Europe: urbanization estimates 1300-1850| ��ƽ��

Estimates of the share of Europe's population living in towns of more than 5,000 and 10,000 people in selected years between 1300 and 1850

Source* and year	>5,000	>10,000
Bairoch:1300	9.5%	6.3%
Bairoch:1400	12.5%	-
Bairoch:1500	10.3%	6.4%
Bairoch:1600	11.7%	7.6%
Bairoch:1700	11.4%	7.8%
Bairoch:1800	11.9%	8.1%
-	-	-
De Vries:1500	9.6%	5.6%
De Vries:1600	10.8%	7.6%
De Vries:1700	11.9%	9.2%
De Vries:1800	13%	10%
De Vries:1850	-	16.7%

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Release date

2009

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Region

Europe

Survey time period

1300 to 1850

Supplementary notes

*The sources differ in the areas taken into consideration. Bairoch's estimates take the entire continent into account, except for Turkey (which would include Constantinople; Europe's largest city for most of this time). De Vries' estimates apply to the Mediterranean, Western Europe, Austria-Bohemia, and Poland, but exclude Eastern Europe and the Balkans (it is unclear whether Turkey is included with the Mediterranean or Balkans in this regard).

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It is estimated that, between the 14^th and 19^th centuries, fewer than 10 percent of Europe's population lived in urban areas with a population of more than 10,000 people, and fewer than 13 percent lived in urban areas with more than 5,000 people. The two given sources use different methodologies* for their estimates, which gives varying but comparable estimates for urbanization rates across Europe. Perhaps surprisingly, Bairoch estimates that the urbanization rate increased during the 14^th century, a period where Europe's population fell by 25-33 percent due to the Black Death. From the 19^th century onwards, urbanization in Europe rose significantly due to the rise of industrialization and increased agricultural efficiency.