Canada vs Mexico: Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents
Canada
27.6%
in 2020
Mexico
27.0%
in 2020
Canada rank
45th
Mexico rank
48th
Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents over time
- Canada
- Mexico
How they compare
Canada currently reports 27.6% against 27.0% in Mexico, a difference of 0.6%.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Mexico ahead.
Canada ranks 45th and Mexico ranks 48th of 180 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Canada averaged higher in 1 and Mexico in 7.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Canada | Mexico | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 0.0% | 13.8% | 13.8% | Mexico |
| 1960s | 14.1% | 17.6% | 3.4% | Mexico |
| 1970s | 15.6% | 24.2% | 8.5% | Mexico |
| 1980s | 16.3% | 26.0% | 9.7% | Mexico |
| 1990s | 20.3% | 27.8% | 7.5% | Mexico |
| 2000s | 23.6% | 30.0% | 6.4% | Mexico |
| 2010s | 24.9% | 29.7% | 4.8% | Mexico |
| 2020s | 27.6% | 27.0% | 0.7% | Canada |
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, Canada or Mexico?
- Canada, at 27.6% against 27.0% in Mexico as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents between Canada and Mexico?
- 0.6%, with Canada ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Canada and Mexico?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Canada and Mexico rank globally for share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
- Canada ranks 45th and Mexico ranks 48th 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.