Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Afghanistan
Afghanistan: Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents was 16.4% in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Afghanistan, 1950–2020
Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Afghanistan recorded 16.4% for share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in 2020. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.
The figure is up 23.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Afghanistan peaked at 16.4% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1950.
That places Afghanistan 90th out of 180 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 2 |
| 1960s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 2 |
| 1970s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 2 |
| 1980s | 10.7% | 8.5% | 12.8% | 2 |
| 1990s | 14.3% | 12.9% | 15.7% | 2 |
| 2000s | 13.5% | 13.4% | 13.5% | 2 |
| 2010s | 13.0% | 12.7% | 13.3% | 2 |
| 2020s | 16.4% | 16.4% | 16.4% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Afghanistan
More reference data data for Afghanistan
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.4362 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.847 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 18.65 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 26.62 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 6.63 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 3.01 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (CH4) - Manure Management 35.27 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 4.89 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.38 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.8991 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Afghanistan?
- Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Afghanistan was 16.4% in 2020, according to European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Afghanistan?
- The highest recorded value was 16.4% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Afghanistan?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1950.
- How does Afghanistan rank for share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
- Afghanistan ranks 90th out of 180 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents rising or falling in Afghanistan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 23.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Afghanistan data come from?
- The figures come from European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Percentage of the 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.