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

Uruguay: Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents was 36.6% in 2020. ▼ Falling

Latest (2020)
36.6%
World rank
21st
of 180 countries
All-time high
47.1%
in 1975
All-time low
36.6%
in 2020
Years of data
15
1950–2020

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

010203040501950198520201950: 46.5 %1955: 46.3 %1960: 45.7 %1965: 45.4 %1970: 46 %1975: 47.1 %1980: 46.2 %1985: 45.5 %1990: 44.1 %1995: 42.6 %2000: 40.6 %2005: 39.3 %2010: 38.7 %2015: 38 %2020: 36.6 %

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 Uruguay is 36.6%, measured in 2020. That is the lowest value across all 15 years on record.

That represents a change of down 5.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Uruguay peaked at 47.1% in 1975 and was at its lowest, 36.6%, in 2020.

That places Uruguay 21st out of 180 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 15 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 46.4% 46.3% 46.5% 2
1960s 45.5% 45.4% 45.7% 2
1970s 46.6% 46.0% 47.1% 2
1980s 45.9% 45.5% 46.2% 2
1990s 43.4% 42.6% 44.1% 2
2000s 40.0% 39.3% 40.6% 2
2010s 38.4% 38.0% 38.7% 2
2020s 36.6% 36.6% 36.6% 1

Countries ranked near Uruguay

  1. 18 Argentina 38.8% compare
  2. 19 Egypt 38.8% compare
  3. 20 Armenia 36.7% compare
  4. 22 Colombia 35.4% compare
  5. 23 Liberia 34.3% compare
  6. 24 Chile 33.9% compare

See the full ranking of 180 places →

More reference data data for Uruguay

All data for Uruguay →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Uruguay?
Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Uruguay was 36.6% 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 Uruguay?
The highest recorded value was 47.1% in 1975.
What is the lowest share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Uruguay?
The lowest recorded value was 36.6% in 2020.
How does Uruguay rank for share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
Uruguay ranks 21st 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 Uruguay?
Over the last ten years it is down 5.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Uruguay 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

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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.