Chile vs Kenya: Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents

Chile
6.57 million people
in 2020
Kenya
6.97 million people
in 2020
Chile rank
42nd
Kenya rank
39th

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

  • Chile
  • Kenya
02.0M4.0M6.0M195019852020

How they compare

Kenya currently reports 6.97 million people against 6.57 million people in Chile, a difference of 399,200 people.

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

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

Chile ranks 42nd and Kenya ranks 39th of 182 countries.

Across the 8 decades both report, Chile averaged higher in 7 and Kenya in 1.

Head to head by decade

Decade Chile Kenya Difference Ahead
1950s 1.43 million people 0 people 1.43 million people Chile
1960s 1.99 million people 0 people 1.99 million people Chile
1970s 2.65 million people 0 people 2.65 million people Chile
1980s 3.63 million people 542,080 people 3.08 million people Chile
1990s 4.50 million people 1.72 million people 2.78 million people Chile
2000s 5.52 million people 2.86 million people 2.66 million people Chile
2010s 6.11 million people 5.32 million people 795,555 people Chile
2020s 6.57 million people 6.97 million people 399,200 people Kenya

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, Chile or Kenya?
Kenya, at 6.97 million people against 6.57 million people in Chile as of 2020.
What is the difference in number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents between Chile and Kenya?
399,200 people, with Kenya ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Chile and Kenya?
15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
How do Chile and Kenya rank globally for number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
Chile ranks 42nd and Kenya ranks 39th 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.