Share of population living in urban areas vs. GDP per capita in Western Sahara
Western Sahara: Share of population living in urban areas vs. GDP per capita was 86.9% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
86.9%
Change on year
up 0.1%
World rank
52nd
of 236 countries
All-time high
86.9%
in 2025
All-time low
31.0%
in 1950
Years of data
76
1950–2025
Share of population living in urban areas vs. GDP per capita in Western Sahara, 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
The most recent figure for share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita in Western Sahara is 86.9%, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 76 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.1% on the previous year and up 0.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita in Western Sahara peaked at 86.9% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 31.0%, in 1950.
That places Western Sahara 52nd 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.
Share of population living in urban areas vs. GDP per capita in Western Sahara, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 31.0% | — |
| 1951 | 31.0% | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 31.0% | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 31.0% | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 31.0% | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 31.1% | +0.1% |
| 1956 | 31.1% | +0.1% |
| 1957 | 31.1% | +0.1% |
| 1958 | 31.1% | +0.1% |
| 1959 | 31.2% | +0.1% |
| 1960 | 31.2% | +0.1% |
| 1961 | 31.4% | +0.5% |
| 1962 | 31.7% | +1.2% |
| 1963 | 32.3% | +1.8% |
| 1964 | 33.0% | +2.3% |
| 1965 | 33.9% | +2.7% |
| 1966 | 34.9% | +3.0% |
| 1967 | 36.0% | +3.3% |
| 1968 | 37.3% | +3.4% |
| 1969 | 38.6% | +3.5% |
| 1970 | 39.9% | +3.5% |
| 1971 | 41.5% | +4.0% |
| 1972 | 44.0% | +6.0% |
| 1973 | 47.4% | +7.6% |
| 1974 | 51.4% | +8.5% |
| 1975 | 55.8% | +8.6% |
| 1976 | 60.5% | +8.4% |
| 1977 | 65.1% | +7.7% |
| 1978 | 69.6% | +6.8% |
| 1979 | 73.6% | +5.8% |
| 1980 | 77.0% | +4.6% |
| 1981 | 79.6% | +3.3% |
| 1982 | 81.0% | +1.8% |
| 1983 | 81.7% | +0.8% |
| 1984 | 82.3% | +0.7% |
| 1985 | 82.8% | +0.6% |
| 1986 | 83.3% | +0.6% |
| 1987 | 83.7% | +0.5% |
| 1988 | 84.1% | +0.5% |
| 1989 | 84.4% | +0.4% |
| 1990 | 84.7% | +0.3% |
| 1991 | 85.0% | +0.3% |
| 1992 | 85.2% | +0.2% |
| 1993 | 85.3% | +0.2% |
| 1994 | 85.5% | +0.1% |
| 1995 | 85.6% | +0.1% |
| 1996 | 85.6% | +0.1% |
| 1997 | 85.7% | +0.1% |
| 1998 | 85.8% | +0.1% |
| 1999 | 85.9% | +0.1% |
| 2000 | 85.9% | +0.1% |
| 2001 | 86.0% | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 86.0% | +0.1% |
| 2003 | 86.1% | +0.1% |
| 2004 | 86.1% | +0.1% |
| 2005 | 86.1% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 86.2% | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 86.2% | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 86.3% | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 86.3% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 86.3% | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 86.4% | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 86.4% | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 86.4% | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 86.5% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 86.5% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 86.5% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 86.6% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 86.6% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 86.7% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 86.7% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 86.7% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 86.8% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 86.8% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 86.8% | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 86.9% | +0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 31.1% | 31.0% | 31.2% | 10 |
| 1960s | 34.0% | 31.2% | 38.6% | 10 |
| 1970s | 54.9% | 39.9% | 73.6% | 10 |
| 1980s | 82.0% | 77.0% | 84.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 85.4% | 84.7% | 85.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 86.1% | 85.9% | 86.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 86.5% | 86.3% | 86.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 86.8% | 86.7% | 86.9% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Western Sahara
- 49 Australia 87.7% compare
- 50 Belgium 87.7% compare
- 51 Palestine 87.4% compare
- 53 French Guiana 86.6% compare
- 54 United Arab Emirates 86.0% compare
- 55 Switzerland 85.7% compare
More population data for Western Sahara
- World population growth -0.1% (2100)
- Population regions with projections, annual growth rate -0.1005 % change on previous year (2100)
- Urban and rural population 2050, annual growth rate 0.4967 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population long run with projections, annual growth rate -0.1005 % change on previous year (2100)
- Un population 2024 vs 2022, annual growth rate 0.3345 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population growth rate, by level of development -0.1% (2100)
- Projected population under age 5, annual growth rate -0.351 % change on previous year (2100)
- Number of children under 5, by world region 41,447 people (2100)
- Population density 3.13 people per km² (2100)
- Population aged 25-64 years (thousands), annual growth rate 1.63 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita in Western Sahara?
- Share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita in Western Sahara was 86.9% 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 Western Sahara?
- The highest recorded value was 86.9% in 2025.
- What is the lowest share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita recorded in Western Sahara?
- The lowest recorded value was 31.0% in 1950.
- How does Western Sahara rank for share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita?
- Western Sahara ranks 52nd out of 236 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of population living in urban areas vs. gdp per capita rising or falling in Western Sahara?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Western Sahara 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.