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. β–² Rising

Latest (2020)
38.8%
World rank
19th
of 180 countries
All-time high
38.8%
in 2020
All-time low
20.3%
in 1950
Years of data
15
1950–2020

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

0102030401950198520201950: 20.3 %1955: 21.5 %1960: 22.7 %1965: 24.7 %1970: 25.2 %1975: 26 %1980: 26.3 %1985: 26.3 %1990: 26.6 %1995: 27.4 %2000: 27.6 %2005: 30.3 %2010: 30.7 %2015: 34.7 %2020: 38.8 %

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.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest 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

  1. 16 Costa Rica 41.7% compare
  2. 17 Dominican Republic 40.1% compare
  3. 18 Argentina 38.8% compare
  4. 20 Armenia 36.7% compare
  5. 21 Uruguay 36.6% compare
  6. 22 Colombia 35.4% compare

See the full ranking of 180 places β†’

More reference data data for Egypt

All data for Egypt β†’

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.

Download this data

CSV Β· JSON β€” 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.