South Korea vs Philippines: Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents
South Korea
30.90 million people
in 2020
Philippines
29.67 million people
in 2020
South Korea rank
12th
Philippines rank
13th
Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents over time
- South Korea
- Philippines
How they compare
South Korea currently reports 30.90 million people against 29.67 million people in Philippines, a difference of 1.23 million people.
Across all 15 years both countries report, South Korea has been ahead every year.
South Korea ranks 12th and Philippines ranks 13th of 182 countries.
South Korea has averaged higher in every one of the 8 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | South Korea | Philippines | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 4.12 million people | 2.99 million people | 1.13 million people | South Korea |
| 1960s | 7.28 million people | 4.88 million people | 2.41 million people | South Korea |
| 1970s | 12.70 million people | 7.45 million people | 5.25 million people | South Korea |
| 1980s | 18.34 million people | 10.78 million people | 7.56 million people | South Korea |
| 1990s | 25.19 million people | 16.32 million people | 8.87 million people | South Korea |
| 2000s | 28.05 million people | 20.87 million people | 7.18 million people | South Korea |
| 2010s | 29.62 million people | 26.15 million people | 3.47 million people | South Korea |
| 2020s | 30.90 million people | 29.67 million people | 1.23 million people | South Korea |
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 Philippines?
- South Korea, at 30.90 million people against 29.67 million people in Philippines as of 2020.
- What is the difference in number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents between South Korea and Philippines?
- 1.23 million people, with South Korea ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for South Korea and Philippines?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do South Korea and Philippines rank globally for number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
- South Korea ranks 12th and Philippines ranks 13th 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.