Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Democratic Republic of Congo

Democratic Republic of Congo: Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents was 20.0% in 2020. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2020)
20.0%
World rank
73rd
of 180 countries
All-time high
20.0%
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 Democratic Republic of Congo, 1950–2020

051015201950198520201950: 0 %1955: 0 %1960: 0 %1965: 0 %1970: 0 %1975: 4.5 %1980: 9.7 %1985: 11 %1990: 12.1 %1995: 13.4 %2000: 16.3 %2005: 17.3 %2010: 17.1 %2015: 17.7 %2020: 20 %

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 Democratic Republic of Congo stood at 20.0%. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 17.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Democratic Republic of Congo peaked at 20.0% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1950.

Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 73rd 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 2.2% 0.0% 4.5% 2
1980s 10.4% 9.7% 11.0% 2
1990s 12.8% 12.1% 13.4% 2
2000s 16.8% 16.3% 17.3% 2
2010s 17.4% 17.1% 17.7% 2
2020s 20.0% 20.0% 20.0% 1

Countries ranked near Democratic Republic of Congo

  1. 70 United States 20.4% compare
  2. 71 Tunisia 20.2% compare
  3. 72 Central African Republic 20.2% compare
  4. 74 Paraguay 19.8% compare
  5. 75 China 19.7% compare
  6. 76 Nicaragua 19.5% compare

See the full ranking of 180 places →

More reference data data for Democratic Republic of Congo

All data for Democratic Republic of Congo →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Democratic Republic of Congo?
Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Democratic Republic of Congo was 20.0% 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 Democratic Republic of Congo?
The highest recorded value was 20.0% in 2020.
What is the lowest share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Democratic Republic of Congo?
The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1950.
How does Democratic Republic of Congo rank for share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
Democratic Republic of Congo ranks 73rd 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 Democratic Republic of Congo?
Over the last ten years it is up 17.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Democratic Republic of Congo 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.