Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in United Kingdom
United Kingdom: Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents was 25.7% in 2020. ▼ Falling
Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in United Kingdom, 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 United Kingdom stood at 25.7%.
The figure is up 12.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in United Kingdom peaked at 29.3% in 1950 and was at its lowest, 21.9%, in 1990.
That places United Kingdom 51st out of 180 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 15 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 28.0% | 26.7% | 29.3% | 2 |
| 1960s | 28.0% | 27.6% | 28.5% | 2 |
| 1970s | 25.8% | 25.3% | 26.2% | 2 |
| 1980s | 23.3% | 22.2% | 24.4% | 2 |
| 1990s | 22.0% | 21.9% | 22.0% | 2 |
| 2000s | 22.3% | 22.2% | 22.4% | 2 |
| 2010s | 23.1% | 22.8% | 23.4% | 2 |
| 2020s | 25.7% | 25.7% | 25.7% | 1 |
Countries ranked near United Kingdom
More reference data data for United Kingdom
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 3.13 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 3.97 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 13.26 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.01 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 13.26 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 10.5 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 6.51 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 15.81 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 59.34 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 5.48 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in United Kingdom?
- Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in United Kingdom was 25.7% 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 United Kingdom?
- The highest recorded value was 29.3% in 1950.
- What is the lowest share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in United Kingdom?
- The lowest recorded value was 21.9% in 1990.
- How does United Kingdom rank for share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
- United Kingdom ranks 51st 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 United Kingdom?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this United Kingdom 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.