Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Argentina

Argentina: Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents was 38.8% in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)
38.8%
World rank
18th
of 180 countries
All-time high
38.8%
in 2020
All-time low
27.0%
in 1950
Years of data
15
1950–2020

Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Argentina, 1950–2020

0102030401950198520201950: 27 %1955: 28.3 %1960: 30 %1965: 30.9 %1970: 32 %1975: 33.1 %1980: 33.1 %1985: 35.8 %1990: 35.4 %1995: 35 %2000: 34.9 %2005: 35.2 %2010: 38.1 %2015: 37.4 %2020: 38.8 %

Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

Argentina recorded 38.8% 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.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Argentina peaked at 38.8% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 27.0%, in 1950.

Argentina ranks 18th of 180 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.

Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Argentina, year by year

Annual values for Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Argentina, 1950 to 2020.
Year % Change
1950 27.0%
1955 28.3% +5.0%
1960 30.0% +6.0%
1965 30.9% +3.1%
1970 32.0% +3.6%
1975 33.1% +3.2%
1980 33.1% +0.1%
1985 35.8% +8.2%
1990 35.4% -1.3%
1995 35.0% -0.9%
2000 34.9% -0.4%
2005 35.2% +0.8%
2010 38.1% +8.2%
2015 37.4% -1.7%
2020 38.8% +3.8%

Argentina compared with similar countries

  • Argentina's 38.8% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 19.8%, 2.0× the median. (48 countries reporting)
  • Argentina's 38.8% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 25.6%, 1.5× the median. (27 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 27.6% 27.0% 28.3% 2
1960s 30.5% 30.0% 30.9% 2
1970s 32.6% 32.0% 33.1% 2
1980s 34.5% 33.1% 35.8% 2
1990s 35.2% 35.0% 35.4% 2
2000s 35.0% 34.9% 35.2% 2
2010s 37.7% 37.4% 38.1% 2
2020s 38.8% 38.8% 38.8% 1

Countries ranked near Argentina

  1. 15 Gambia 42.4% compare
  2. 16 Costa Rica 41.7% compare
  3. 17 Dominican Republic 40.1% compare
  4. 19 Egypt 38.8% compare
  5. 20 Armenia 36.7% compare
  6. 21 Uruguay 36.6% compare

See the full ranking of 180 places →

More reference data data for Argentina

All data for Argentina →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Argentina?
Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Argentina was 38.8% 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 Argentina?
The highest recorded value was 38.8% in 2020.
What is the lowest share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Argentina?
The lowest recorded value was 27.0% in 1950.
How does Argentina rank for share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
Argentina ranks 18th 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 Argentina?
Over the last ten years it is up 2.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Argentina 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).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Argentina. Statizoid, drawing on European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 24 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/urban-agglomerations-1-million-percent/argentina/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/urban-agglomerations-1-million-percent/argentina/">Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Argentina</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents
Unit
%
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
180 places, 2,505 data points, 1950–2020
Last refreshed

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.