Germany vs Iraq: Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents

Germany
10.87 million people
in 2020
Iraq
13.05 million people
in 2020
Germany rank
27th
Iraq rank
26th

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

  • Germany
  • Iraq
05.0M10.0M15.0M195019852020

How they compare

Iraq currently reports 13.05 million people against 10.87 million people in Germany, a difference of 2.18 million people.

That makes Iraq's figure about 1.2 times Germany's.

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

Germany ranks 27th and Iraq ranks 26th of 182 countries.

Across the 8 decades both report, Germany averaged higher in 7 and Iraq in 1.

Head to head by decade

Decade Germany Iraq Difference Ahead
1950s 8.10 million people 0 people 8.10 million people Germany
1960s 8.70 million people 638,085 people 8.06 million people Germany
1970s 8.98 million people 1.82 million people 7.16 million people Germany
1980s 8.61 million people 2.69 million people 5.92 million people Germany
1990s 9.05 million people 3.53 million people 5.52 million people Germany
2000s 8.94 million people 4.95 million people 3.99 million people Germany
2010s 9.60 million people 8.89 million people 708,210 people Germany
2020s 10.87 million people 13.05 million people 2.18 million people Iraq

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, Germany or Iraq?
Iraq, at 13.05 million people against 10.87 million people in Germany as of 2020.
What is the difference in number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents between Germany and Iraq?
2.18 million people, with Iraq ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Germany and Iraq?
15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
How do Germany and Iraq rank globally for number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
Germany ranks 27th and Iraq ranks 26th 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.