Share of population living in urban and rural areas in East Timor
East Timor: Share of population living in urban and rural areas was 28.8% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of population living in urban and rural areas in East Timor, 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
East Timor recorded 28.8% for share of population living in urban and rural areas in 2025.
That represents a change of up 0.4% on the previous year and down 2.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in urban and rural areas in East Timor peaked at 29.6% in 2010 and was at its lowest, 9.9%, in 1950.
East Timor ranks 215th of 236 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 76 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 10.0% | 9.9% | 10.1% | 10 |
| 1960s | 10.7% | 10.1% | 11.8% | 10 |
| 1970s | 14.1% | 12.2% | 16.2% | 10 |
| 1980s | 18.7% | 16.6% | 20.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 22.4% | 21.0% | 23.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 26.4% | 24.1% | 29.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 29.5% | 29.1% | 29.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 28.7% | 28.6% | 29.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near East Timor
More population data for East Timor
- World population growth -0.2% (2100)
- Population density 132.68 people per km² (2100)
- Number of children under 5, by world region 97,537 people (2100)
- Population growth rate, by level of development -0.2% (2100)
- Total fertility rate vs. contraceptive prevalence 2.63 births per woman (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. unmet need for contraception 2.63 births per woman (2024)
- Refugees by country of asylum 0 people (2015)
- Total fertility rate vs. wanted fertility rate 2.63 births per woman (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. Share of people who are religious 2.71 live births per woman (2023)
- Fertility rate accounting for survival until childbearing age 2.54 children per women (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population living in urban and rural areas in East Timor?
- Share of population living in urban and rural areas in East Timor was 28.8% 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 East Timor?
- The highest recorded value was 29.6% in 2010.
- What is the lowest share of population living in urban and rural areas recorded in East Timor?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.9% in 1950.
- How does East Timor rank for share of population living in urban and rural areas?
- East Timor ranks 215th out of 236 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of population living in urban and rural areas rising or falling in East Timor?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this East Timor 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.