Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Colombia

Colombia: Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents was 17.92 million people in 2020. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2020)
17.92 million people
World rank
19th
of 182 countries
All-time high
17.92 million people
in 2020
All-time low
0 people
in 1950
Years of data
15
1950–2020

Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Colombia, 1950–2020

05.0M10.0M15.0M20.0M1950198520201950: 0 people1955: 1.2M people1960: 1.6M people1965: 3.4M people1970: 4.4M people1975: 6.5M people1980: 7.2M people1985: 9.2M people1990: 10.1M people1995: 11.2M people2000: 12.6M people2005: 13.9M people2010: 15.2M people2015: 16.5M people2020: 17.9M people

Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.

Analysis

Colombia recorded 17.92 million people for number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in 2020. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.

The figure is up 17.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Colombia peaked at 17.92 million people in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0 people, in 1950.

Colombia ranks 19th of 182 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 584,670 people 0 people 1.17 million people 2
1960s 2.48 million people 1.57 million people 3.39 million people 2
1970s 5.42 million people 4.37 million people 6.46 million people 2
1980s 8.20 million people 7.23 million people 9.17 million people 2
1990s 10.70 million people 10.15 million people 11.25 million people 2
2000s 13.24 million people 12.58 million people 13.91 million people 2
2010s 15.87 million people 15.20 million people 16.53 million people 2
2020s 17.92 million people 17.92 million people 17.92 million people 1

Countries ranked near Colombia

  1. 16 Iran 22.00 million people compare
  2. 17 Vietnam 21.58 million people compare
  3. 18 Democratic Republic of Congo 19.22 million people compare
  4. 20 South Africa 17.85 million people compare
  5. 21 Argentina 17.55 million people compare
  6. 22 United Kingdom 17.28 million people compare

See the full ranking of 182 places →

More reference data data for Colombia

All data for Colombia →

Frequently asked questions

What is number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Colombia?
Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Colombia was 17.92 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 Colombia?
The highest recorded value was 17.92 million people in 2020.
What is the lowest number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Colombia?
The lowest recorded value was 0 people in 1950.
How does Colombia rank for number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
Colombia ranks 19th 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 Colombia?
Over the last ten years it is up 17.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Colombia 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

Indicator
Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents
Unit
people
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
182 places, 2,532 data points, 1950–2020
Last refreshed

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.