France vs Spain: Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents
France
10.51 million people
in 2020
Spain
10.73 million people
in 2020
France rank
31st
Spain rank
29th
Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents over time
- France
- Spain
How they compare
Spain currently reports 10.73 million people against 10.51 million people in France, a difference of 217,900 people.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was France ahead.
France ranks 31st and Spain ranks 29th of 182 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, France averaged higher in 7 and Spain in 1.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | France | Spain | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 5.59 million people | 3.12 million people | 2.48 million people | France |
| 1960s | 6.51 million people | 3.97 million people | 2.55 million people | France |
| 1970s | 7.23 million people | 5.01 million people | 2.22 million people | France |
| 1980s | 7.62 million people | 6.70 million people | 917,410 people | France |
| 1990s | 8.14 million people | 7.24 million people | 904,225 people | France |
| 2000s | 9.62 million people | 8.26 million people | 1.36 million people | France |
| 2010s | 10.28 million people | 9.54 million people | 741,560 people | France |
| 2020s | 10.51 million people | 10.73 million people | 217,900 people | Spain |
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, France or Spain?
- Spain, at 10.73 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 France and Spain?
- 217,900 people, with Spain ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for France and Spain?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do France and Spain rank globally for number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
- France ranks 31st and Spain ranks 29th 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.