Countries With the Fastest Growth in Urban population share (5-Year Change)

Name: Countries With the Fastest Growth in Urban population share (5-Year Change)
Creator: The World Bank
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Change in Urban population share over the five years to each country's latest year, in points (a share or rate is not shown as a % of itself). Only countries that rose are listed. Source: The World Bank (CC BY 4.0).

Summary

Rwanda rose the most: by 6.41 pts, from 24.5% of population to 30.9% of population in the five years to 2025. Burundi is second (+5.76 pts), followed by Kosovo (+5.7 pts). 179 countries rose over that period; the median change among them was +1.31 pts.

#1: Rwanda · +6.41 pts
Median: +1.31 pts
Coverage: 179 countries
Data year: 2025
Last updated: 2026-11-14

Top 10: 5-year change (points). Bar chart of the top 10: 1. Rwanda 6.41; 2. Burundi 5.76; 3. Kosovo 5.7; 4. Thailand 5.56; 5. Lesotho 5.04; 6. Kiribati 4.97; 7. Cabo Verde 4.75; 8. Senegal 4.71; 9. Mauritania 4.5; 10. Paraguay 4.27.

Full ranking

Countries With the Fastest Growth in Urban population share (5-Year Change), 2025
Rank	Country	From	To	5-year change (points)
1	Rwanda	24.5	30.9	+6.41 pts
2	Burundi	19.9	25.7	+5.76 pts
3	Kosovo	45.2	50.9	+5.7 pts
4	Thailand	57.2	62.8	+5.56 pts
5	Lesotho	39.6	44.7	+5.04 pts
6	Kiribati	58.4	63.4	+4.97 pts
7	Cabo Verde	72.9	77.6	+4.75 pts
8	Senegal	51.1	55.8	+4.71 pts
9	Mauritania	57	61.5	+4.5 pts
10	Paraguay	66.1	70.4	+4.27 pts
11	British Virgin Islands	53.2	57.4	+4.22 pts
12	Nigeria	59.8	63.8	+4.01 pts
13	Angola	67.5	71.5	+4.01 pts
14	Benin	49.4	53.4	+3.92 pts
15	Bhutan	39.7	43.4	+3.74 pts
16	Lao PDR	36.6	40.3	+3.69 pts
17	Tuvalu	61.9	65.4	+3.53 pts
18	Zimbabwe	37	40.5	+3.48 pts
19	Uganda	28.5	31.9	+3.4 pts
20	Switzerland	82.3	85.7	+3.39 pts
21	St. Lucia	25.8	29.1	+3.35 pts
22	Mozambique	33.9	37.2	+3.3 pts
23	Solomon Islands	28	31.3	+3.28 pts
24	Viet Nam	35.6	38.8	+3.26 pts
25	Mali	29	32.2	+3.19 pts
26	Indonesia	56.3	59.4	+3.11 pts
27	Mongolia	68.1	71.1	+3.06 pts
28	Tanzania	33.9	36.9	+3.03 pts
29	Haiti	52.6	55.6	+2.98 pts
30	Somalia, Fed. Rep.	52.3	55.1	+2.85 pts
31	Chad	24.7	27.6	+2.83 pts
32	China	63.5	66.3	+2.82 pts
33	Gambia, The	62.2	65	+2.78 pts
34	Algeria	73.1	75.8	+2.77 pts
35	Bosnia and Herzegovina	50	52.7	+2.72 pts
36	Sierra Leone	43.2	45.9	+2.71 pts
37	Côte d'Ivoire	51.8	54.5	+2.71 pts
38	Ghana	56.2	58.9	+2.71 pts
39	Liberia	53.4	56.1	+2.69 pts
40	Burkina Faso	26.4	28.9	+2.56 pts
41	Togo	41.9	44.4	+2.52 pts
42	Ethiopia	21.6	24.1	+2.48 pts
43	El Salvador	73.1	75.5	+2.47 pts
44	Kazakhstan	60	62.4	+2.4 pts
45	Moldova	41.3	43.7	+2.4 pts
46	Honduras	56.9	59.3	+2.38 pts
47	Fiji	57.2	59.5	+2.36 pts
48	Guinea-Bissau	44.3	46.7	+2.35 pts
49	Malaysia	75.1	77.4	+2.34 pts
50	Namibia	48.5	50.9	+2.32 pts
51	Jamaica	57.1	59.4	+2.31 pts
52	Central African Republic	42.3	44.6	+2.25 pts
53	Costa Rica	77.5	79.7	+2.21 pts
54	Madagascar	30.7	32.9	+2.2 pts
55	Georgia	59	61.2	+2.18 pts
56	Dominica	71.8	74	+2.14 pts
57	Bangladesh	31.1	33.2	+2.12 pts
58	Maldives	40.4	42.5	+2.11 pts
59	Peru	83.5	85.6	+2.07 pts
60	Eswatini	24.7	26.7	+2.06 pts
61	Zambia	43.9	45.9	+2.05 pts
62	Guinea	36.5	38.5	+2.04 pts
63	Pakistan	37.5	39.5	+2.02 pts
64	Comoros	32.1	33.9	+1.88 pts
65	Congo, Dem. Rep.	43.3	45.1	+1.86 pts
66	Marshall Islands	77.3	79.1	+1.82 pts
67	Iran, Islamic Rep.	75.6	77.4	+1.78 pts
68	Guatemala	54.5	56.3	+1.75 pts
69	Gabon	90.3	92.1	+1.74 pts
70	North Macedonia	61.2	62.9	+1.73 pts
71	Albania	57.1	58.9	+1.73 pts
72	Belarus	77.8	79.5	+1.71 pts
73	Netherlands	94.3	95.9	+1.69 pts
74	Philippines	54.1	55.8	+1.67 pts
75	Lithuania	67.4	69.1	+1.66 pts
76	Papua New Guinea	14.2	15.8	+1.61 pts
77	Tunisia	69.1	70.7	+1.6 pts
78	India	34.1	35.7	+1.56 pts
79	Korea, Dem. People's Rep.	62.6	64.2	+1.55 pts
80	Bolivia	70	71.6	+1.52 pts
81	Botswana	66.4	68	+1.51 pts
82	South Sudan	20.2	21.7	+1.49 pts
83	Finland	73.1	74.5	+1.44 pts
84	Serbia	61.2	62.6	+1.41 pts
85	Cameroon	54.3	55.7	+1.41 pts
86	Jordan	91.8	93.2	+1.39 pts
87	Niger	17	18.4	+1.37 pts
88	Mexico	78.7	80	+1.36 pts
89	Yemen, Rep.	35.7	37	+1.33 pts
90	West Bank and Gaza	86.1	87.4	+1.31 pts
91	Malawi	16.3	17.6	+1.3 pts
92	Greenland	87.3	88.6	+1.29 pts
93	Croatia	56.5	57.8	+1.29 pts
94	Cambodia	39.8	41.1	+1.27 pts
95	Brazil	86.9	88.2	+1.27 pts
96	Lebanon	89.7	91	+1.23 pts
97	Turks and Caicos Islands	93.2	94.4	+1.2 pts
98	Equatorial Guinea	70.4	71.6	+1.19 pts
99	Seychelles	44.3	45.5	+1.19 pts
100	Austria	68.5	69.7	+1.17 pts

