Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Canada
Canada: Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents was 10.54 million people in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Canada, 1950–2020
Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
The most recent figure for number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Canada is 10.54 million people, measured in 2020. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 24.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Canada peaked at 10.54 million people in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0 people, in 1950.
That places Canada 30th out of 182 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 people | 0 people | 0 people | 2 |
| 1960s | 2.66 million people | 2.45 million people | 2.87 million people | 2 |
| 1970s | 3.49 million people | 3.32 million people | 3.66 million people | 2 |
| 1980s | 4.12 million people | 3.94 million people | 4.30 million people | 2 |
| 1990s | 5.83 million people | 5.08 million people | 6.57 million people | 2 |
| 2000s | 7.47 million people | 7.09 million people | 7.85 million people | 2 |
| 2010s | 8.75 million people | 8.50 million people | 8.99 million people | 2 |
| 2020s | 10.54 million people | 10.54 million people | 10.54 million people | 1 |
Countries ranked near Canada
More reference data data for Canada
- Spring temperature anomalies -4.58 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 1.7 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 2.12 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 2.47 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies -2.57 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 140.97 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 number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Canada?
- Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Canada was 10.54 million people in 2020, according to European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 10.54 million people in 2020.
- What is the lowest number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 people in 1950.
- How does Canada rank for number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
- Canada ranks 30th out of 182 countries with data for 2020.
- Is number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is up 24.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Canada 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 Number of people 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
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.