Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Pakistan
Pakistan: Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents was 25.1% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Pakistan, 1950–2020
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 Pakistan stood at 25.1%. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.
That represents a change of up 11.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Pakistan peaked at 25.1% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 8.6%, in 1950.
Pakistan ranks 54th of 180 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
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 Pakistan, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 8.6% | — |
| 1955 | 9.4% | +9.7% |
| 1960 | 10.3% | +9.0% |
| 1965 | 11.2% | +8.8% |
| 1970 | 12.1% | +7.8% |
| 1975 | 14.6% | +20.7% |
| 1980 | 14.9% | +2.3% |
| 1985 | 20.3% | +36.4% |
| 1990 | 20.0% | -1.7% |
| 1995 | 20.4% | +2.1% |
| 2000 | 21.2% | +4.1% |
| 2005 | 21.5% | +1.4% |
| 2010 | 22.4% | +4.0% |
| 2015 | 23.5% | +4.9% |
| 2020 | 25.1% | +6.7% |
Pakistan compared with similar countries
- Pakistan's 25.1% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 17.4%, 1.4× the median. (45 countries reporting)
- Pakistan's 25.1% is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 25.1%, 100% of the median. (23 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Pakistan changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | +36.4% | 14.9% | 20.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 9.0% | 8.6% | 9.4% | 2 |
| 1960s | 10.7% | 10.3% | 11.2% | 2 |
| 1970s | 13.3% | 12.1% | 14.6% | 2 |
| 1980s | 17.6% | 14.9% | 20.3% | 2 |
| 1990s | 20.2% | 20.0% | 20.4% | 2 |
| 2000s | 21.4% | 21.2% | 21.5% | 2 |
| 2010s | 23.0% | 22.4% | 23.5% | 2 |
| 2020s | 25.1% | 25.1% | 25.1% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Pakistan
More reference data data for Pakistan
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 6.05 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 20.96 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 61.26 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.98 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 61.26 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 20.3 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 5.75 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 91.27 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 260 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 10.79 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Pakistan?
- Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Pakistan was 25.1% 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 Pakistan?
- The highest recorded value was 25.1% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Pakistan?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.6% in 1950.
- How does Pakistan rank for share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
- Pakistan ranks 54th 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 Pakistan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 11.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Pakistan 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.