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

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

Latest (2020)
30.6%
World rank
36th
of 180 countries
All-time high
30.6%
in 2020
All-time low
14.7%
in 1950
Years of data
15
1950–2020

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

01020301950198520201950: 14.7 %1955: 16.2 %1960: 17.7 %1965: 19.4 %1970: 21.3 %1975: 23 %1980: 24.2 %1985: 24.6 %1990: 24.9 %1995: 25.8 %2000: 26.3 %2005: 27.8 %2010: 29.3 %2015: 30.5 %2020: 30.6 %

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

Analysis

Peru recorded 30.6% 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 4.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Peru peaked at 30.6% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 14.7%, in 1950.

Peru ranks 36th 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 15.4% 14.7% 16.2% 2
1960s 18.5% 17.7% 19.4% 2
1970s 22.1% 21.3% 23.0% 2
1980s 24.4% 24.2% 24.6% 2
1990s 25.3% 24.9% 25.8% 2
2000s 27.0% 26.3% 27.8% 2
2010s 29.9% 29.3% 30.5% 2
2020s 30.6% 30.6% 30.6% 1

Countries ranked near Peru

  1. 33 Cameroon 31.0% compare
  2. 34 Brazil 30.8% compare
  3. 35 Lebanon 30.6% compare
  4. 37 Greece 30.6% compare
  5. 38 Mauritania 29.6% compare
  6. 39 Australia 29.5% compare

See the full ranking of 180 places →

More reference data data for Peru

All data for Peru →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Peru?
Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Peru 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 Peru?
The highest recorded value was 30.6% in 2020.
What is the lowest share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Peru?
The lowest recorded value was 14.7% in 1950.
How does Peru rank for share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
Peru ranks 36th 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 Peru?
Over the last ten years it is up 4.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Peru 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.