Urban population in Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries)
Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries): Urban population was 81.5% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Urban population in Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries), 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in % of total population.
Analysis
Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries) recorded 81.5% for urban population in 2025. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
The figure is up 0.3% on the previous year and up 2.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population in Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries) peaked at 81.5% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 48.6%, in 1960.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 52.0% | 48.6% | 55.5% | 10 |
| 1970s | 60.4% | 56.3% | 64.3% | 10 |
| 1980s | 67.7% | 65.0% | 70.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 72.7% | 70.6% | 74.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 76.9% | 75.4% | 78.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 79.2% | 78.3% | 80.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 80.9% | 80.4% | 81.5% | 6 |
More climate change data for Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries)
- Population growth 0.7% (2025)
- Population, total 651.47 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 1.0% (2025)
- Urban population 531.01 million (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million 39.8% (2025)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 346.2 billion cubic meters (2022)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 2.5% (2022)
- Terrestrial protected areas 24.5% (2025)
- Terrestrial and marine protected areas 24.2% (2025)
- Marine protected areas 23.8% (2025)
All data for Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries) →
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population in Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- Urban population in Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries) was 81.5% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population recorded in Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- The highest recorded value was 81.5% in 2025.
- What is the lowest urban population recorded in Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- The lowest recorded value was 48.6% in 1960.
- Is urban population rising or falling in Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries)?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Latin America & the Caribbean (IDA & IBRD countries) data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Urban population (% of total population). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. The data are collected and smoothed by United Nations Population Division.