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

Thailand: Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents was 24.1% in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)
24.1%
World rank
55th
of 180 countries
All-time high
24.1%
in 2020
All-time low
6.5%
in 1950
Years of data
15
1950–2020

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

5101520251950198520201950: 6.5 %1955: 7 %1960: 7.4 %1965: 7.8 %1970: 8.3 %1975: 8.9 %1980: 10.2 %1985: 10.6 %1990: 11.6 %1995: 12.2 %2000: 13.3 %2005: 16 %2010: 18.9 %2015: 21.1 %2020: 24.1 %

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 Thailand stood at 24.1%. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.

The figure is up 27.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Thailand peaked at 24.1% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 6.5%, in 1950.

Thailand ranks 55th 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.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 6.7% 6.5% 7.0% 2
1960s 7.6% 7.4% 7.8% 2
1970s 8.6% 8.3% 8.9% 2
1980s 10.4% 10.2% 10.6% 2
1990s 11.9% 11.6% 12.2% 2
2000s 14.6% 13.3% 16.0% 2
2010s 20.0% 18.9% 21.1% 2
2020s 24.1% 24.1% 24.1% 1

Countries ranked near Thailand

  1. 52 El Salvador 25.6% compare
  2. 53 Iran 25.1% compare
  3. 54 Pakistan 25.1% compare
  4. 56 Morocco 23.8% compare
  5. 57 Spain 22.5% compare
  6. 58 Sierra Leone 22.4% compare

See the full ranking of 180 places →

More reference data data for Thailand

All data for Thailand →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Thailand?
Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Thailand was 24.1% 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 Thailand?
The highest recorded value was 24.1% in 2020.
What is the lowest share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Thailand?
The lowest recorded value was 6.5% in 1950.
How does Thailand rank for share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
Thailand ranks 55th 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 Thailand?
Over the last ten years it is up 27.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Thailand 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.