Publication: Applying the Degree of Urbanisation: A Methodological Manual to Define Cities, Towns and Rural Areas for International Comparisons
Loading...
Published
2025-01-31
ISSN
Date
2025-01-31
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
This manual develops a harmonised methodology to facilitate international statistical comparisons and to classify the entire territory of a country along an urban-rural continuum. The degree of urbanisation classification defines cities, towns and semi-dense areas, and rural areas. This first level of the classification may be complemented by a range of more detailed concepts, such as: metropolitan areas, commuting zones, dense towns, semi-dense towns, suburban or peri-urban areas, villages, dispersed rural areas and mostly uninhabited areas. The manual is intended to complement and not replace the definitions used by national statistical offices (NSOs) and ministries. It has been designed principally as a guide for data producers, suppliers and statisticians so that they have the necessary information to implement the methodology and ensure coherency within their data collections. It may also be of interest to users of subnational statistics so they may better understand, interpret and use official subnational statistics for taking informed decisions and policymaking. This report has been produced in close collaboration by six organisations, the European Commission, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UNHabitat), the International Labour Organization (ILO), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and The World Bank.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“European Union; FAO; UN-Habitat; OECD; World Bank. 2025. Applying the Degree of Urbanisation: A Methodological Manual to Define Cities, Towns and Rural Areas for International Comparisons. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/42751 License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Quantifying Vulnerability to Poverty : A Proposed Measure, Applied to Indonesia(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2000-09)Vulnerability is an important aspect of households' experience of poverty. Many households, while not currently in poverty, recognize that they are vulnerable to events - a bad harvest, a lost job, an illness, and unexpected expense, an economic downturn - that could easily push them into poverty. Most operational measures define poverty as some function of the shortfall of current income, or consumption expenditures from a poverty line, and hence measure poverty only at a single point in time. The authors propose a simple expansion of those measures to quantify vulnerability to poverty. They define vulnerability as a probability, the risk that a household will experience at least one episode of poverty in the near future. A household is defined as vulnerable if it has 50-50 odds, or worse of falling into poverty. Using those definitions, they calculate the "vulnerability of poverty line" (VPL) as the level of expenditures below which a household is vulnerable to poverty. The VPL allows the calculation of a "headcount vulnerability rate" (the proportion of households vulnerable to poverty), a direct analogue of the "headcount poverty rate". The authors implement this approach using two sets of panel data from Indonesia. First they show that if the poverty line is set so that the headcount poverty rate is twenty percent, the proportion of households vulnerable to poverty is roughly 30-50 percent. In addition to the twenty percent currently poor, an additional 10-30 percent of the population is at substantial risk of poverty. They illustrate the usefulness of this approach for targeting, by examining differences in vulnerability between households by gender, level of education, urban-rural residence, land-holding status, and sector of occupation of the head of household.Publication Poverty Reduction in Egypt : Diagnosis and Strategy, Volume 1. Main Report(Washington, DC, 2002-06-29)The report, the first in an ongoing program, presents the results of a statistical analysis of household-level data for the periods 1995/1996, and 1999/2000, as a contribution to the preparation of a comprehensive poverty reduction strategy in Egypt. Despite considerable progress towards improving some of the non-income dimensions of poverty, more needs to be done to ease poverty. The main findings suggest a changing picture of poverty in the country, where poverty patterns changed from the urban-rural divide that had characterized the past, to a geographical/regional pattern, highlighting the lack of education as the strongest correlate of poverty. Statistics show that while inequality rose slightly for Egypt as a whole, the level was still comparable to other middle income countries; unemployment was high in urban areas; and, gender differences in poverty were small at an overall level, but were significant across regions, particularly in rural areas. Given the changing, complex picture of poverty in Egypt, a poverty reduction strategy will have to be comprehensive, yet flexible, hence, the report suggests a more sustainable growth in jobs, productivity, and incomes for the poorest; improved educational opportunities both for men, and women; reversal of growing, regional disparities in incomes, opportunities, and services; and, provision of safety nets that protect the most vulnerable.Publication Simulating the Impact of Geographic Targeting on Poverty Alleviation in Morocco : What Are the Gains from Disaggregation?