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

Latest (2020)
17.4%
World rank
83rd
of 180 countries
All-time high
17.4%
in 2020
All-time low
0.0%
in 1950
Years of data
15
1950–2020

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

0510151950198520201950: 0 %1955: 0 %1960: 0 %1965: 0 %1970: 0 %1975: 0 %1980: 0 %1985: 0 %1990: 0 %1995: 0 %2000: 14.3 %2005: 14.3 %2010: 15.4 %2015: 16.3 %2020: 17.4 %

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.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest 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

  1. 80 Kyrgyzstan 18.8% compare
  2. 81 Burkina Faso 18.5% compare
  3. 82 Portugal 18.0% compare
  4. 84 Russia 17.1% compare
  5. 85 Mali 16.8% compare
  6. 86 Hungary 16.7% compare

See the full ranking of 180 places →

More reference data data for Benin

All data for Benin →

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.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

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.