Guinea-Bissau’s urban population rose to 46.7% of population in 2025.

Neither way is good in itself. A higher share can reflect people moving to towns for work, schooling and health care, and it can also mean crowded neighbourhoods and stretched services. A lower share would reflect the reverse pattern of settlement. The latest figure is 46.7% of population in 2025, up from 46.1% a year earlier, a rise of 0.54 percentage points. Since 2016 the share has ranged from 42.6% of population in 2016 to 46.7% of population in 2025, so the current reading is the highest in that span.

Why it matters. With 46.7% of population living in urban areas, a large part of the country now relies on town markets, shared water and electricity supply, and rented or self-built housing. Firms in towns draw on a bigger local customer base and labour pool. The state faces growing demand for services in places where the share keeps climbing, and the next annual reading will show whether the rise continues.