Share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 in Benin

Benin: Share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 was 53.4% in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
53.4%
Change on year
up 1.6%
World rank
163rd
of 238 countries
All-time high
53.4%
in 2025
All-time low
0.0%
in 1000
Years of data
108
1000–2025

Share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 in Benin, 1000–2025

0204060100015122025

Source: HYDE (2023); United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

Benin recorded 53.4% for share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 in 2025. That is the highest value across all 108 years on record.

That represents a change of up 1.6% on the previous year and up 16.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 in Benin peaked at 53.4% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1000.

Benin ranks 163rd of 238 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 in Benin, year by year

Annual values for Share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 in Benin, 1000 to 2025.
Year % Change
1000 0.0%
1100 0.0% +200.0%
1200 0.0% +200.0%
1300 0.0% +200.0%
1400 0.0% +200.0%
1500 0.0% +200.0%
1600 0.1% +200.0%
1700 0.2% +200.0%
1710 0.2% -8.6%
1720 0.2% +14.3%
1730 0.2% +14.3%
1740 0.3% +14.3%
1750 0.3% +14.3%
1760 0.4% +14.3%
1770 0.4% +14.3%
1780 0.5% +14.3%
1790 0.5% +14.3%
1800 0.6% +14.3%
1810 0.7% +14.3%
1820 0.8% +14.3%
1830 0.9% +14.3%
1840 1.0% +14.3%
1850 1.2% +14.3%
1860 1.4% +14.3%
1870 1.5% +14.3%
1880 1.8% +14.3%
1890 2.0% +14.3%
1900 2.3% +14.3%
1910 2.6% +14.3%
1920 3.0% +14.3%
1930 3.5% +14.3%
1940 3.9% +14.3%
1950 6.7% +69.8%
1951 6.8% +2.1%
1952 7.0% +2.8%
1953 7.3% +3.4%
1954 7.5% +3.8%
1955 7.8% +4.1%
1956 8.2% +4.4%
1957 8.6% +4.5%
1958 9.0% +4.6%
1959 9.4% +4.6%
1960 9.8% +4.5%
1961 10.2% +4.7%
1962 10.8% +5.4%
1963 11.4% +6.0%
1964 12.2% +6.3%
1965 13.0% +6.6%
1966 13.8% +6.6%
1967 14.7% +6.6%
1968 15.7% +6.5%
1969 16.7% +6.3%
1970 17.7% +6.1%
1971 18.8% +5.8%
1972 19.8% +5.6%
1973 20.8% +5.3%
1974 21.9% +4.9%
1975 22.9% +4.6%
1976 23.9% +4.3%
1977 24.8% +3.9%
1978 25.7% +3.6%
1979 26.5% +3.2%
1980 27.3% +3.0%
1981 28.1% +3.0%
1982 28.9% +2.9%
1983 29.8% +2.8%
1984 30.6% +2.7%
1985 31.4% +2.6%
1986 32.1% +2.5%
1987 32.9% +2.3%
1988 33.6% +2.1%
1989 34.2% +1.9%
1990 34.8% +1.7%
1991 35.3% +1.5%
1992 35.8% +1.3%
1993 36.2% +1.1%
1994 36.5% +1.0%
1995 36.8% +0.9%
1996 37.1% +0.8%
1997 37.4% +0.7%
1998 37.7% +0.7%
1999 38.0% +0.8%
2000 38.3% +0.8%
2001 38.6% +0.9%
2002 39.0% +1.0%
2003 39.4% +1.1%
2004 39.9% +1.1%
2005 40.3% +1.1%
2006 40.8% +1.2%
2007 41.3% +1.2%
2008 41.8% +1.3%
2009 42.3% +1.3%
2010 42.9% +1.3%
2011 43.5% +1.3%
2012 44.0% +1.3%
2013 44.7% +1.4%
2014 45.3% +1.4%
2015 45.9% +1.4%
2016 46.6% +1.5%
2017 47.3% +1.5%
2018 48.0% +1.5%
2019 48.7% +1.5%
2020 49.4% +1.5%
2021 50.2% +1.5%
2022 51.0% +1.5%
2023 51.7% +1.5%
2024 52.5% +1.5%
2025 53.4% +1.6%

Benin compared with similar countries

  • Benin's 53.4% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 50.9%, 1.0× the median. (47 countries reporting)
  • Benin's 53.4% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 44.9%, 1.2× the median. (48 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 in Benin changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.

