Afghanistan vs Libya: Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents
Afghanistan
16.4%
in 2020
Libya
16.7%
in 2020
Afghanistan rank
90th
Libya rank
87th
Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents over time
- Afghanistan
- Libya
How they compare
Libya currently reports 16.7% against 16.4% in Afghanistan, a difference of 0.3%.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Libya ahead.
Afghanistan ranks 90th and Libya ranks 87th of 180 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Afghanistan averaged higher in 3 and Libya in 2.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Afghanistan | Libya | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | — |
| 1960s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | — |
| 1970s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | — |
| 1980s | 10.7% | 0.0% | 10.7% | Afghanistan |
| 1990s | 14.3% | 0.0% | 14.3% | Afghanistan |
| 2000s | 13.5% | 0.0% | 13.5% | Afghanistan |
| 2010s | 13.0% | 16.9% | 3.9% | Libya |
| 2020s | 16.4% | 16.7% | 0.2% | Libya |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents, Afghanistan or Libya?
- Libya, at 16.7% against 16.4% in Afghanistan as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents between Afghanistan and Libya?
- 0.3%, with Libya ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Afghanistan and Libya?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Afghanistan and Libya rank globally for share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
- Afghanistan ranks 90th and Libya ranks 87th of 180 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Percentage of the total population living in cities with 1 million or more people. City boundaries are defined using a consistent global approach based on satellite imagery and population data.