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

Philippines: Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents was 26.5% in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)
26.5%
World rank
49th
of 180 countries
All-time high
26.5%
in 2020
All-time low
13.8%
in 1950
Years of data
15
1950–2020

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

01020301950198520201950: 13.8 %1955: 14.7 %1960: 15.7 %1965: 16.4 %1970: 17.5 %1975: 19.8 %1980: 20.6 %1985: 21.2 %1990: 24 %1995: 24.9 %2000: 24.4 %2005: 25.4 %2010: 25.5 %2015: 26.4 %2020: 26.5 %

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 Philippines is 26.5%, measured in 2020. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.

The figure is up 3.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Philippines peaked at 26.5% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 13.8%, in 1950.

That places Philippines 49th 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 14.3% 13.8% 14.7% 2
1960s 16.1% 15.7% 16.4% 2
1970s 18.6% 17.5% 19.8% 2
1980s 20.9% 20.6% 21.2% 2
1990s 24.4% 24.0% 24.9% 2
2000s 24.9% 24.4% 25.4% 2
2010s 25.9% 25.5% 26.4% 2
2020s 26.5% 26.5% 26.5% 1

Countries ranked near Philippines

  1. 46 Senegal 27.3% compare
  2. 47 Honduras 27.3% compare
  3. 48 Mexico 27.0% compare
  4. 50 Togo 25.9% compare
  5. 51 United Kingdom 25.7% compare
  6. 52 El Salvador 25.6% compare

See the full ranking of 180 places →

More reference data data for Philippines

All data for Philippines →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Philippines?
Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Philippines was 26.5% 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 Philippines?
The highest recorded value was 26.5% in 2020.
What is the lowest share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Philippines?
The lowest recorded value was 13.8% in 1950.
How does Philippines rank for share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
Philippines ranks 49th 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 Philippines?
Over the last ten years it is up 3.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Philippines 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.