2026-07-10 · people
More than half of us live in cities
Urban share crossed 50% mid-century and keeps climbing.
More than half of humanity now lives in cities. As of 2026, 57% of the world's 8.2 billion people are urban — a share that crossed the 50% mark mid-century and keeps climbing. That tilt shapes where housing, jobs, and infrastructure concentrate, while the other 43% of people still live in rural areas.
1 cell = 8.2 million people (0.1% of world population) · 1,000 cells
Context
The figures come from the United Nations' World Urbanization Prospects (2025 Revision), the standard reference for urban and rural population estimates and projections covering every country from 1950 to 2050.
The UN's urban estimates are consistent with total population figures from the 2024 Revision of World Population Prospects, and the dataset is widely used across the UN system, by research centres, and in media coverage.
The rural share remains large in absolute terms: 43% of 8.2 billion is more than three billion people in rural areas, and the dataset projects the urban share to keep climbing toward 2050.
UN World Urbanization Prospects.
Share and export
Credit this grid as Inagrid — https://inagrid.com/e/2026-07-10-urban-population