Libya vs Russia: Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents
Libya
16.7%
in 2020
Russia
17.1%
in 2020
Libya rank
87th
Russia rank
84th
Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents over time
- Libya
- Russia
How they compare
Russia currently reports 17.1% against 16.7% in Libya, a difference of 0.4%.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Russia ahead.
Libya ranks 87th and Russia ranks 84th of 180 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Libya averaged higher in 1 and Russia in 7.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Libya | Russia | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 0.0% | 7.7% | 7.7% | Russia |
| 1960s | 0.0% | 10.7% | 10.7% | Russia |
| 1970s | 0.0% | 13.3% | 13.3% | Russia |
| 1980s | 0.0% | 16.4% | 16.4% | Russia |
| 1990s | 0.0% | 16.2% | 16.2% | Russia |
| 2000s | 0.0% | 16.2% | 16.2% | Russia |
| 2010s | 16.9% | 16.7% | 0.2% | Libya |
| 2020s | 16.7% | 17.1% | 0.4% | Russia |
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, Libya or Russia?
- Russia, at 17.1% against 16.7% in Libya as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents between Libya and Russia?
- 0.4%, with Russia ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Libya and Russia?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Libya and Russia rank globally for share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
- Libya ranks 87th and Russia ranks 84th 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.