China vs Democratic Republic of Congo: Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents
China
19.7%
in 2020
Democratic Republic of Congo
20.0%
in 2020
China rank
75th
Democratic Republic of Congo rank
73rd
Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents over time
- China
- Democratic Republic of Congo
How they compare
Democratic Republic of Congo currently reports 20.0% against 19.7% in China, a difference of 0.3%.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was China ahead.
China ranks 75th and Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 73rd of 180 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, China averaged higher in 4 and Democratic Republic of Congo in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | Democratic Republic of Congo | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 2.8% | 0.0% | 2.8% | China |
| 1960s | 4.3% | 0.0% | 4.3% | China |
| 1970s | 4.5% | 2.2% | 2.3% | China |
| 1980s | 6.2% | 10.4% | 4.1% | Democratic Republic of Congo |
| 1990s | 9.1% | 12.8% | 3.7% | Democratic Republic of Congo |
| 2000s | 14.9% | 16.8% | 1.9% | Democratic Republic of Congo |
| 2010s | 17.7% | 17.4% | 0.3% | China |
| 2020s | 19.7% | 20.0% | 0.3% | Democratic Republic of Congo |
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, China or Democratic Republic of Congo?
- Democratic Republic of Congo, at 20.0% against 19.7% in China as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents between China and Democratic Republic of Congo?
- 0.3%, with Democratic Republic of Congo ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and Democratic Republic of Congo?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do China and Democratic Republic of Congo rank globally for share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
- China ranks 75th and Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 73rd 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.