TOUR OF THE HABITAT WORLD SEEN BY CIVIL SOCIETY

Urbanization rate

Dernière mise à jour le 15 juin 2019

This is the percentage of total population of a country or area living in places defined as urban (according to the national criteria applied in the last population census).

This indicator shows the concentration of populations in towns. Indirectly, it describes ways of life, the balance of population spatial distribution and the pulling-power of towns.

In the CSD-UN list the indicator is named “percent of population in urban areas”.

Formula:

urban population
—————————×100
total population

The demarcation of urban areas is usually defined by countries as part of census procedures, and is usually based on the size of localities, classification of areas as administrative centres, or according to special criteria such as population density or the type of economic activity of residents.
Variations in national definitions bring about difficulties in making international comparisons. But the indicator remains comparable over time for a same country.

Source : Blue plan – Territory and human settlements – habitat and urban system