | 69.02 | 10 |
| 1980s | 75.54 | 70.54 | 79.74 | 10 |
| 1990s | 83.79 | 80.58 | 86.52 | 10 |
| 2000s | 87.85 | 86.95 | 88.16 | 10 |
| 2010s | 87.94 | 87.82 | 88.12 | 10 |
| 2020s | 87.86 | 87.83 | 87.91 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Libya
More population data for Libya
- Population regions with projections, annual growth rate -0.1882 % change on previous year (2100)
- Urban and rural population 2050, annual growth rate -3.49 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population long run with projections, annual growth rate -0.1882 % change on previous year (2100)
- Un population 2024 vs 2022, annual growth rate -0.3412 % change on previous year (2100)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 05 - Demographic estimates 8,540 Persons (2050)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 03 - Annual population 0.9554 Percent per annum (2030)
- Projected population under age 5, annual growth rate -0.2302 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population growth rate -0.196 (2100)
- Population density 5.56 (2100)
- Projected population under age 5 455,012 (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population urban in Libya?
- Share of population urban in Libya was 87.91 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of population urban recorded in Libya?
- The highest recorded value was 88.16 in 2006.
- What is the lowest share of population urban recorded in Libya?
- The lowest recorded value was 22.22 in 1950.
- How does Libya rank for share of population urban?
- Libya ranks 48th out of 236 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of population urban rising or falling in Libya?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Libya 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).