How does El Salvador rank for number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents?

El Salvador ranks 100th 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 El Salvador?

Over the last ten years it is down 1.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.

Where does this El Salvador 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.

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

Name: Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in El Salvador
Creator: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

El Salvador: Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents was 1.60 million people in 2020. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2020)

1.60 million people

World rank

100th

of 182 countries

All-time high

1.65 million people

in 2000

All-time low

0 people

in 1950

Years of data

1950–2020

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

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

Analysis

In 2020, number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in El Salvador stood at 1.60 million people.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in El Salvador peaked at 1.65 million people in 2000 and was at its lowest, 0 people, in 1950.

That places El Salvador 100th out of 182 countries with data for 2020, putting it 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
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	1.24 million people	1.13 million people	1.34 million people	2
1990s	1.58 million people	1.53 million people	1.62 million people	2
2000s	1.64 million people	1.63 million people	1.65 million people	2
2010s	1.61 million people	1.61 million people	1.62 million people	2
2020s	1.60 million people	1.60 million people	1.60 million people	1

Countries ranked near El Salvador

97 Chad 1.65 million people compare
98 Hungary 1.63 million people compare
99 Cuba 1.62 million people compare
101 Mongolia 1.46 million people compare
102 Sweden 1.44 million people compare
103 Panama 1.40 million people compare

See the full ranking of 182 places →

More reference data data for El Salvador

Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.2714 (2050)
Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.6267 (2050)
Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.78 (2050)
Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0909 (2050)
Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 1.78 (2050)
Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.91 (2050)
Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.3176 (2050)
Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 3.5 (2050)
Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 8.5 (2050)
Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.4948 (2050)

All data for El Salvador →

Frequently asked questions

What is number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in El Salvador?: Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in El Salvador was 1.60 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 El Salvador?: The highest recorded value was 1.65 million people in 2000.
What is the lowest number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in El Salvador?: The lowest recorded value was 0 people in 1950.
How does El Salvador rank for number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents?: El Salvador ranks 100th 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 El Salvador?: Over the last ten years it is down 1.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this El Salvador 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: 07 August 2026

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.