Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Egypt
Egypt: Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents was 38.8% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Egypt, 1950–2020
Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Egypt 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 26.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Egypt peaked at 38.8% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 20.3%, in 1950.
Egypt ranks 19th of 180 countries on this measure, 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 Egypt, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 20.3% | — |
| 1955 | 21.5% | +5.9% |
| 1960 | 22.7% | +5.4% |
| 1965 | 24.7% | +9.1% |
| 1970 | 25.2% | +2.1% |
| 1975 | 26.0% | +2.8% |
| 1980 | 26.3% | +1.4% |
| 1985 | 26.3% | -0.2% |
| 1990 | 26.6% | +1.2% |
| 1995 | 27.4% | +3.3% |
| 2000 | 27.6% | +0.5% |
| 2005 | 30.3% | +9.9% |
| 2010 | 30.7% | +1.4% |
| 2015 | 34.7% | +12.7% |
| 2020 | 38.8% | +11.9% |
Egypt compared with similar countries
- Egypt's 38.8% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 17.4%, 2.2× the median. (45 countries reporting)
- Egypt's 38.8% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 25.1%, 1.5× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 20.9% | 20.3% | 21.5% | 2 |
| 1960s | 23.7% | 22.7% | 24.7% | 2 |
| 1970s | 25.6% | 25.2% | 26.0% | 2 |
| 1980s | 26.3% | 26.3% | 26.3% | 2 |
| 1990s | 27.0% | 26.6% | 27.4% | 2 |
| 2000s | 28.9% | 27.6% | 30.3% | 2 |
| 2010s | 32.7% | 30.7% | 34.7% | 2 |
| 2020s | 38.8% | 38.8% | 38.8% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Egypt
More reference data data for Egypt
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.2851 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 5.23 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 16.05 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.2 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 16.05 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.956 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.4622 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 25.55 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 71.76 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 6.55 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Egypt?
- Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Egypt 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 Egypt?
- 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 Egypt?
- The lowest recorded value was 20.3% in 1950.
- How does Egypt rank for share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
- Egypt ranks 19th 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 Egypt?
- Over the last ten years it is up 26.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Egypt 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.