Showing the top 100 of 179. Premium downloads the full list as CSV or JSON.

About the top 10

#1 Rwanda

Rwanda ranks #1 on this list with +6.41 pts.

Capital: Kigali
Continent: Africa
Income group: Low income
Population: 14.57 million people (2025)
GDP: US$16.37 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$1,124 (2025)
Life expectancy: 68 years (2024)
Urban population: 30.9% of population (2025)

Largest cities: Kigali.

Also ranks #1 in women in parliament share · #2 in school enrolment (primary) · #2 in pupil-teacher ratio (primary).

Full country profile

#2 Burundi

Burundi ranks #2 on this list with +5.76 pts.

Capital: Gitega
Continent: Africa
Income group: Low income
Population: 14.39 million people (2025)
GDP: US$3.36 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$233.8 (2025)
Life expectancy: 63.8 years (2024)
Urban population: 25.7% of population (2025)

Also ranks #1 in prevalence of stunting (under-5) · #3 in forest rents share of gdp · #3 in real effective exchange rate index.

Full country profile

#3 Kosovo

Kosovo ranks #3 on this list with +5.7 pts.

Continent: Europe
Income group: Upper middle income
Population: 1.58 million people (2025)
GDP: US$12.46 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$7,899 (2025)
Life expectancy: 78.2 years (2024)
Urban population: 50.9% of population (2025)

Also ranks #2 in firms using banks to finance investment share · #13 in gross capital formation rate · #32 in population ages 15-64 share.

