Japan vs Mongolia: Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents

Japan
51.1%
in 2020
Mongolia
44.5%
in 2020
Japan rank
10th
Mongolia rank
13th

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

  • Japan
  • Mongolia
0204060195019852020

How they compare

Japan currently reports 51.1% against 44.5% in Mongolia, a difference of 6.6%.

That makes Japan's figure about 1.1 times Mongolia's.

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

Japan ranks 10th and Mongolia ranks 13th of 180 countries.

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

Head to head by decade

Decade Japan Mongolia Difference Ahead
1950s 28.1% 0.0% 28.1% Japan
1960s 37.7% 0.0% 37.7% Japan
1970s 44.0% 0.0% 44.0% Japan
1980s 45.6% 0.0% 45.6% Japan
1990s 47.6% 0.0% 47.6% Japan
2000s 47.8% 0.0% 47.8% Japan
2010s 49.6% 19.7% 29.9% Japan
2020s 51.1% 44.5% 6.7% Japan

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, Japan or Mongolia?
Japan, at 51.1% against 44.5% in Mongolia as of 2020.
What is the difference in share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents between Japan and Mongolia?
6.6%, with Japan ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Japan and Mongolia?
15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
How do Japan and Mongolia rank globally for share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
Japan ranks 10th and Mongolia ranks 13th 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.