Worldwide, do more people live in urban or rural areas?
Data Scavenger Hunt
Find answers to the following questions using the visual above:
Worldwide, as of 2016 did more people live in urban or rural areas?
Approximately what year did the total global population first exceed 1 billion people?
There is currently no universal definition of what ‘urban’ means. The UN reports figures based on nationally-defined urban shares. The problem, however, is that countries adopt very different definitions of urbanization. The most common definition of urban is an area with a population of over 5000 inhabitants. Approximately what year did the global urban population first exceed the total global rural population?
Approximately what was the total global population in 2016?
Describe any patterns in urban versus rural population growth over time.
Big Brain Questions
Answer these questions by yourself using your brain and the links below:
List one thing the visual makes you wonder:
For most of human history, most people across the world lived in small communities. Over the past few centuries – and particularly in recent decades – this has shifted dramatically. There has been a mass migration of populations from rural to urban areas. Why do you think that is?
How do you think the mass migration to urban areas has impacted humanity?
Explain whether life is better in urban or rural areas.
Urbanization is expected to continue to increase with rising incomes and shifts away from employment in agriculture; if the rate of urbanization continues at the current pace, what do you predict the portion of the world living in urban areas will be by 2050?
Write and Discuss
Take ten minutes to write about the question at the top of the page and then discuss with your classmates.
Act on your Learning
86.22% of Americans lived in urban areas in 2020. The United States Census Bureau defines urban areas as densely developed residential, commercial, and other nonresidential areas, with a minimum population threshold of 5,000. Of the 50 states, California was the most urban, with 94.2% of its population residing within urban areas. Vermont was the most rural, with 64.9% of its population residing in rural areas. Research the level of urbanization in your state and share your findings.
Get Creative
Until 1900, the vast majority of people lived in rural areas. Almost everyone before your great, great, great-grandparents probably lived on farms or in very small towns. Make a creative response imagining a future where people return to rural living.
Learn More
Check out all these incredible maps, tables, and graphs about urbanization from Our World in Data.
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