Applying the Degree of Urbanisation - A Methodological Manual to Define Cities, Towns and Rural Areas - For International Comparisons - 2021 edition

Jul 19, 2026

Upload by Aurelia

Applying the Degree of Urbanisation provides a detailed methodology to classify an entire territory along the urban–rural continuum into three categories: cities; towns and semi-dense areas; and rural areas. The manual addresses the need for harmonised urban and rural statistics under the UN Sustainable Development Goals, where comparable indicators can still be undermined by differing national definitions. Six international organisations jointly developed the approach and this technical guide supports consistent application for improved international comparability.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages102

Reading Time4 h 17 min

Foreword

Purpose and international need

Joint development and expected use

Applying the Degree of Urbanisation A METHODOLOGICAL MANUAL TO DEFINE CITIES, TOWNS AND RURAL AREAS FOR INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS 2021 edition Pub lic Disclosure Authorized Pub lic Disclosure Authorized Pub lic Disclosure Authorized Pub lic Disclosure Authorized Applying the Degree of Urbanisation A METHODOLOGICAL MANUAL TO DEFINE CITIES, TOWNS AND RURAL AREAS FOR INTERNATIONAL COMPARISONS 2021 edition Manuscript completed in December 2020 The designations employed and the presentation of material in this information product do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the European Commission, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) or The World Bank concerning the legal or development status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The mention of specific companies or products of manufacturers, whether or not these have been patented, does not imply that these have been endorsed or recommended by the European Commission, the FAO, UN-Habitat, the OECD or The World Bank in preference to others of a similar nature that are not mentioned. The views expressed in this information product are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position, views or policies of the European Commission, the FAO, UN-Habitat, the OECD or of its member countries or The World Bank, its Board of Executive Directors or the governments they represent. European Union identifiers PDF: ISBN 978-92-76-20306-3 doi: 10. 2785/706535 KS-02-20-499-EN-N FAO identifier ISBN 978-92-5-134073-8 UN-Habitat identifiers ISBN 978-92-1-132866-0 HS number: HS/019/20E © European Union/FAO/UN-Habitat/OECD/The World Bank, 2021. Some rights reserved. This work is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 IGO licence (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO; [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/igo/legalcode](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/igo/legalcode)) (the “Licence”). Under the terms of this Licence, this work may be copied, redistributed and adapted for non-commercial purposes, provided that the work is appropriately cited. In any use of this work, there should be no suggestion that the European Commission, the FAO, UN-Habitat, the OECD or The World Bank endorse any specific organisation, products or services. The use of the European Commission, the FAO, UN-Habitat, the OECD or The World Bank logos is not permitted. If the work is adapted, including translation, then it must be licensed under the same or equivalent Creative Commons Licence. If a translation of this work is created, it must include the following disclaimer along with the required citation: “This translation was not created by the European Commission, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) or The World Bank. The European Commission, the FAO, UN-Habitat, the OECD or The World Bank are not responsible for the content or accuracy of this translation. The original English edition shall be the authoritative edition”. Disputes arising under the Licence that cannot be settled amicably will be resolved by mediation and arbitration as described in Article 8 of the Licence except as otherwise provided herein. The applicable mediation rules will be the mediation rules of the World Intellectual Property Organisation [http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/mediation/rules](http://www.wipo.int/amc/en/mediation/rules) and any arbitration will be in accordance with the Arbitration Rules of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). For any clarifications on the re-use of this wo

FAQs

What problem does the manual address for international comparisons?

It addresses inconsistent national definitions of urban and rural areas, which limit international comparability even when indicators are harmonised.

How does the manual classify territories?

It guides users to classify an entire territory along the urban–rural continuum into three distinct classes: cities; towns and semi-dense areas; and rural areas.

Who developed the new methodology and why?

It was developed jointly by six international organisations to provide a shared definition and a technical method for applying it, following endorsement by the UN Statistical Commission.

Jul 19, 2026

Upload by Aurelia