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

Ecuador: Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents was 5.47 million people in 2020. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2020)
5.47 million people
World rank
51st
of 182 countries
All-time high
5.47 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 Ecuador, 1950–2020

02.0M4.0M6.0M1950198520201950: 0 people1955: 0 people1960: 0 people1965: 0 people1970: 0 people1975: 0 people1980: 1.2M people1985: 2.4M people1990: 2.9M people1995: 3.3M people2000: 3.8M people2005: 4.2M people2010: 4.6M people2015: 5.0M people2020: 5.5M people

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 Ecuador is 5.47 million people, measured in 2020. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.

The figure is up 19.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Ecuador peaked at 5.47 million people in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0 people, in 1950.

Ecuador ranks 51st of 182 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

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 0 people 0 people 0 people 2
1960s 0 people 0 people 0 people 2
1970s 0 people 0 people 0 people 2
1980s 1.79 million people 1.16 million people 2.41 million people 2
1990s 3.12 million people 2.90 million people 3.33 million people 2
2000s 3.99 million people 3.78 million people 4.19 million people 2
2010s 4.79 million people 4.59 million people 5.00 million people 2
2020s 5.47 million people 5.47 million people 5.47 million people 1

Countries ranked near Ecuador

  1. 48 Ethiopia 5.91 million people compare
  2. 49 Hong Kong 5.88 million people compare
  3. 50 Syria 5.87 million people compare
  4. 52 Somalia 5.26 million people compare
  5. 53 Yemen 5.12 million people compare
  6. 54 Bolivia 5.02 million people compare

See the full ranking of 182 places →

More reference data data for Ecuador

All data for Ecuador →

Frequently asked questions

What is number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Ecuador?
Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Ecuador was 5.47 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 Ecuador?
The highest recorded value was 5.47 million people in 2020.
What is the lowest number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Ecuador?
The lowest recorded value was 0 people in 1950.
How does Ecuador rank for number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
Ecuador ranks 51st 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 Ecuador?
Over the last ten years it is up 19.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Ecuador 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.