Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Colombia
Colombia: Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents was 35.4% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Colombia, 1950–2020
Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2020, share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Colombia stood at 35.4%. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.
That represents a change of up 4.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Colombia peaked at 35.4% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1950.
That places Colombia 22nd out of 180 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top quarter.
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 Colombia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 0.0% | — |
| 1955 | 8.7% | — |
| 1960 | 10.1% | +16.1% |
| 1965 | 18.7% | +85.2% |
| 1970 | 21.0% | +12.5% |
| 1975 | 27.7% | +31.8% |
| 1980 | 27.7% | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 31.3% | +13.2% |
| 1990 | 31.3% | -0.2% |
| 1995 | 31.4% | +0.4% |
| 2000 | 32.2% | +2.4% |
| 2005 | 33.0% | +2.6% |
| 2010 | 33.9% | +2.8% |
| 2015 | 35.2% | +3.7% |
| 2020 | 35.4% | +0.6% |
Colombia compared with similar countries
- Colombia's 35.4% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 19.8%, 1.8× the median. (48 countries reporting)
- Colombia's 35.4% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 25.6%, 1.4× the median. (27 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Colombia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | +85.2% | 10.1% | 18.7% |
| 1975 | +31.8% | 21.0% | 27.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 4.3% | 0.0% | 8.7% | 2 |
| 1960s | 14.4% | 10.1% | 18.7% | 2 |
| 1970s | 24.3% | 21.0% | 27.7% | 2 |
| 1980s | 29.5% | 27.7% | 31.3% | 2 |
| 1990s | 31.3% | 31.3% | 31.4% | 2 |
| 2000s | 32.6% | 32.2% | 33.0% | 2 |
| 2010s | 34.6% | 33.9% | 35.2% | 2 |
| 2020s | 35.4% | 35.4% | 35.4% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Colombia
More reference data data for Colombia
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 2.92 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 11.17 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 19.02 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.4113 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 19.02 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 9.81 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 2.67 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 61.25 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 94.56 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.24 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Colombia?
- Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Colombia was 35.4% 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 Colombia?
- The highest recorded value was 35.4% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Colombia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1950.
- How does Colombia rank for share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
- Colombia ranks 22nd 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 Colombia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Colombia 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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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.