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

Mexico: Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents was 27.0% in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)
27.0%
World rank
48th
of 180 countries
All-time high
30.3%
in 2015
All-time low
13.4%
in 1950
Years of data
15
1950–2020

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

01020301950198520201950: 13.4 %1955: 14.3 %1960: 15.5 %1965: 19.6 %1970: 23.5 %1975: 24.9 %1980: 26.2 %1985: 25.9 %1990: 27.5 %1995: 28.1 %2000: 30.1 %2005: 29.9 %2010: 29.2 %2015: 30.3 %2020: 27 %

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 Mexico stood at 27.0%.

The figure is down 7.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Mexico peaked at 30.3% in 2015 and was at its lowest, 13.4%, in 1950.

That places Mexico 48th out of 180 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 13.8% 13.4% 14.3% 2
1960s 17.6% 15.5% 19.6% 2
1970s 24.2% 23.5% 24.9% 2
1980s 26.0% 25.9% 26.2% 2
1990s 27.8% 27.5% 28.1% 2
2000s 30.0% 29.9% 30.1% 2
2010s 29.7% 29.2% 30.3% 2
2020s 27.0% 27.0% 27.0% 1

Countries ranked near Mexico

  1. 45 Canada 27.6% compare
  2. 46 Senegal 27.3% compare
  3. 47 Honduras 27.3% compare
  4. 49 Philippines 26.5% compare
  5. 50 Togo 25.9% compare
  6. 51 United Kingdom 25.7% compare

See the full ranking of 180 places →

More reference data data for Mexico

All data for Mexico →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Mexico?
Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Mexico was 27.0% 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 Mexico?
The highest recorded value was 30.3% in 2015.
What is the lowest share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Mexico?
The lowest recorded value was 13.4% in 1950.
How does Mexico rank for share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
Mexico ranks 48th 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 Mexico?
Over the last ten years it is down 7.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Mexico 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.