Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Somalia
Somalia: Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents was 31.6% in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Somalia, 1950–2020
Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Somalia recorded 31.6% 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 130.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Somalia peaked at 31.6% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1950.
That places Somalia 29th out of 180 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 2 |
| 1960s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 2 |
| 1970s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 2 |
| 1980s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 2 |
| 1990s | 15.4% | 14.8% | 16.0% | 2 |
| 2000s | 13.9% | 13.7% | 14.0% | 2 |
| 2010s | 15.0% | 13.7% | 16.3% | 2 |
| 2020s | 31.6% | 31.6% | 31.6% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Somalia
More reference data data for Somalia
- Temperature anomalies by month -0.06 °C (2026)
- Spring temperature anomalies 0.3971 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.484 °C (2026)
- Competitive elections 0 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 0 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 0 (2025)
- Universal right to vote in practice 0 (2025)
- Elected parliament 0 (2025)
- Civil liberties rating 7 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 0.6624 °C (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Somalia?
- Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Somalia was 31.6% 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 Somalia?
- The highest recorded value was 31.6% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Somalia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1950.
- How does Somalia rank for share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
- Somalia ranks 29th 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 Somalia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 130.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Somalia 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
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.