2026-10-01 · people

More than half of us live in cities

Urban share crossed 50% mid-century and keeps climbing.

Most of humanity now lives in cities: 57% of the world's 8.2 billion people are urban dwellers as of 2026, a share that crossed 50% mid-century and keeps climbing. Housing, transport, and services increasingly rise or fall with how cities are run — and the UN's World Urbanization Prospects has tracked the urban–rural split since 1950, with projections to 2050.

1 cell = 8.2 million people (0.1% of world population) · 1,000 cells

Context

The figures come from the 2025 Revision of World Urbanization Prospects, produced by the Population Division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs and consistent with the 2024 Revision of World Population Prospects. The dataset spans 1950 to 2050 for all countries and their major urban agglomerations.

Out of a 2026 world population of about 8.2 billion, 57% live in urban areas and 43% in rural ones. With the urban share still rising, questions about housing, infrastructure, and public services increasingly get answered in cities first.

The Prospects are widely used across the UN system and by international organizations, researchers, and the media. The UN notes the data are estimates and projections and imply no position on the legal status or boundaries of any territory.

UN World Urbanization Prospects.