Canada vs France: Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents

Canada
10.54 million people
in 2020
France
10.51 million people
in 2020
Canada rank
30th
France rank
31st

Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents over time

  • Canada
  • France
02.5M5.0M7.5M10.0M195019852020

How they compare

Canada currently reports 10.54 million people against 10.51 million people in France, a difference of 29,000 people.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was France ahead.

Canada ranks 30th and France ranks 31st of 182 countries.

Across the 8 decades both report, Canada averaged higher in 1 and France in 7.

Head to head by decade

Decade Canada France Difference Ahead
1950s 0 people 5.59 million people 5.59 million people France
1960s 2.66 million people 6.51 million people 3.85 million people France
1970s 3.49 million people 7.23 million people 3.75 million people France
1980s 4.12 million people 7.62 million people 3.49 million people France
1990s 5.83 million people 8.14 million people 2.31 million people France
2000s 7.47 million people 9.62 million people 2.15 million people France
2010s 8.75 million people 10.28 million people 1.53 million people France
2020s 10.54 million people 10.51 million people 29,000 people Canada

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents, Canada or France?
Canada, at 10.54 million people against 10.51 million people in France as of 2020.
What is the difference in number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents between Canada and France?
29,000 people, with Canada ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Canada and France?
15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
How do Canada and France rank globally for number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
Canada ranks 30th and France ranks 31st of 182 countries.
Where does this data come from?
European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Number of people 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
Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents
Unit
people
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
182 places, 2,532 data points, 1950–2020
Last refreshed

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.