Number of people living in urban and rural areas in Myanmar

Myanmar: Number of people living in urban and rural areas was 16.78 million people in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
16.78 million people
Change on year
up 1.1%
World rank
53rd
of 236 countries
All-time high
16.78 million people
in 2025
All-time low
2.64 million people
in 1950
Years of data
76
1950–2025

Number of people living in urban and rural areas in Myanmar, 1950–2025

5.0M10.0M15.0M195019872025

Source: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.

Analysis

The most recent figure for number of people living in urban and rural areas in Myanmar is 16.78 million people, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 76 years on record.

The figure is up 1.1% on the previous year and up 10.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, number of people living in urban and rural areas in Myanmar peaked at 16.78 million people in 2025 and was at its lowest, 2.64 million people, in 1950.

Myanmar ranks 53rd of 236 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 76 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 3.24 million people 2.64 million people 3.94 million people 10
1960s 5.10 million people 4.13 million people 6.11 million people 10
1970s 7.19 million people 6.34 million people 7.98 million people 10
1980s 9.08 million people 8.16 million people 10.06 million people 10
1990s 11.25 million people 10.27 million people 12.25 million people 10
2000s 13.34 million people 12.47 million people 14.11 million people 10
2010s 15.08 million people 14.29 million people 15.83 million people 10
2020s 16.37 million people 15.99 million people 16.78 million people 6

Countries ranked near Myanmar

  1. 50 Chile 17.71 million people compare
  2. 51 Netherlands 17.60 million people compare
  3. 52 North Korea 17.06 million people compare
  4. 54 Cameroon 16.63 million people compare
  5. 55 Uganda 16.41 million people compare
  6. 56 Yemen 15.47 million people compare

See the full ranking of 237 places →

More population data for Myanmar

All data for Myanmar →

Frequently asked questions

What is number of people living in urban and rural areas in Myanmar?
Number of people living in urban and rural areas in Myanmar was 16.78 million people 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 number of people living in urban and rural areas recorded in Myanmar?
The highest recorded value was 16.78 million people in 2025.
What is the lowest number of people living in urban and rural areas recorded in Myanmar?
The lowest recorded value was 2.64 million people in 1950.
How does Myanmar rank for number of people living in urban and rural areas?
Myanmar ranks 53rd out of 236 countries with data for 2025.
Is number of people living in urban and rural areas rising or falling in Myanmar?
Over the last ten years it is up 10.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Myanmar 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 Number of people living in urban and rural areas. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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About this data

Indicator
Number of people living in urban and rural areas
Unit
people
Source
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
237 places, 18,012 data points, 1950–2025
Last refreshed

Number of people living in urban areas, based on each country's national definition.