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Data for 1979

Population Living in Cities (Degree of Urbanisation), 1979

1979, as UN DESA Population Division’s 2025 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten

Population Living in Cities (Degree of Urbanisation), 1979 covers 222 countries on 3 measures. 2 countries share the highest reading, 100.000; 49 countries share the lowest reading, 0.000. The middle country reads 23.737. Against 1978, 170 values changed (136 up, 34 down), the same countries are covered.

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Population Living in Cities (Degree of Urbanisation) · Data for 1979

Highest2 countries share it

100.000

Lowest49 countries share it

0.000

Shaded by value in five groups of equal size, darkest at the highest end. Neither end is better. The values describe a shape, not a score.

01Values only

The table

Every country and every column of Population Living in Cities (Degree of Urbanisation), 1979, as published. The file carries values only, so no position is shown. “=” marks a shared position.

Showing 25 of 222 countries · select a heading to sort

Population Living in Cities (Degree of Urbanisation), 1979: every country, as published by UN DESA Population Division.
GibraltarGIBSouthern Europe100.0000.0000.000
Vatican CityVATSouthern Europe100.0000.0000.000
SingaporeSGPSouth-eastern Asia98.2901.5640.146
Hong KongHKGEastern Asia93.7965.3300.875
MacauMACEastern Asia84.56914.7410.690
KuwaitKWTWestern Asia83.02812.5614.411
Republic of the CongoCOGMiddle Africa73.76710.35515.878
MaltaMLTSouthern Europe68.62523.2428.133
LebanonLBNWestern Asia67.66318.72013.617
TaiwanTWNEastern Asia66.30226.8656.833
South KoreaKOREastern Asia65.91418.43715.649
JapanJPNEastern Asia63.60926.25310.138
North KoreaPRKEastern Asia61.54826.01612.436
ArgentinaARGSouth America55.55125.14919.300
UruguayURYSouth America54.02029.98615.994
JordanJORWestern Asia53.02823.65923.313
VenezuelaVENSouth America52.61830.17017.211
United KingdomGBRNorthern Europe52.58032.14915.271
BahrainBHRWestern Asia50.96744.2784.755
Trinidad and TobagoTTOCaribbean50.01635.87814.106
ChileCHLSouth America49.65220.80729.541
BarbadosBRBCaribbean48.98338.43712.580
ColombiaCOLSouth America48.72423.08228.195
JamaicaJAMCaribbean48.44325.01326.544
RussiaRUSEastern Europe47.35430.20922.437

02In 1979

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline, then the highest and lowest on each other measure.

Highest

  1. Gibraltarshared100.000
  2. Vatican Cityshared100.000
  3. Singapore98.290
  4. Hong Kong93.796
  5. Macau84.569

Lowest

  1. Samoashared0.000
  2. Vanuatushared0.000
  3. United States Virgin Islandsshared0.000
  4. British Virgin Islandsshared0.000
  5. Saint Vincent and the Grenadinesshared0.000

Neither end is better. The values describe a shape, not a score. The middle country reads 23.737. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

Each measure’s ends

  • Population in towns and semi-dense areas (%)

    HighestMonaco100.000

    Lowest10 share it

    Middle country: 32.669

  • Population in rural areas (%)

    Highest8 share it

    Lowest3 share it

    Middle country: 36.487

031978 → 1979

Since 1978

What changed between 1978 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

  • +0 / −0countries joined / left
  • 170values changed, of 222 in both
  • 136 · 34rose · fell
  • 52unchanged

Rose most

Fell most

Both years come from the same release, so a difference here is a change in the data, not a revision of it. Every country’s full history is charted on the statistic page.

04Caveats

Read before you use

What this edition’s numbers are and are not, worked out from the file itself.

The site’s method

  • One year of the 2025 release

    Every year in this series comes from UN DESA Population Division’s 2025 release, recalculated on one method. It can differ from what was first published for 1979.

  • 173 distinct values among 222

    Values are stored exactly as published, to 3 decimals. 49 countries share 0.000. Countries sharing a value share a position too.

  • Which end is better

    Neither end is better. The values describe a shape, not a score.

  • Nothing missing

    Every one of the 222 countries has every column.

05The files

Download and cite

The table as a file, digit for digit, what this site changed, and a citation for this edition.

Licence in full

What this site changed: Reshaped into one row per country: regional and income-group totals are left out, only the columns listed are kept, each row gets its ISO 3166 code, and some country names are brought to one spelling. No value is recalculated, rescaled or rounded.

Licence: CC BY 3.0 IGO. The version of CC BY written for intergovernmental organisations. Credit the publisher and say what you changed.

Cite this edition

UN DESA Population Division (1979). Population Living in Cities (Degree of Urbanisation), 1979 [data set], describing 1979. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/population-in-cities/1979

0676 held

Other years

07Questions

Population Living in Cities (Degree of Urbanisation), 1979: questions and answers

Which country has the highest population living in cities in Population Living in Cities (Degree of Urbanisation), 1979?

2 countries share the highest reading, 100.000, so no single country is named.

What year does Population Living in Cities (Degree of Urbanisation), 1979 describe?

1979.

How many countries does Population Living in Cities (Degree of Urbanisation), 1979 cover?

222.

Where can I download Population Living in Cities (Degree of Urbanisation), 1979?

On this page, as a CSV file holding every value exactly as published, or from the publisher’s own site, linked below.

Is Population Living in Cities (Degree of Urbanisation), 1979 the newest?

No. The newest held here is Population Living in Cities (Degree of Urbanisation), 2025.

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