Urban population in South Asia
South Asia: Urban population was 35.8% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Urban population in South Asia, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in % of total population.
Analysis
South Asia recorded 35.8% for urban population in 2025. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
The figure is up 0.9% on the previous year and up 9.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population in South Asia peaked at 35.8% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 16.3%, 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 | 17.0% | 16.3% | 17.9% | 10 |
| 1970s | 19.8% | 18.1% | 21.9% | 10 |
| 1980s | 23.5% | 22.3% | 24.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 25.7% | 24.7% | 26.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 28.7% | 27.0% | 30.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 32.5% | 31.0% | 33.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 35.0% | 34.2% | 35.8% | 6 |
More climate change data for South Asia
- Population growth 0.9% (2025)
- Population, total 1.69 billion (2025)
- Urban population growth 1.8% (2025)
- Urban population 605.70 million (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million 16.8% (2025)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 706.16 billion cubic meters (2022)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 37.6% (2022)
- Terrestrial protected areas 9.2% (2025)
- Terrestrial and marine protected areas 4.6% (2025)
- Marine protected areas 0.4% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population in South Asia?
- Urban population in South Asia was 35.8% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population recorded in South Asia?
- The highest recorded value was 35.8% in 2025.
- What is the lowest urban population recorded in South Asia?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.3% in 1960.
- Is urban population rising or falling in South Asia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this South Asia 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.