France vs Spain: Urban population

Urban population in 2025: 78.8% in France and 80.5% in Spain, by UN estimates. In 2025 the value was higher in Spain, by 1.7 percentage points, or 1.02 times that in France.

Watch it change on the map

% of people · UN

FranceSpainUN projection (World Urbanization Prospects 2025)

What the numbers say

Spain has been higher since 2006, when it overtook France.
The UN projection (World Urbanization Prospects 2025) puts France at 86.3% and Spain at 89.5% in 2050.

Every year

% of people · UN

Year	France	Spain
2025	78.8	80.5
2024	78.8	80.3
2023	78.8	80.1
2022	78.8	80
2021	78.7	79.8
2020	78.7	79.7
2019	78.7	79.6
2018	78.7	79.6
2017	78.7	79.5
2016	78.6	79.4
2015	77.8	79.3
2014	77.4	79.1
2013	77.2	79
2012	77.2	78.9
2011	77.1	78.7
2010	77.1	78.5
2009	77.1	78.3
2008	77.2	78
2007	77.3	77.8
2006	77.4	77.5
2005	77.4	77.2
2004	77.5	77
2003	77.5	76.7
2002	77.3	76.5
2001	76.9	76.3
2000	76.5	76.2
1999	76.2	76
1998	75.9	75.9
1997	75.6	75.8
1996	75.4	75.7
1995	75.1	75.6
1994	74.9	75.5
1993	74.6	75.3
1992	74.4	75.2
1991	74.2	75
1990	74.1	74.8
1989	73.9	74.6
1988	73.8	74.4
1987	73.7	74.1
1986	73.6	73.8
1985	73.6	73.5
1984	73.5	73.1
1983	73.4	72.8
1982	73.4	72.4
1981	73.3	72
1980	73.3	71.5
1979	73.2	71.1
1978	73.2	70.6
1977	73.1	70.1
1976	73.1	69.6
1975	73	69.1
1974	72.9	68.5
1973	72.7	68
1972	72.3	67.4
1971	71.9	66.8
1970	71.4	66.2
1969	70.8	65.4
1968	70.2	64.4
1967	69.5	63.4
1966	68.4	62.3
1965	67.2	61.1
1964	65.9	60
1963	64.6	58.9
1962	63.5	58
1961	62.5	57.1
1960	61.7	56.5
1959	60.9	55.8
1958	60.1	55.3
1957	59.4	54.7
1956	58.7	54.2
1955	58	53.8
1954	57.4	53.3
1953	56.7	52.9
1952	56.1	52.4
1951	55.4	52
1950	54.7	51.6

UN projection (World Urbanization Prospects 2025) · 2026–2050

Year	France	Spain
2026	78.9	80.7
2027	79	81
2028	79.1	81.2
2029	79.2	81.4
2030	79.4	81.7
2031	79.6	82
2032	79.7	82.3
2033	80	82.6
2034	80.2	82.9
2035	80.4	83.2
2036	80.7	83.6
2037	81	83.9
2038	81.3	84.3
2039	81.6	84.6
2040	81.9	85
2041	82.3	85.4
2042	82.7	85.8
2043	83.1	86.2
2044	83.5	86.7
2045	83.9	87.1
2046	84.3	87.6
2047	84.8	88
2048	85.3	88.5
2049	85.8	89
2050	86.3	89.5

Each country on its own

Good to know

The share of people living in places the country itself counts as urban.
Source: UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025.
The dashed line is the UN projection (World Urbanization Prospects 2025), a scenario rather than a forecast.
Ranks count the 229 countries with a value in 2025, highest first.

How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time

France vs Spain: Urban population

What the numbers say

Every year

Each country on its own

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