Congo vs Sri Lanka: Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents
Congo
4.76 million people
in 2020
Sri Lanka
4.96 million people
in 2020
Congo rank
57th
Sri Lanka rank
55th
Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents over time
- Congo
- Sri Lanka
How they compare
Sri Lanka currently reports 4.96 million people against 4.76 million people in Congo, a difference of 205,780 people.
Across all 15 years both countries report, Sri Lanka has been ahead every year.
Congo ranks 57th and Sri Lanka ranks 55th of 182 countries.
Sri Lanka has averaged higher in every one of the 8 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Congo | Sri Lanka | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 0 people | 1.26 million people | 1.26 million people | Sri Lanka |
| 1960s | 0 people | 1.60 million people | 1.60 million people | Sri Lanka |
| 1970s | 0 people | 1.97 million people | 1.97 million people | Sri Lanka |
| 1980s | 0 people | 2.46 million people | 2.46 million people | Sri Lanka |
| 1990s | 1.07 million people | 3.07 million people | 2.00 million people | Sri Lanka |
| 2000s | 1.38 million people | 3.95 million people | 2.57 million people | Sri Lanka |
| 2010s | 2.84 million people | 4.45 million people | 1.61 million people | Sri Lanka |
| 2020s | 4.76 million people | 4.96 million people | 205,780 people | Sri Lanka |
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, Congo or Sri Lanka?
- Sri Lanka, at 4.96 million people against 4.76 million people in Congo as of 2020.
- What is the difference in number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents between Congo and Sri Lanka?
- 205,780 people, with Sri Lanka ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Congo and Sri Lanka?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Congo and Sri Lanka rank globally for number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
- Congo ranks 57th and Sri Lanka ranks 55th 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
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.