Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Greece

Greece: Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents was 30.6% in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)
30.6%
World rank
37th
of 180 countries
All-time high
34.2%
in 1980
All-time low
23.4%
in 1950
Years of data
15
1950–2020

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

01020301950198520201950: 23.4 %1955: 25.1 %1960: 26.9 %1965: 28.9 %1970: 31.6 %1975: 33.3 %1980: 34.2 %1985: 33.1 %1990: 31.8 %1995: 31 %2000: 30.6 %2005: 30.3 %2010: 30.4 %2015: 30.8 %2020: 30.6 %

Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

The most recent figure for share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Greece is 30.6%, measured in 2020.

The figure is up 0.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Greece peaked at 34.2% in 1980 and was at its lowest, 23.4%, in 1950.

That places Greece 37th 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.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 24.3% 23.4% 25.1% 2
1960s 27.9% 26.9% 28.9% 2
1970s 32.4% 31.6% 33.3% 2
1980s 33.6% 33.1% 34.2% 2
1990s 31.4% 31.0% 31.8% 2
2000s 30.5% 30.3% 30.6% 2
2010s 30.6% 30.4% 30.8% 2
2020s 30.6% 30.6% 30.6% 1

Countries ranked near Greece

  1. 34 Brazil 30.8% compare
  2. 35 Lebanon 30.6% compare
  3. 36 Peru 30.6% compare
  4. 38 Mauritania 29.6% compare
  5. 39 Australia 29.5% compare
  6. 40 South Africa 29.5% compare

See the full ranking of 180 places →

More reference data data for Greece

All data for Greece →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Greece?
Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Greece was 30.6% 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 Greece?
The highest recorded value was 34.2% in 1980.
What is the lowest share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Greece?
The lowest recorded value was 23.4% in 1950.
How does Greece rank for share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
Greece ranks 37th 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 Greece?
Over the last ten years it is up 0.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Greece 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.