Chile vs Uruguay: Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents

Chile
33.9%
in 2020
Uruguay
36.6%
in 2020
Chile rank
24th
Uruguay rank
21st

Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents over time

  • Chile
  • Uruguay
01020304050195019852020

How they compare

Uruguay currently reports 36.6% against 33.9% in Chile, a difference of 2.7%.

That makes Uruguay's figure about 1.1 times Chile's.

Across all 15 years both countries report, Uruguay has been ahead every year.

Chile ranks 24th and Uruguay ranks 21st of 180 countries.

Uruguay has averaged higher in every one of the 8 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade Chile Uruguay Difference Ahead
1950s 20.4% 46.4% 26.0% Uruguay
1960s 23.1% 45.5% 22.4% Uruguay
1970s 25.8% 46.6% 20.8% Uruguay
1980s 30.3% 45.9% 15.6% Uruguay
1990s 32.2% 43.4% 11.2% Uruguay
2000s 34.6% 40.0% 5.3% Uruguay
2010s 34.7% 38.4% 3.6% Uruguay
2020s 33.9% 36.6% 2.7% Uruguay

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, Chile or Uruguay?
Uruguay, at 36.6% against 33.9% in Chile as of 2020.
What is the difference in share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents between Chile and Uruguay?
2.7%, with Uruguay ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Chile and Uruguay?
15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
How do Chile and Uruguay rank globally for share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
Chile ranks 24th and Uruguay ranks 21st 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

Indicator
Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents
Unit
%
Source
European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
180 places, 2,505 data points, 1950–2020
Last refreshed

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.