Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Poland
Poland: Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents was 4.9% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Poland, 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 Poland stood at 4.9%.
That represents a change of up 7.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Poland peaked at 7.5% in 1980 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1950.
That places Poland 125th 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.
Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Poland, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 0.0% | — |
| 1955 | 0.0% | — |
| 1960 | 3.8% | — |
| 1965 | 3.9% | +2.9% |
| 1970 | 7.2% | +83.5% |
| 1975 | 7.4% | +2.8% |
| 1980 | 7.5% | +2.4% |
| 1985 | 7.3% | -3.1% |
| 1990 | 7.2% | -1.2% |
| 1995 | 7.1% | -1.3% |
| 2000 | 7.1% | +0.1% |
| 2005 | 4.5% | -37.2% |
| 2010 | 4.6% | +1.8% |
| 2015 | 4.7% | +2.9% |
| 2020 | 4.9% | +4.0% |
Poland compared with similar countries
- Poland's 4.9% is below the median for high income countries, which is 15.3%, 32% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Poland's 4.9% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 11.6%, 42% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Poland 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | +83.5% | 3.9% | 7.2% |
| 2005 | -37.2% | 7.1% | 4.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 2 |
| 1960s | 3.8% | 3.8% | 3.9% | 2 |
| 1970s | 7.3% | 7.2% | 7.4% | 2 |
| 1980s | 7.4% | 7.3% | 7.5% | 2 |
| 1990s | 7.2% | 7.1% | 7.2% | 2 |
| 2000s | 5.8% | 4.5% | 7.1% | 2 |
| 2010s | 4.6% | 4.6% | 4.7% | 2 |
| 2020s | 4.9% | 4.9% | 4.9% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Poland
- 122 Netherlands 6.5% compare
- 123 Niger 5.6% compare
- 124 Ethiopia 5.0% compare
- 126 Albania 0.0%
- 126 Bahamas 0.0%
- 126 Barbados 0.0%
- 126 Bhutan 0.0%
- 126 Bosnia and Herzegovina 0.0%
- 126 Botswana 0.0%
- 126 Cape Verde 0.0%
- 126 Comoros 0.0%
- 126 Croatia 0.0%
- 126 Cyprus 0.0%
- 126 Djibouti 0.0%
- 126 East Timor 0.0%
- 126 Equatorial Guinea 0.0%
- 126 Eritrea 0.0%
- 126 Estonia 0.0%
- 126 Eswatini 0.0%
- 126 Fiji 0.0%
- 126 Finland 0.0%
- 126 French Polynesia 0.0%
- 126 Gabon 0.0%
- 126 Georgia 0.0% compare
- 126 Guadeloupe 0.0%
- 126 Guinea-Bissau 0.0%
- 126 Guyana 0.0%
- 126 Iceland 0.0%
- 126 Jamaica 0.0%
- 126 Laos 0.0%
- 126 Latvia 0.0%
- 126 Lesotho 0.0%
- 126 Lithuania 0.0%
- 126 Luxembourg 0.0%
- 126 Malawi 0.0%
- 126 Maldives 0.0%
- 126 Malta 0.0%
- 126 Martinique 0.0%
- 126 Mauritius 0.0%
- 126 Moldova 0.0%
- 126 Montenegro 0.0%
- 126 Namibia 0.0%
- 126 New Caledonia 0.0%
- 126 North Macedonia 0.0%
- 126 Norway 0.0%
- 126 Oman 0.0%
- 126 Palestine 0.0%
- 126 Papua New Guinea 0.0%
- 126 Puerto Rico 0.0%
- 126 Reunion 0.0%
- 126 Sao Tome and Principe 0.0%
- 126 Slovakia 0.0%
- 126 Slovenia 0.0%
- 126 Solomon Islands 0.0%
- 126 South Sudan 0.0%
- 126 Suriname 0.0%
- 126 Switzerland 0.0%
- 126 Trinidad and Tobago 0.0%
More reference data data for Poland
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 2.62 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.499 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 9.36 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.8896 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 9.36 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 8.77 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 5.77 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 2.57 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 43.86 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 4.84 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Poland?
- Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Poland was 4.9% 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 Poland?
- The highest recorded value was 7.5% in 1980.
- What is the lowest share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Poland?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1950.
- How does Poland rank for share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
- Poland ranks 125th 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 Poland?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Poland 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.