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

Iraq
13.05 million people
in 2020
Spain
10.73 million people
in 2020
Iraq rank
26th
Spain rank
29th

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

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

How they compare

Iraq currently reports 13.05 million people against 10.73 million people in Spain, a difference of 2.31 million people.

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

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

Iraq ranks 26th and Spain ranks 29th of 182 countries.

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

Head to head by decade

Decade Iraq Spain Difference Ahead
1950s 0 people 3.12 million people 3.12 million people Spain
1960s 638,085 people 3.97 million people 3.33 million people Spain
1970s 1.82 million people 5.01 million people 3.19 million people Spain
1980s 2.69 million people 6.70 million people 4.01 million people Spain
1990s 3.53 million people 7.24 million people 3.71 million people Spain
2000s 4.95 million people 8.26 million people 3.31 million people Spain
2010s 8.89 million people 9.54 million people 642,895 people Spain
2020s 13.05 million people 10.73 million people 2.31 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, Iraq or Spain?
Iraq, at 13.05 million people against 10.73 million people in Spain as of 2020.
What is the difference in number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents between Iraq and Spain?
2.31 million people, with Iraq ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Iraq and Spain?
15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
How do Iraq and Spain rank globally for number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
Iraq ranks 26th 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

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.