Standard reference

UN Degree of Urbanisation (DEGURBA) (https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic-social/census/documents/degurba/)

Adopted by the UN Statistical Commission in 2020. Developed by EU, FAO, ILO, OECD, UN-Habitat, and World Bank. Provides a methodology-based framework for classifying areas by population density and contiguity.

Values

Code Label Standard code Definition
urban Urban Cities and densely populated areas (DEGURBA class 1). Population >= 50,000 in contiguous high-density grid cells.
semi_urban Semi-urban Towns and semi-dense areas (DEGURBA class 2). Population >= 5,000 in contiguous moderate-density grid cells, not classified as urban.
rural Rural Rural and thinly populated areas (DEGURBA class 3). Areas not classified as urban or semi-urban.

System mappings

dhs

System vocabulary: hv025 - Type of place of residence

System code System label settlement-type value
1 Urban urban
2 Rural rural

Not covered by dhs: semi_urban

mics

System vocabulary: HH6 - Area

System code System label settlement-type value
1 Urban urban
2 Rural rural

Not covered by mics: semi_urban

Referenced by this vocabulary

  • DHS Recode7 ICF International / USAID, 2018
  • MICS6 UNICEF, 2017
  • DEGURBA European Commission (Eurostat), ILO, FAO, OECD, UN-Habitat, World Bank, 2020