Share of population living in urban areas vs. GDP per capita in Norway
Norway: Share of population living in urban areas vs. GDP per capita was 83.6% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
83.6%
Change on year
up 0.3%
World rank
59th
of 236 countries
All-time high
83.6%
in 2025
All-time low
47.9%
in 1950
Years of data
76
1950–2025
Share of population living in urban areas vs. GDP per capita in Norway, 1950–2025
Source: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2025, share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita in Norway stood at 83.6%. That is the highest value across all 76 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.3% on the previous year and up 2.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita in Norway peaked at 83.6% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 47.9%, in 1950.
Norway ranks 59th 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.
Share of population living in urban areas vs. GDP per capita in Norway, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 47.9% | — |
| 1951 | 47.9% | +0.1% |
| 1952 | 48.0% | +0.1% |
| 1953 | 48.1% | +0.2% |
| 1954 | 48.1% | +0.2% |
| 1955 | 48.2% | +0.2% |
| 1956 | 48.3% | +0.2% |
| 1957 | 48.4% | +0.2% |
| 1958 | 48.5% | +0.2% |
| 1959 | 48.6% | +0.2% |
| 1960 | 48.7% | +0.2% |
| 1961 | 49.0% | +0.7% |
| 1962 | 50.1% | +2.1% |
| 1963 | 51.6% | +3.1% |
| 1964 | 53.6% | +3.8% |
| 1965 | 55.9% | +4.2% |
| 1966 | 58.2% | +4.2% |
| 1967 | 60.5% | +4.0% |
| 1968 | 62.6% | +3.5% |
| 1969 | 64.4% | +2.8% |
| 1970 | 65.6% | +1.9% |
| 1971 | 66.4% | +1.2% |
| 1972 | 67.1% | +1.0% |
| 1973 | 67.7% | +0.9% |
| 1974 | 68.3% | +0.9% |
| 1975 | 68.9% | +0.8% |
| 1976 | 69.3% | +0.7% |
| 1977 | 69.7% | +0.6% |
| 1978 | 70.1% | +0.5% |
| 1979 | 70.4% | +0.4% |
| 1980 | 70.6% | +0.3% |
| 1981 | 70.8% | +0.3% |
| 1982 | 71.0% | +0.2% |
| 1983 | 71.1% | +0.2% |
| 1984 | 71.2% | +0.1% |
| 1985 | 71.3% | +0.1% |
| 1986 | 71.4% | +0.1% |
| 1987 | 71.5% | +0.1% |
| 1988 | 71.6% | +0.2% |
| 1989 | 71.7% | +0.2% |
| 1990 | 71.9% | +0.2% |
| 1991 | 72.2% | +0.4% |
| 1992 | 72.6% | +0.7% |
| 1993 | 73.2% | +0.8% |
| 1994 | 73.7% | +0.6% |
| 1995 | 73.9% | +0.4% |
| 1996 | 74.2% | +0.4% |
| 1997 | 74.7% | +0.7% |
| 1998 | 75.3% | +0.8% |
| 1999 | 75.8% | +0.7% |
| 2000 | 76.1% | +0.4% |
| 2001 | 76.4% | +0.3% |
| 2002 | 76.8% | +0.5% |
| 2003 | 77.3% | +0.6% |
| 2004 | 77.6% | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 77.8% | +0.3% |
| 2006 | 78.1% | +0.3% |
| 2007 | 78.4% | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 78.8% | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 79.1% | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 79.2% | +0.2% |
| 2011 | 79.3% | +0.1% |
| 2012 | 79.5% | +0.2% |
| 2013 | 80.0% | +0.6% |
| 2014 | 80.6% | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 81.2% | +0.8% |
| 2016 | 81.7% | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 82.0% | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 82.2% | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 82.5% | +0.3% |
| 2020 | 82.7% | +0.3% |
| 2021 | 82.9% | +0.2% |
| 2022 | 83.0% | +0.1% |
| 2023 | 83.1% | +0.1% |
| 2024 | 83.3% | +0.3% |
| 2025 | 83.6% | +0.3% |
Norway compared with similar countries
- Norway's 83.6% is above the median for high income countries, which is 81.3%, 1.0× the median. (85 countries reporting)
- Norway's 83.6% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 69.6%, 1.2× the median. (56 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 48.2% | 47.9% | 48.6% | 10 |
| 1960s | 55.5% | 48.7% | 64.4% | 10 |
| 1970s | 68.4% | 65.6% | 70.4% | 10 |
| 1980s | 71.2% | 70.6% | 71.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 73.8% | 71.9% | 75.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 77.6% | 76.1% | 79.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 80.8% | 79.2% | 82.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 83.1% | 82.7% | 83.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Norway
- 56 Peru 85.6% compare
- 57 Saudi Arabia 84.6% compare
- 58 New Zealand 84.0% compare
- 60 United Kingdom 83.3% compare
- 61 Canada 82.9% compare
- 62 Germany 82.1% compare
More population data for Norway
- Un population 2024 vs 2022, annual growth rate 0.1866 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population long run with projections, annual growth rate -0.2322 % change on previous year (2100)
- Urban and rural population 2050, annual growth rate -4.32 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population regions with projections, annual growth rate -0.2322 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population growth rate, by level of development -0.2% (2100)
- Number of children under 5, by world region 224,990 people (2100)
- Population density 14.86 people per km² (2100)
- World population growth -0.2% (2100)
- Projected population under age 5, annual growth rate -0.1496 % change on previous year (2100)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 03 - Annual population 0.6612 Percent per annum (2030)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita in Norway?
- Share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita in Norway was 83.6% 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 share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita recorded in Norway?
- The highest recorded value was 83.6% in 2025.
- What is the lowest share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita recorded in Norway?
- The lowest recorded value was 47.9% in 1950.
- How does Norway rank for share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita?
- Norway ranks 59th out of 236 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita rising or falling in Norway?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Norway 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 Share of population living in urban areas vs. GDP per capita. 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).
About this data
Share of the population living in urban areas, based on each country's national definition.