(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2008-09)The authors employ the recently completed "poverty map" for Morocco, referring to the year 2004, as a tool for an ex-ante evaluation of the distributional incidence of geographic targeting of public resources. They simulate the impact on poverty of transferring an exogenously given budget to geographically defined sub-groups of the population according to their relative poverty status. In both rural and urban areas, the findings reveal large gains from targeting smaller administrative units, such as communes or districts. However, these gains are still far from the poverty reduction that would be possible had the planners had access to information on household level income or consumption. The results indicate that a useful way forward might be to combine fine geographic targeting using a poverty map with within-community targeting mechanisms.Publication Drivers of Sustainable Rural Growth and Poverty Reduction in Central America : Honduras Case Study, Volume 2. Background Papers and Technical Appendices(Washington, DC, 2004-12-31)This regional study encompasses three Central American countries: Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Honduras. The focus of this report is Honduras. The objective of the study is to understand how broad-based economic growth can be stimulated and sustained in rural Central America. The study identifies "drivers" of sustainable rural growth and poverty reduction. Drivers are defined as the assets and combinations of assets needed by different types of households in different geographical areas, to take advantage of economic opportunities, and improve their well-being over time. The study examines the relative contributions of these assets, and seeks to identify the combinations of productive, social, and location-specific assets that matter most to raise incomes, and take advantage of prospects for poverty-reducing growth. It adopts an asset-based conceptual approach, where assets are defined to include natural, physical, financial, human, social, political, institutional, and location-specific assets, and, focuses on how households deploy their assets within the context of policies, institutions, and risks to generate a set of opportunities. The report further analyzes the quantity, quality, and productivity of assets needed by households in different geographical areas, to exercise their potential for generating long-term growth and improving well-being. Findings indicate that while there are well-defined areas of higher economic opportunity, given their underlying agricultural potential, relatively good access to infrastructure, and high population densities, poverty is widespread, and deep in rural Honduras, particularly in hillside areas. And, although agriculture should form an integral part of the rural growth strategy in hillside areas, despite its limited potential, agriculture alone cannot solve the rural poverty problem, yet, those remaining in the sector need to be more efficient, productive and competitive. It is recommended to move from geographically untargeted investments in single assets, to a more integrated and geographically based approach of asset enhancement with proper complementarities, such as land access and security, technical assistance provision, health and education services, and strong local level institutions,Publication Ukraine Recovery and Peacebuiding Assessment(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-03)In mid-2014, the Government of Ukraine (GoU) requested technical assistance and financial support from the inter¬national community to assess and plan priority recovery and peacebuilding efforts in the conflict-affected regions of eastern Ukraine. Following these requests, and within the framework of the 2008 Joint Declaration on Post-Crisis Assessments and Recovery Planning, the EU, UN, and WBG agreed to support the government in undertaking a Recovery and Peacebuilding Assessment (RPA). This assessment follows the Post-Conflict Needs Assessment (PCNA) methodology. In view of the continuing conflict in eastern Ukraine, it was decided to undertake an initial rapid assess¬ment as a first phase of activity, which would provide an analytical and programmatic baseline for recovery efforts to inform urgent interventions and provide a basis for scaling up recovery plan¬ning and responses as the situation and needs evolve on the ground. This report summarizes the findings and recommendations of the first phase of the RPA, which was undertaken in the period November 2014 to February 2015. In light of the dynamic and fluid nature of the situation in eastern Ukraine, these findings should be considered as a snapshot in time. In particular, the assessment of infrastructure damage is limited to the damage that occurred on or before November 2014. Furthermore, the number of registered internally displaced persons (IDPs), utilized as a reference to estimate the needs of this affected population, corresponds to the official government estimates as of February 2015.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Services Unbound(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-12-09)Services are a new force for innovation, trade, and growth in East Asia and Pacific. The dramatic diffusion of digital technologies and partial policy reforms in services--from finance, communication, and transport to retail, health, and education--is transforming these economies. The result is higher productivity and changing jobs in the services sector, as well as in the manufacturing sectors that use these services. A region that has thrived through openness to trade and investment in manufacturing still maintains innovation-inhibiting barriers to entry and competition in key services sectors. 