Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Benin
Benin: Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents was 17.4% in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Benin, 1950–2020
Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Benin recorded 17.4% 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.
That represents a change of up 12.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Benin peaked at 17.4% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1950.
Benin ranks 83rd of 180 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Benin, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 0.0% | — |
| 1955 | 0.0% | — |
| 1960 | 0.0% | — |
| 1965 | 0.0% | — |
| 1970 | 0.0% | — |
| 1975 | 0.0% | — |
| 1980 | 0.0% | — |
| 1985 | 0.0% | — |
| 1990 | 0.0% | — |
| 1995 | 0.0% | — |
| 2000 | 14.3% | — |
| 2005 | 14.3% | +0.2% |
| 2010 | 15.4% | +7.4% |
| 2015 | 16.3% | +5.7% |
| 2020 | 17.4% | +6.7% |
Benin compared with similar countries
- Benin's 17.4% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 17.4%, 1.0× the median. (45 countries reporting)
- Benin's 17.4% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 12.2%, 1.4× the median. (47 countries reporting)
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 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 2 |
| 1990s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 2 |
| 2000s | 14.3% | 14.3% | 14.3% | 2 |
| 2010s | 15.8% | 15.4% | 16.3% | 2 |
| 2020s | 17.4% | 17.4% | 17.4% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Benin
More reference data data for Benin
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.1979 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.67 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 2.03 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.1562 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 2.03 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.6635 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.5244 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 8.56 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 10.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.8505 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Benin?
- Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Benin was 17.4% 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 Benin?
- The highest recorded value was 17.4% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Benin?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1950.
- How does Benin rank for share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
- Benin ranks 83rd 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 Benin?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Benin 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.
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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.