The data came from GHS global population estimates for year 2020 [link](https://human-settlement.emergency.copernicus.eu/ghs_pop2023.php). It divides the world into 1x1km grid cells and calculates the population density for each cell. I group the population into buckets based on their population density. For example 4.77% of the US’s population lives in cells with population density under 25/km2, and at the high end 0.5% live in cells with density over 25000/km2 – all from New York City. Most people live in cells that are higher density than the country/region’s average, as the saying goes “most people live in cities” (true for most places).
I defined rural as under 250/km2 and urban as over 2500/km2, but what is perceived as urban, suburban or rural vary from region to region and also depends on the size of the city or metro area, which is not taken into account here.
Graphs are sorted by density, for subnational divisions they are sorted by country first. I did not include some smaller countries and subnational divisions as the graph is already crowded, can take requests if you are interested. The data is available for less developed countries but may be less reliable there.
1 Comment
The data came from GHS global population estimates for year 2020 [link](https://human-settlement.emergency.copernicus.eu/ghs_pop2023.php). It divides the world into 1x1km grid cells and calculates the population density for each cell. I group the population into buckets based on their population density. For example 4.77% of the US’s population lives in cells with population density under 25/km2, and at the high end 0.5% live in cells with density over 25000/km2 – all from New York City. Most people live in cells that are higher density than the country/region’s average, as the saying goes “most people live in cities” (true for most places).
I defined rural as under 250/km2 and urban as over 2500/km2, but what is perceived as urban, suburban or rural vary from region to region and also depends on the size of the city or metro area, which is not taken into account here.
Graphs are sorted by density, for subnational divisions they are sorted by country first. I did not include some smaller countries and subnational divisions as the graph is already crowded, can take requests if you are interested. The data is available for less developed countries but may be less reliable there.