YearChange FromTo
1100 +200.0% 0.0% 0.0%
1200 +200.0% 0.0% 0.0%
1300 +200.0% 0.0% 0.0%
1400 +200.0% 0.0% 0.0%
1500 +200.0% 0.0% 0.0%
1600 +200.0% 0.0% 0.1%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1000s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1
1100s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1
1200s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1
1300s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1
1400s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1
1500s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 1
1600s 0.1% 0.1% 0.1% 1
1700s 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 1
1710s 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 1
1720s 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 1
1730s 0.2% 0.2% 0.2% 1
1740s 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 1
1750s 0.3% 0.3% 0.3% 1
1760s 0.4% 0.4% 0.4% 1
1770s 0.4% 0.4% 0.4% 1
1780s 0.5% 0.5% 0.5% 1
1790s 0.5% 0.5% 0.5% 1
1800s 0.6% 0.6% 0.6% 1
1810s 0.7% 0.7% 0.7% 1
1820s 0.8% 0.8% 0.8% 1
1830s 0.9% 0.9% 0.9% 1
1840s 1.0% 1.0% 1.0% 1
1850s 1.2% 1.2% 1.2% 1
1860s 1.4% 1.4% 1.4% 1
1870s 1.5% 1.5% 1.5% 1
1880s 1.8% 1.8% 1.8% 1
1890s 2.0% 2.0% 2.0% 1
1900s 2.3% 2.3% 2.3% 1
1910s 2.6% 2.6% 2.6% 1
1920s 3.0% 3.0% 3.0% 1
1930s 3.5% 3.5% 3.5% 1
1940s 3.9% 3.9% 3.9% 1
1950s 7.8% 6.7% 9.4% 10
1960s 12.8% 9.8% 16.7% 10
1970s 22.3% 17.7% 26.5% 10
1980s 30.9% 27.3% 34.2% 10
1990s 36.6% 34.8% 38.0% 10
2000s 40.2% 38.3% 42.3% 10
2010s 45.7% 42.9% 48.7% 10
2020s 51.4% 49.4% 53.4% 6

Countries ranked near Benin

  1. 160 Somalia 55.1% compare
  2. 161 Cote d'Ivoire 54.5% compare
  3. 162 Trinidad and Tobago 54.0% compare
  4. 164 Slovakia 53.2% compare
  5. 165 Bosnia and Herzegovina 52.7% compare
  6. 166 Romania 52.2% compare

See the full ranking of 239 places →

More population data for Benin

All data for Benin →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 in Benin?
Share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 in Benin was 53.4% in 2025, according to HYDE (2023); 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 areas projected to 2050 recorded in Benin?
The highest recorded value was 53.4% in 2025.
What is the lowest share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 recorded in Benin?
The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1000.
How does Benin rank for share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050?
Benin ranks 163rd out of 238 countries with data for 2025.
Is share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 rising or falling in Benin?
Over the last ten years it is up 16.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Benin data come from?
The figures come from HYDE (2023); 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 areas projected to 2050. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 108 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 in Benin. Statizoid, drawing on HYDE (2023); United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 22 September 2026, from https://population.statizoid.com/stat/urban-population-share-2050/benin/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://population.statizoid.com/stat/urban-population-share-2050/benin/">Share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 in Benin</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050
Unit
%
Source
HYDE (2023); 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
239 places, 24,444 data points, 1000–2025
Last refreshed

Share of the population living in urban areas, combining UN estimates with modeled historical data.