'Services Unbound: Digital Technologies and Policy Reform in East Asia and Pacific' makes the case for deeper domestic reforms and greater international cooperation to unleash a virtuous cycle of increased economic opportunity and enhanced human capacity that would power development in the region.Publication The Journey Ahead(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-31)The Journey Ahead: Supporting Successful Migration in Europe and Central Asia provides an in-depth analysis of international migration in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) and the implications for policy making. By identifying challenges and opportunities associated with migration in the region, it aims to inform a more nuanced, evidencebased debate on the costs and benefits of cross-border mobility. Using data-driven insights and new analysis, the report shows that migration has been an engine of prosperity and has helped address some of ECA’s demographic and socioeconomic disparities. Yet, migration’s full economic potential remains untapped. The report identifies multiple barriers keeping migration from achieving its full potential. Crucially, it argues that policies in both origin and destination countries can help maximize the development impacts of migration and effectively manage the economic, social, and political costs. Drawing from a wide range of literature, country experiences, and novel analysis, The Journey Ahead presents actionable policy options to enhance the benefits of migration for destination and origin countries and migrants themselves. Some measures can be taken unilaterally by countries, whereas others require close bilateral or regional coordination. The recommendations are tailored to different types of migration— forced displacement as well as high-skilled and low-skilled economic migration—and from the perspectives of both sending and receiving countries. This report serves as a comprehensive resource for governments, development partners, and other stakeholders throughout Europe and Central Asia, where the richness and diversity of migration experiences provide valuable insights for policy makers in other regions of the world.Publication Fixing the Foundation(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-09-20)Countries in middle-income East Asia and the Pacific were already experiencing serious learning deficits prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-related school disruptions have only made things worse. Learning poverty -- defined as the percentage of 10-year-olds who cannot read and understand an age-appropriate text -- is as high as 90 percent in several countries. Several large Southeast Asian countries consistently perform well below expectations on adolescent learning assessments. This report examines key factors affecting student learning in the region, with emphasis on the central role of teachers and teaching quality. It also analyzes the role education technologies, which came into widespread use during the pandemic, and examines the political economy of education reform. The report presents recommendations on how countries can strengthen teaching to improve learning and, in doing so, can enhance productivity, growth, and future development in the region.Publication Greater Heights(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-12)Twenty-seven countries have reached high-income status since 1990. Ten of these are in the Europe and Central Asia region and have joined the European Union. Another 20 in the region have become more prosperous since the 1990s. However, their transition to high-income status has been delayed. These middle-income countries have found that the prospects for growth to high-income status have become even more difficult since the 2007–09 global financial crisis. This reflects partly a slowdown in structural reforms at home and partly the challenges associated with a deterioration in the global environment. The concern has emerged that many countries in the region may be caught in the middle-income trap, a phase in development characterized by a recurring deceleration in growth and by per capita incomes that are systematically below the high-income threshold. To ensure that these countries overcome the obstacles to growth and achieve progress toward high-income status, policy makers need to make the transition from a strategy driven largely by investment to a strategy that is supported by the importation and diffusion of global capital, knowledge, and technology and then to a strategy that complements these with innovation. The report Greater Heights: Growing to High Income in Europe and Central Asia relies on the 3i strategy described in World Development Report 2024—investment, infusion, and innovation—to propose policy options to assist middle-income countries in Europe and Central Asia in the effort to reach high-income status. Drawing on comprehensive empirical analysis, the report offers actionable recommendations that will enable policy makers to advance stronger economic growth across the region. Such a transition will require continued and sustained foundational reform to maximize the drivers of economic growth while pivoting to new transformative reforms to promote the development of more complex economic structures and institutions. These involve the need to discipline incumbents, boost the role of the private sector, strengthen the competitive environment, and reward merit. The emphasis on a strategy driven by innovation is also critically important for those countries that have already attained high-income status.Publication Global Economic Prospects, January 2025(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-01-16)Global growth is expected to hold steady at 2.7 percent in 2025-26. However, the global economy appears to be settling at a low growth rate that will be insufficient to foster sustained economic development—with the possibility of further headwinds from heightened policy uncertainty and adverse trade policy shifts, geopolitical tensions, persistent inflation, and climate-related natural disasters. Against this backdrop, emerging market and developing economies are set to enter the second quarter of the twenty-first century with per capita incomes on a trajectory that implies substantially slower catch-up toward advanced-economy living standards than they previously experienced. Without course corrections, most low-income countries are unlikely to graduate to middle-income status by the middle of the century. Policy action at both global and national levels is needed to foster a more favorable external environment, enhance macroeconomic stability, reduce structural constraints, address the effects of climate change, and thus accelerate long-term growth and development.