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

Ireland: Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents was 21.8% in 2020. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2020)
21.8%
World rank
63rd
of 180 countries
All-time high
21.8%
in 2015
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 Ireland, 1950–2020

051015201950198520201950: 0 %1955: 0 %1960: 0 %1965: 0 %1970: 0 %1975: 0 %1980: 0 %1985: 0 %1990: 0 %1995: 0 %2000: 0 %2005: 0 %2010: 0 %2015: 21.8 %2020: 21.8 %

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 Ireland stood at 21.8%.

That represents a change of down 0.1% over five years.

Over the whole period, share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Ireland peaked at 21.8% in 2015 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1950.

That places Ireland 63rd out of 180 countries with data for 2020, putting it 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 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 2
1980s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 2
1990s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 2
2000s 0.0% 0.0% 0.0% 2
2010s 10.9% 0.0% 21.8% 2
2020s 21.8% 21.8% 21.8% 1

Countries ranked near Ireland

  1. 60 Kazakhstan 22.1% compare
  2. 61 Vietnam 22.0% compare
  3. 62 Sri Lanka 22.0% compare
  4. 64 Venezuela 21.4% compare
  5. 65 New Zealand 21.4% compare
  6. 66 Belarus 21.1% compare

See the full ranking of 180 places →

More reference data data for Ireland

All data for Ireland →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Ireland?
Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Ireland was 21.8% 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 Ireland?
The highest recorded value was 21.8% in 2015.
What is the lowest share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Ireland?
The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1950.
How does Ireland rank for share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
Ireland ranks 63rd out of 180 countries with data for 2020.
Where does this Ireland 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.