South Sudan's population in the largest city (% of urban population) was 18.92% in 2025, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 3.55 percentage points from 15.37% in 2015.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 18.92% | 2025 |
| Five years earlier | 18.67% | 2020 |
| Ten years earlier | 15.37% | 2015 |
| Highest | 21.51% | 1983 |
| Lowest | 6.49% | 1960 |
| Average since 2016 | 18.47% | 2016–2025 |
| First recorded | 6.49% | 1960 |
What the numbers say
In 2025, South Sudan's population in the largest city (% of urban population) rose 0.15 percentage points on 2024 (from 18.78% to 18.92%).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +0.07 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.41 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 1.47 percentage points in 2017 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.97 percentage points in 1986. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2016 to 2025 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.21 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 56% of the movement over 10 observed years.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
How it compares
In 2025, South Sudan had the 117th highest value of the 153 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| South Sudan | 18.92% | 2025 |
| World | 16.16% | 2025 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 25.39% | 2025 |
| Low income | 29.41% | 2025 |
Closest to South Sudan in the 2025 ranking
- France — 113th of 153: 20.94%
- Belgium — 114th of 153: 20.45%
- Ghana — 115th of 153: 19.54%
- Korea, Dem. People's Rep. — 117th of 153: 18.82%
- Canada — 118th of 153: 18.8%
- Switzerland — 119th of 153: 18.67%
What this measures
Population in largest city is the percentage of a country's urban population living in that country's largest metropolitan area.
Limitations: Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverage. There is no consistent and universally accepted standard for distinguishing urban from rural areas, in part because of the wide variety of situations across countries. Most countries use an urban classification related to the size or characteristics of settlements. Some define urban areas based on the presence of certain infrastructure and services. And other countries designate urban areas based on administrative arrangements.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
All 66 values
| Year | Population in the largest city (% of urban population) |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 18.92 |
| 2024 | 18.78 |
| 2023 | 18.98 |
| 2022 | 19.22 |
| 2021 | 18.93 |
| 2020 | 18.67 |
| 2019 | 18.59 |
| 2018 | 18.57 |
| 2017 | 17.74 |
| 2016 | 16.28 |
| 2015 |
Population in the largest city (% of urban population) in nearby economies
- Angola — 35.94% (2025)
- Benin — 17.4% (2025)
- Burkina Faso — 50.56% (2025)
- Burundi — 36.53% (2025)
- Cameroon — 29.18% (2025)
- Central African Republic — 41.37% (2025)
- Chad — 29.76% (2025)
- Congo, Dem. Rep. — 34.93% (2025)
- Congo, Rep. — 67.66% (2025)
More environment data for South Sudan
- Population in largest city — 500,088 (2025)
- Rural population — 9.55 million (2025)
- Rural population (% of total population) — 78.32% (2025)
- Urban population — 2.64 million (2025)
- Urban population (% of total population) — 21.68% (2025)
- Rural population growth (annual %) — 1.64% (2025)
- Urban population growth (annual %) — 3.46% (2025)
- Electric power consumption (kWh per capita) — 53.17 (2024)
- PM2.5 air pollution, mean annual exposure (micrograms per cubic meter) — 23.67 (2023)
- Access to clean fuels and technologies for cooking, rural (% of rural population)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is South Sudan's population in the largest city (% of urban population)?
- 18.92% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1960?
- It is up 12.43 percentage points from 6.49% in 1960. The highest value was 21.51% in 1983 and the lowest 6.49% in 1960.
- How does South Sudan rank?
- 117th highest of 153 economies with data for 2025.
- Is the latest change in population in the largest city (% of urban population) unusual for South Sudan?
- In 2025, South Sudan's population in the largest city (% of urban population) rose 0.15 percentage points on 2024 (from 18.78% to 18.92%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +0.07 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.41 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator EN.URB.LCTY.UR.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: World Urbanization Prospects 2018, United Nations (UN), uri: https://population.un.org/wup/, publisher: UN Population Division, date published: 2018 Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.
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