Share urban and rural population in Zambia
Zambia: Share urban and rural population was 45.92 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
45.92
Change on year
up 1.0%
World rank
172nd
of 236 countries
All-time high
45.92
in 2025
All-time low
11.5
in 1950
Years of data
76
1950–2025
Share urban and rural population in Zambia, 1950–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, share urban and rural population in Zambia stood at 45.92. That is the highest value across all 76 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.0% on the previous year and up 9.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share urban and rural population in Zambia peaked at 45.92 in 2025 and was at its lowest, 11.5, in 1950.
Zambia ranks 172nd 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.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 13.37 | 11.5 | 16.33 | 10 |
| 1960s | 22.71 | 17.22 | 29.42 | 10 |
| 1970s | 35.8 | 30.65 | 39.7 | 10 |
| 1980s | 39.73 | 39.45 | 39.89 | 10 |
| 1990s | 38.19 | 36.17 | 39.36 | 10 |
| 2000s | 37.3 | 35.87 | 39.49 | 10 |
| 2010s | 41.75 | 39.96 | 43.49 | 10 |
| 2020s | 44.85 | 43.86 | 45.92 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
- 169 Turkmenistan 47.11 compare
- 170 Guinea-Bissau 46.65 compare
- 171 Sierra Leone 45.93 compare
- 173 Seychelles 45.48 compare
- 174 Democratic Republic of Congo 45.11 compare
- 175 Lesotho 44.67 compare
More population data for Zambia
- Population growth rate 0.516 (2100)
- Population density 86.73 (2100)
- Projected population under age 5 4.60 million (2100)
- Population growth rate by level of development 0.516 (2100)
- Fertility vs contraception 4.04 (2024)
- Fertility vs unmet contraception 4.04 (2024)
- Refugee population by country or territory of asylum 79,275 (2024)
- Fertility and wanted fertility 4.04 (2024)
- Fertility rate vs share that are religious 4.1 (2023)
- Effective fertility rate children per woman who are expected to surviv 3.82 (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share urban and rural population in Zambia?
- Share urban and rural population in Zambia was 45.92 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share urban and rural population recorded in Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 45.92 in 2025.
- What is the lowest share urban and rural population recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.5 in 1950.
- How does Zambia rank for share urban and rural population?
- Zambia ranks 172nd out of 236 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share urban and rural population rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zambia 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).