Number of people living in urban and rural areas in Taiwan

Taiwan: Number of people living in urban and rural areas was 18.24 million people in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
18.24 million people
Change on year
down 0.4%
World rank
47th
of 236 countries
All-time high
18.83 million people
in 2016
All-time low
3.41 million people
in 1950
Years of data
76
1950–2025

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

5.0M10.0M15.0M20.0M195019872025

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

Analysis

In 2025, number of people living in urban and rural areas in Taiwan stood at 18.24 million people.

That represents a change of down 0.4% on the previous year and down 2.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, number of people living in urban and rural areas in Taiwan peaked at 18.83 million people in 2016 and was at its lowest, 3.41 million people, in 1950.

That places Taiwan 47th 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.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 4.21 million people 3.41 million people 5.19 million people 10
1960s 6.69 million people 5.48 million people 7.70 million people 10
1970s 9.77 million people 7.88 million people 12.12 million people 10
1980s 14.18 million people 12.55 million people 15.51 million people 10
1990s 16.48 million people 15.67 million people 17.22 million people 10
2000s 17.94 million people 17.40 million people 18.51 million people 10
2010s 18.75 million people 18.58 million people 18.83 million people 10
2020s 18.48 million people 18.24 million people 18.79 million people 6

Countries ranked near Taiwan

  1. 44 Uzbekistan 18.90 million people compare
  2. 45 Kenya 18.53 million people compare
  3. 46 Syria 18.47 million people compare
  4. 48 Sudan 18.05 million people compare
  5. 49 Cote d'Ivoire 17.84 million people compare
  6. 50 Chile 17.71 million people compare

See the full ranking of 237 places →

More population data for Taiwan

All data for Taiwan →

Frequently asked questions

What is number of people living in urban and rural areas in Taiwan?
Number of people living in urban and rural areas in Taiwan was 18.24 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 Taiwan?
The highest recorded value was 18.83 million people in 2016.
What is the lowest number of people living in urban and rural areas recorded in Taiwan?
The lowest recorded value was 3.41 million people in 1950.
How does Taiwan rank for number of people living in urban and rural areas?
Taiwan ranks 47th out of 236 countries with data for 2025.
Is number of people living in urban and rural areas rising or falling in Taiwan?
Over the last ten years it is down 2.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Taiwan 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.