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

Italy: Share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 was 69.7% in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
69.7%
Change on year
up 0.1%
World rank
108th
of 238 countries
All-time high
69.7%
in 2025
All-time low
10.0%
in 1000
Years of data
108
1000–2025

Share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 in Italy, 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

Italy recorded 69.7% 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 0.1% on the previous year and up 0.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 in Italy peaked at 69.7% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 10.0%, in 1000.

Italy ranks 108th of 238 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 108 years of available data.

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

Annual values for Share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 in Italy, 1000 to 2025.
Year % Change
1000 10.0% —
1100 10.0% +0.0%
1200 12.0% +20.0%
1300 21.4% +78.4%
1400 17.6% -17.8%
1500 21.0% +19.3%
1600 18.4% -12.4%
1700 16.9% -8.2%
1710 17.0% +0.4%
1720 17.0% +0.4%
1730 17.1% +0.4%
1740 17.1% +0.4%
1750 17.2% +0.3%
1760 17.3% +0.3%
1770 17.3% +0.3%
1780 17.4% +0.3%
1790 17.4% +0.3%
1800 17.5% +0.3%
1810 17.3% -1.2%
1820 17.1% -1.3%
1830 16.8% -1.3%
1840 16.6% -1.3%
1850 16.4% -1.3%
1860 16.2% -1.3%
1870 20.4% +25.8%
1880 24.6% +20.5%
1890 28.7% +17.0%
1900 32.9% +14.5%
1910 37.1% +12.7%
1920 41.3% +11.3%
1930 45.5% +10.1%
1940 49.6% +9.2%
1950 54.6% +10.0%
1951 54.9% +0.5%
1952 55.2% +0.6%
1953 55.6% +0.7%
1954 56.0% +0.8%
1955 56.5% +0.9%
1956 57.1% +0.9%
1957 57.6% +1.0%
1958 58.2% +1.0%
1959 58.7% +1.0%
1960 59.3% +0.9%
1961 59.8% +0.9%
1962 60.3% +0.9%
1963 60.9% +0.9%
1964 61.4% +0.9%
1965 62.0% +0.9%
1966 62.5% +0.9%
1967 63.1% +0.9%
1968 63.6% +0.8%
1969 64.0% +0.7%
1970 64.5% +0.6%
1971 64.8% +0.5%
1972 65.1% +0.5%
1973 65.4% +0.4%
1974 65.7% +0.4%
1975 65.9% +0.4%
1976 66.2% +0.4%
1977 66.4% +0.3%
1978 66.6% +0.3%
1979 66.7% +0.2%
1980 66.8% +0.2%
1981 66.9% +0.1%
1982 66.9% +0.0%
1983 66.9% -0.0%
1984 66.9% -0.0%
1985 66.8% -0.0%
1986 66.8% -0.0%
1987 66.8% -0.0%
1988 66.8% -0.0%
1989 66.7% -0.0%
1990 66.7% -0.0%
1991 66.7% -0.0%
1992 66.7% +0.0%
1993 66.7% +0.0%
1994 66.8% +0.1%
1995 66.8% +0.1%
1996 66.9% +0.1%
1997 67.0% +0.1%
1998 67.0% +0.1%
1999 67.1% +0.1%
2000 67.2% +0.1%
2001 67.3% +0.1%
2002 67.4% +0.1%
2003 67.4% +0.1%
2004 67.5% +0.1%
2005 67.6% +0.1%
2006 67.7% +0.1%
2007 67.8% +0.2%
2008 67.9% +0.2%
2009 68.0% +0.2%
2010 68.2% +0.2%
2011 68.4% +0.3%
2012 68.8% +0.5%
2013 69.3% +0.8%
2014 69.6% +0.4%
2015 69.6% +0.0%
2016 69.6% -0.0%
2017 69.5% -0.1%
2018 69.5% -0.1%
2019 69.5% +0.0%
2020 69.5% +0.0%
2021 69.5% -0.1%
2022 69.5% +0.0%
2023 69.5% +0.1%
2024 69.6% +0.1%
2025 69.7% +0.1%

Italy compared with similar countries

  • Italy's 69.7% is below the median for high income countries, which is 81.3%, 86% of the median. (85 countries reporting)
  • Italy's 69.7% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 69.6%, 1.0× the median. (56 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 in Italy 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
1300 +78.4% 12.0% 21.4%
1870 +25.8% 16.2% 20.4%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1000s 10.0% 10.0% 10.0% 1
1100s 10.0% 10.0% 10.0% 1
1200s 12.0% 12.0% 12.0% 1
1300s 21.4% 21.4% 21.4% 1
1400s 17.6% 17.6% 17.6% 1
1500s 21.0% 21.0% 21.0% 1
1600s 18.4% 18.4% 18.4% 1
1700s 16.9% 16.9% 16.9% 1
1710s 17.0% 17.0% 17.0% 1
1720s 17.0% 17.0% 17.0% 1
1730s 17.1% 17.1% 17.1% 1
1740s 17.1% 17.1% 17.1% 1
1750s 17.2% 17.2% 17.2% 1
1760s 17.3% 17.3% 17.3% 1
1770s 17.3% 17.3% 17.3% 1
1780s 17.4% 17.4% 17.4% 1
1790s 17.4% 17.4% 17.4% 1
1800s 17.5% 17.5% 17.5% 1
1810s 17.3% 17.3% 17.3% 1
1820s 17.1% 17.1% 17.1% 1
1830s 16.8% 16.8% 16.8% 1
1840s 16.6% 16.6% 16.6% 1
1850s 16.4% 16.4% 16.4% 1
1860s 16.2% 16.2% 16.2% 1
1870s 20.4% 20.4% 20.4% 1
1880s 24.6% 24.6% 24.6% 1
1890s 28.7% 28.7% 28.7% 1
1900s 32.9% 32.9% 32.9% 1
1910s 37.1% 37.1% 37.1% 1
1920s 41.3% 41.3% 41.3% 1
1930s 45.5% 45.5% 45.5% 1
1940s 49.6% 49.6% 49.6% 1
1950s 56.4% 54.6% 58.7% 10
1960s 61.7% 59.3% 64.0% 10
1970s 65.7% 64.5% 66.7% 10
1980s 66.8% 66.7% 66.9% 10
1990s 66.8% 66.7% 67.1% 10
2000s 67.6% 67.2% 68.0% 10
2010s 69.2% 68.2% 69.6% 10
2020s 69.6% 69.5% 69.7% 6

Countries ranked near Italy

  1. 105 Paraguay 70.4% compare
  2. 106 Iraq 69.9% compare
  3. 107 Austria 69.7% compare
  4. 109 Ukraine 69.6% compare
  5. 110 Sao Tome and Principe 69.2% compare
  6. 111 Lithuania 69.1% compare

See the full ranking of 239 places →

More population data for Italy

All data for Italy →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 in Italy?
Share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 in Italy was 69.7% 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 Italy?
The highest recorded value was 69.7% in 2025.
What is the lowest share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 recorded in Italy?
The lowest recorded value was 10.0% in 1000.
How does Italy rank for share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050?
Italy ranks 108th out of 238 countries with data for 2025.
Is share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 rising or falling in Italy?
Over the last ten years it is up 0.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Italy 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.

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Share of population living in urban areas projected to 2050 in Italy. 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 25 September 2026, from https://population.statizoid.com/stat/urban-population-share-2050/italy/

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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.