Share of the population living in cities in Brazil

Brazil: Share of the population living in cities was 53.88 in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)
53.88
World rank
46th
of 229 countries
All-time high
53.88
in 2020
All-time low
16.86
in 1950
Years of data
15
1950–2020

Share of the population living in cities in Brazil, 1950–2020

203040501950198520201950: 16.91955: 19.31960: 22.31965: 25.11970: 29.11975: 32.11980: 37.81985: 40.91990: 44.21995: 472000: 49.32005: 50.42010: 51.92015: 53.22020: 53.9

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

In 2020, share of the population living in cities in Brazil stood at 53.88. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.

The figure is up 3.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of the population living in cities in Brazil peaked at 53.88 in 2020 and was at its lowest, 16.86, in 1950.

Brazil ranks 46th of 229 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.

Share of the population living in cities in Brazil, year by year

Annual values for Share of the population living in cities in Brazil, 1950 to 2020.
Year Value Change
1950 16.86
1955 19.33 +14.7%
1960 22.35 +15.6%
1965 25.12 +12.4%
1970 29.06 +15.7%
1975 32.14 +10.6%
1980 37.78 +17.6%
1985 40.87 +8.2%
1990 44.2 +8.1%
1995 47.02 +6.4%
2000 49.33 +4.9%
2005 50.45 +2.3%
2010 51.93 +2.9%
2015 53.19 +2.4%
2020 53.88 +1.3%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 18.09 16.86 19.33 2
1960s 23.73 22.35 25.12 2
1970s 30.6 29.06 32.14 2
1980s 39.33 37.78 40.87 2
1990s 45.61 44.2 47.02 2
2000s 49.89 49.33 50.45 2
2010s 52.56 51.93 53.19 2
2020s 53.88 53.88 53.88 1

Countries ranked near Brazil

  1. 43 Ecuador 54.26 compare
  2. 44 Gambia 54 compare
  3. 45 Iceland 53.96 compare
  4. 47 Mexico 53.64 compare
  5. 48 Cameroon 53.48 compare
  6. 49 Indonesia 53.03 compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More population data for Brazil

All data for Brazil →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of the population living in cities in Brazil?
Share of the population living in cities in Brazil was 53.88 in 2020, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of the population living in cities recorded in Brazil?
The highest recorded value was 53.88 in 2020.
What is the lowest share of the population living in cities recorded in Brazil?
The lowest recorded value was 16.86 in 1950.
How does Brazil rank for share of the population living in cities?
Brazil ranks 46th out of 229 countries with data for 2020.
Is share of the population living in cities rising or falling in Brazil?
Over the last ten years it is up 3.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Brazil data come from?
The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Share of the population living in cities. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Share of the population living in cities in Brazil. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 26 August 2026, from https://population.statizoid.com/stat/share-of-the-population-living-in-cities/brazil/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://population.statizoid.com/stat/share-of-the-population-living-in-cities/brazil/">Share of the population living in cities in Brazil</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Share of the population living in cities
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
236 places, 3,540 data points, 1950–2020
Last refreshed