Urbanization of the nonfarm population: A research note on the convergence of rich and poor nations

Urbanization as conventionally measured by demographers is urban population divided by total population. By this criterion rich nations are considerably more urban than poor nations. The purpose of this paper is to compare rich and poor nations on urbanization of the nonfarm population (which is, I argue, a better indicator of the urban/rural distribution of those who are eligible to live in cities) By this criterion rich nations and poor nations are roughly equivalent on urbanization.