Full country profile

#4 Thailand

Thailand ranks #4 on this list with +5.56 pts.

Capital: Bangkok
Continent: Asia
Income group: Upper middle income
Population: 71.62 million people (2025)
GDP: US$577.01 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$8,057 (2025)
Life expectancy: 76.6 years (2024)
Urban population: 62.8% of population (2025)

Largest cities: Bangkok, Chiang Mai.

Also ranks #5 in tourism arrivals · #10 in tourism receipts · #11 in manufacturing value added share of gdp.

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#5 Lesotho

Lesotho ranks #5 on this list with +5.04 pts.

Capital: Maseru
Continent: Africa
Income group: Lower middle income
Population: 2.36 million people (2025)
GDP: US$2.57 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$1,089 (2025)
Life expectancy: 57.8 years (2024)
Urban population: 44.7% of population (2025)

Also ranks #1 in tax revenue share of gdp · #1 in suicide mortality rate · #2 in agricultural land share.

Full country profile

#6 Kiribati

Kiribati ranks #6 on this list with +4.97 pts.

Capital: South Tarawa
Continent: Oceania
Income group: Lower middle income
Population: 136,490 people (2025)
GDP: US$349.23 million (2025)
GDP per person: US$2,559 (2025)
Life expectancy: 66.6 years (2024)
Urban population: 63.4% of population (2025)

Also ranks #1 in education expenditure share of gdp · #2 in government revenue share of gdp · #3 in income share of poorest 10%.

Full country profile

#7 Cabo Verde

Cabo Verde ranks #7 on this list with +4.75 pts.

Capital: Praia
Continent: Africa
Income group: Upper middle income
Population: 527,330 people (2025)
GDP: US$3.06 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$5,797 (2025)
Life expectancy: 76.2 years (2024)
Urban population: 77.6% of population (2025)

Also ranks #10 in bank branches per 100,000 adults · #17 in women in parliament share · #23 in youth unemployment rate.

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#8 Senegal

Senegal ranks #8 on this list with +4.71 pts.

Capital: Dakar
Continent: Africa
Income group: Lower middle income
Population: 18.93 million people (2025)
GDP: US$37.01 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$1,955 (2025)
Life expectancy: 68.9 years (2024)
Urban population: 55.8% of population (2025)

Largest cities: Dakar.

Also ranks #1 in gender parity index (school enrolment) · #3 in crop production index · #8 in debt service share of exports.

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#9 Mauritania

Mauritania ranks #9 on this list with +4.5 pts.

Capital: Nouakchott
Continent: Africa
Income group: Lower middle income
Population: 5.32 million people (2025)
GDP: US$11.68 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$2,198 (2025)
Life expectancy: 68.7 years (2024)
Urban population: 61.5% of population (2025)

Largest cities: Nouakchott.

Also ranks #2 in gross capital formation rate · #3 in prevalence of wasting (under-5) · #8 in gender parity index (school enrolment).

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#10 Paraguay

Paraguay ranks #10 on this list with +4.27 pts.

Capital: Asunción
Continent: South America
Income group: Upper middle income
Population: 7.01 million people (2025)
GDP: US$49.28 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$7,027 (2025)
Life expectancy: 74 years (2024)
Urban population: 70.4% of population (2025)

Also ranks #8 in official exchange rate · #11 in income share of richest 10% · #14 in gini index.

Full country profile

Profile facts: World Bank (CC BY 4.0) and Wikidata (CC0); weather links go to Purr Weather, another ChowChow Labs site.

Source and method

Change in Urban population share over the five years to each country's latest year, in points (a share or rate is not shown as a % of itself). Only countries that rose are listed.

Source: The World Bank, indicator SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS. Licence: CC BY 4.0. Retrieved: 2026-11-14.

The World Bank: Urban population (% of total population): World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN) (via World Development Indicators)

Original data provider, as recorded by the World Bank: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).

Values are shown as published (changes are computed from the published values). Provider terms: The World Bank. All licences: Sources & licences.

Summary

Full ranking

About the top 10

#1 Rwanda

#2 Burundi

#3 Kosovo

#4 Thailand

#5 Lesotho

#6 Kiribati

#7 Cabo Verde

#8 Senegal

#9 Mauritania

#10 Paraguay

Related rankings

Source and method