Share urban and rural population in Australia
Australia: Share urban and rural population was 87.72 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
87.72
Change on year
up 0.1%
World rank
49th
of 236 countries
All-time high
87.72
in 2025
All-time low
75.83
in 1950
Years of data
76
1950–2025
Share urban and rural population in Australia, 1950–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share urban and rural population in Australia is 87.72, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 76 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.1% on the previous year and up 1.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share urban and rural population in Australia peaked at 87.72 in 2025 and was at its lowest, 75.83, in 1950.
That places Australia 49th 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 urban and rural population in Australia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 75.83 | — |
| 1951 | 76.62 | +1.0% |
| 1952 | 77.39 | +1.0% |
| 1953 | 78.11 | +0.9% |
| 1954 | 78.73 | +0.8% |
| 1955 | 79.28 | +0.7% |
| 1956 | 79.8 | +0.7% |
| 1957 | 80.3 | +0.6% |
| 1958 | 80.77 | +0.6% |
| 1959 | 81.2 | +0.5% |
| 1960 | 81.59 | +0.5% |
| 1961 | 81.94 | +0.4% |
| 1962 | 82.22 | +0.3% |
| 1963 | 82.46 | +0.3% |
| 1964 | 82.68 | +0.3% |
| 1965 | 82.92 | +0.3% |
| 1966 | 83.21 | +0.4% |
| 1967 | 83.64 | +0.5% |
| 1968 | 84.2 | +0.7% |
| 1969 | 84.78 | +0.7% |
| 1970 | 85.27 | +0.6% |
| 1971 | 85.56 | +0.3% |
| 1972 | 85.7 | +0.2% |
| 1973 | 85.82 | +0.1% |
| 1974 | 85.91 | +0.1% |
| 1975 | 85.97 | +0.1% |
| 1976 | 85.99 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 85.97 | -0.0% |
| 1978 | 85.92 | -0.1% |
| 1979 | 85.85 | -0.1% |
| 1980 | 85.78 | -0.1% |
| 1981 | 85.71 | -0.1% |
| 1982 | 85.63 | -0.1% |
| 1983 | 85.54 | -0.1% |
| 1984 | 85.45 | -0.1% |
| 1985 | 85.38 | -0.1% |
| 1986 | 85.35 | -0.0% |
| 1987 | 85.36 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 85.37 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 85.38 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 85.4 | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 85.4 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 85.39 | -0.0% |
| 1993 | 85.37 | -0.0% |
| 1994 | 85.33 | -0.0% |
| 1995 | 85.29 | -0.1% |
| 1996 | 85.24 | -0.1% |
| 1997 | 85.2 | -0.1% |
| 1998 | 85.16 | -0.0% |
| 1999 | 85.12 | -0.0% |
| 2000 | 85.11 | -0.0% |
| 2001 | 85.15 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 85.28 | +0.2% |
| 2003 | 85.41 | +0.1% |
| 2004 | 85.52 | +0.1% |
| 2005 | 85.62 | +0.1% |
| 2006 | 85.75 | +0.2% |
| 2007 | 85.9 | +0.2% |
| 2008 | 86.03 | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 86.13 | +0.1% |
| 2010 | 86.22 | +0.1% |
| 2011 | 86.33 | +0.1% |
| 2012 | 86.45 | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 86.57 | +0.1% |
| 2014 | 86.72 | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 86.88 | +0.2% |
| 2016 | 87.02 | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 87.13 | +0.1% |
| 2018 | 87.23 | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 87.3 | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 87.27 | -0.0% |
| 2021 | 87.24 | -0.0% |
| 2022 | 87.33 | +0.1% |
| 2023 | 87.49 | +0.2% |
| 2024 | 87.6 | +0.1% |
| 2025 | 87.72 | +0.1% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's 87.72 is above the median for high income countries, which is 81.33, 1.1× the median. (85 countries reporting)
- Australia's 87.72 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 65.45, 1.3× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 78.8 | 75.83 | 81.2 | 10 |
| 1960s | 82.96 | 81.59 | 84.78 | 10 |
| 1970s | 85.8 | 85.27 | 85.99 | 10 |
| 1980s | 85.49 | 85.35 | 85.78 | 10 |
| 1990s | 85.29 | 85.12 | 85.4 | 10 |
| 2000s | 85.59 | 85.11 | 86.13 | 10 |
| 2010s | 86.78 | 86.22 | 87.3 | 10 |
| 2020s | 87.44 | 87.24 | 87.72 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More population data for Australia
- Population regions with projections, annual growth rate 0.5057 % change on previous year (2100)
- Urban and rural population 2050, annual growth rate 0.5755 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population long run with projections, annual growth rate 0.5057 % change on previous year (2100)
- Un population 2024 vs 2022, annual growth rate 0.2553 % change on previous year (2100)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 05 - Demographic estimates 32,193 Persons (2050)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 03 - Annual population 0.8589 Percent per annum (2030)
- Projected population under age 5, annual growth rate 0.2773 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population growth rate 0.503 (2100)
- Population density 5.61 (2100)
- Projected population under age 5 2.09 million (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share urban and rural population in Australia?
- Share urban and rural population in Australia was 87.72 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share urban and rural population recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 87.72 in 2025.
- What is the lowest share urban and rural population recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 75.83 in 1950.
- How does Australia rank for share urban and rural population?
- Australia ranks 49th out of 236 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share urban and rural population rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Share urban and rural population. 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).