South Korea vs Mexico: Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents
South Korea
30.90 million people
in 2020
Mexico
34.17 million people
in 2020
South Korea rank
12th
Mexico rank
11th
Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents over time
- South Korea
- Mexico
How they compare
Mexico currently reports 34.17 million people against 30.90 million people in South Korea, a difference of 3.27 million people.
That makes Mexico's figure about 1.1 times South Korea's.
The two have swapped places 4 times across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Mexico ahead.
South Korea ranks 12th and Mexico ranks 11th of 182 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, South Korea averaged higher in 3 and Mexico in 5.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | South Korea | Mexico | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 4.12 million people | 4.10 million people | 22,920 people | South Korea |
| 1960s | 7.28 million people | 7.08 million people | 203,690 people | South Korea |
| 1970s | 12.70 million people | 13.31 million people | 609,650 people | Mexico |
| 1980s | 18.34 million people | 18.51 million people | 167,700 people | Mexico |
| 1990s | 25.19 million people | 24.13 million people | 1.06 million people | South Korea |
| 2000s | 28.05 million people | 30.68 million people | 2.64 million people | Mexico |
| 2010s | 29.62 million people | 34.91 million people | 5.30 million people | Mexico |
| 2020s | 30.90 million people | 34.17 million people | 3.27 million people | Mexico |
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, South Korea or Mexico?
- Mexico, at 34.17 million people against 30.90 million people in South Korea as of 2020.
- What is the difference in number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents between South Korea and Mexico?
- 3.27 million people, with Mexico ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for South Korea and Mexico?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do South Korea and Mexico rank globally for number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
- South Korea ranks 12th and Mexico ranks 11th 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.