Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Zambia
Zambia: Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents was 15.7% in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Zambia, 1960–2020
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 Zambia stood at 15.7%. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.
That represents a change of up 17.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Zambia peaked at 15.7% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1960.
Zambia ranks 93rd of 180 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 2 |
| 2000s | 11.3% | 10.5% | 12.0% | 2 |
| 2010s | 13.9% | 13.3% | 14.5% | 2 |
| 2020s | 15.7% | 15.7% | 15.7% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More reference data data for Zambia
- Spring temperature anomalies -0.0386 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies -0.018 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 0.3261 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 0.5273 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies -0.2981 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 483.32 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 1 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Zambia?
- Share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Zambia was 15.7% 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 Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 15.7% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1960.
- How does Zambia rank for share of population living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
- Zambia ranks 93rd 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 Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 17.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Zambia 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 — 13 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.