India urbanization 2024| ��ƽ��

Degree of urbanization in India from 2013 to 2023

Characteristic	Share of urban population
2024	35.4%
2023	35.1%
2022	34.8%
2021	34.4%
2020	34.1%
2019	33.8%
2018	33.5%
2017	33.2%
2016	32.9%
2015	32.5%
2014	32.2%
2013	31.9%
2012	31.6%
2011	31.3%
2010	30.9%
2009	30.5%
2008	30.1%
2007	29.8%
2006	29.4%
2005	29.1%
2004	28.8%
2003	28.5%
2002	28.2%
2001	27.9%
2000	27.6%
1999	27.4%
1998	27.2%
1997	27%
1996	26.8%
1995	26.6%
1994	26.4%
1993	26.2%
1992	26%
1991	25.8%
1990	25.6%
1989	25.4%
1988	25.2%
1987	25%
1986	24.8%
1985	24.7%
1984	24.5%
1983	24.3%
1982	24%
1981	23.8%
1980	23.5%
1979	23.2%
1978	22.8%
1977	22.4%
1976	21.9%
1975	21.5%
1974	21%
1973	20.6%
1972	20.3%
1971	20%
1970	19.7%
1969	19.5%
1968	19.2%
1967	19%
1966	18.8%
1965	18.6%
1964	18.4%
1963	18.3%
1962	18.1%
1961	18%
1960	17.9%

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Release date

October 2025

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Region

India

Survey time period

1960 to 2024

Citation formats

In 2024, over a third of the total population in India lived in cities, compared with just under 18 percent at the start of the 1960s.

Leaving the field

Over the last decade, urbanization in India has increased by almost 4 percent, as more and more people leave the agricultural sector to find work in services. Agriculture plays a significant role in the Indian economy and it employs almost half of India’s workforce today, however, its contribution to India’s GDP has been decreasing while the services sector gained in importance.

No rural exodus in sight

While urbanization is increasing as more jobs in telecommunications and IT are created and the private sector gains in importance, India is not facing a shortage of agricultural workers or a mass exodus to the cities yet. India is a very densely populated country with vast areas of arable land – over 155 million hectares of land was cultivated land in India as of 2015, for example, and textiles, especially cotton, are still one of the major exports. So while a shift of the workforce focus is obviously taking place, India is not struggling to fulfill trade demands yet.