Urban population in Libya
Libya: Urban population was 6.56 million in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Urban population in Libya, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
Libya recorded 6.56 million for urban population in 2025. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.1% on the previous year and up 14.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population in Libya peaked at 6.56 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 347,367, in 1960.
Libya ranks 88th of 215 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 506,244 | 347,367 | 825,521 | 10 |
| 1970s | 1.55 million | 954,430 | 2.23 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.95 million | 2.42 million | 3.46 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.07 million | 3.58 million | 4.51 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 5.11 million | 4.61 million | 5.61 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.76 million | 5.44 million | 6.10 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 6.38 million | 6.19 million | 6.56 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Libya
More climate change data for Libya
- Population growth 1.0% (2025)
- Population, total 7.46 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 1.1% (2025)
- Urban population 87.9% (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million 16.1% (2025)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 5.72 billion cubic meters (2022)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 817.1% (2022)
- Terrestrial protected areas 0.1% (2025)
- Terrestrial and marine protected areas 0.2% (2025)
- Marine protected areas 0.6% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population in Libya?
- Urban population in Libya was 6.56 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population recorded in Libya?
- The highest recorded value was 6.56 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest urban population recorded in Libya?
- The lowest recorded value was 347,367 in 1960.
- How does Libya rank for urban population?
- Libya ranks 88th out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population rising or falling in Libya?
- Over the last ten years it is up 14.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Libya data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Urban 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. It is calculated using World Bank population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.