Share of population living in urban and rural areas in Italy
Italy: Share of population living in urban and rural areas was 69.7% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
69.7%
Change on year
up 0.1%
World rank
106th
of 236 countries
All-time high
69.7%
in 2025
All-time low
54.6%
in 1950
Years of data
76
1950–2025
Share of population living in urban and rural areas in Italy, 1950–2025
Source: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2025, share of population living in urban and rural areas in Italy stood at 69.7%. That is the highest value across all 76 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.1% on the previous year and up 0.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in urban and rural areas in Italy peaked at 69.7% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 54.6%, in 1950.
Italy ranks 106th of 236 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 76 years of available data.
Share of population living in urban and rural areas in Italy, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 54.6% | — |
| 1951 | 54.9% | +0.5% |
| 1952 | 55.2% | +0.6% |
| 1953 | 55.6% | +0.7% |
| 1954 | 56.0% | +0.8% |
| 1955 | 56.5% | +0.9% |
| 1956 | 57.1% | +0.9% |
| 1957 | 57.6% | +1.0% |
| 1958 | 58.2% | +1.0% |
| 1959 | 58.7% | +1.0% |
| 1960 | 59.3% | +0.9% |
| 1961 | 59.8% | +0.9% |
| 1962 | 60.3% | +0.9% |
| 1963 | 60.9% | +0.9% |
| 1964 | 61.4% | +0.9% |
| 1965 | 62.0% | +0.9% |
| 1966 | 62.5% | +0.9% |
| 1967 | 63.1% | +0.9% |
| 1968 | 63.6% | +0.8% |
| 1969 | 64.0% | +0.7% |
| 1970 | 64.5% | +0.6% |
| 1971 | 64.8% | +0.5% |
| 1972 | 65.1% | +0.5% |
| 1973 | 65.4% | +0.4% |
| 1974 | 65.7% | +0.4% |
| 1975 | 65.9% | +0.4% |
| 1976 | 66.2% | +0.4% |
| 1977 | 66.4% | +0.3% |
| 1978 | 66.6% | +0.3% |
| 1979 | 66.7% | +0.2% |
| 1980 | 66.8% | +0.2% |
| 1981 | 66.9% | +0.1% |
| 1982 | 66.9% | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 66.9% | -0.0% |
| 1984 | 66.9% | -0.0% |
| 1985 | 66.8% | -0.0% |
| 1986 | 66.8% | -0.0% |
| 1987 | 66.8% | -0.0% |
| 1988 | 66.8% | -0.0% |
| 1989 | 66.7% | -0.0% |
| 1990 | 66.7% | -0.0% |
| 1991 | 66.7% | -0.0% |
| 1992 | 66.7% | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 66.7% | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 66.8% | +0.1% |
| 1995 | 66.8% | +0.1% |
| 1996 | 66.9% | +0.1% |
| 1997 | 67.0% | +0.1% |
| 1998 | 67.0% | +0.1% |
| 1999 | 67.1% | +0.1% |
| 2000 | 67.2% | +0.1% |
| 2001 | 67.3% | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 67.4% | +0.1% |
| 2003 | 67.4% | +0.1% |
| 2004 | 67.5% | +0.1% |
| 2005 | 67.6% | +0.1% |
| 2006 | 67.7% | +0.1% |
| 2007 | 67.8% | +0.2% |
| 2008 | 67.9% | +0.2% |
| 2009 | 68.0% | +0.2% |
| 2010 | 68.2% | +0.2% |
| 2011 | 68.4% | +0.3% |
| 2012 | 68.8% | +0.5% |
| 2013 | 69.3% | +0.8% |
| 2014 | 69.6% | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 69.6% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 69.6% | -0.0% |
| 2017 | 69.5% | -0.1% |
| 2018 | 69.5% | -0.1% |
| 2019 | 69.5% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 69.5% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 69.5% | -0.1% |
| 2022 | 69.5% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 69.5% | +0.1% |
| 2024 | 69.6% | +0.1% |
| 2025 | 69.7% | +0.1% |
Italy compared with similar countries
- Italy's 69.7% is below the median for high income countries, which is 81.3%, 86% of the median. (85 countries reporting)
- Italy's 69.7% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 69.6%, 1.0× the median. (56 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 56.4% | 54.6% | 58.7% | 10 |
| 1960s | 61.7% | 59.3% | 64.0% | 10 |
| 1970s | 65.7% | 64.5% | 66.7% | 10 |
| 1980s | 66.8% | 66.7% | 66.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 66.8% | 66.7% | 67.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 67.6% | 67.2% | 68.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 69.2% | 68.2% | 69.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 69.6% | 69.5% | 69.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Italy
More population data for Italy
- Un population 2024 vs 2022, annual growth rate -0.5615 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population long run with projections, annual growth rate -0.6708 % change on previous year (2100)
- Urban and rural population 2050, annual growth rate -0.7397 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population regions with projections, annual growth rate -0.6708 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population growth rate, by level of development -0.7% (2100)
- Number of children under 5, by world region 1.26 million people (2100)
- Population density 119.63 people per km² (2100)
- World population growth -0.7% (2100)
- Projected population under age 5, annual growth rate -0.3246 % change on previous year (2100)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 03 - Annual population -0.3544 Percent per annum (2030)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population living in urban and rural areas in Italy?
- Share of population living in urban and rural areas in Italy was 69.7% in 2025, according to United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of population living in urban and rural areas recorded in Italy?
- The highest recorded value was 69.7% in 2025.
- What is the lowest share of population living in urban and rural areas recorded in Italy?
- The lowest recorded value was 54.6% in 1950.
- How does Italy rank for share of population living in urban and rural areas?
- Italy ranks 106th out of 236 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of population living in urban and rural areas rising or falling in Italy?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Italy data come from?
- The figures come from United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of population living in urban and rural areas. 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).
About this data
Share of the population living in urban areas, based on each country's national definition.