Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Japan
Japan: Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents was 64.56 million people in 2020. ▲ Rising
Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Japan, 1950–2020
Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
Japan recorded 64.56 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.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Japan peaked at 64.56 million people in 2020 and was at its lowest, 22.80 million people, in 1950.
Japan ranks 5th of 182 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 25.18 million people | 22.80 million people | 27.55 million people | 2 |
| 1960s | 37.29 million people | 34.42 million people | 40.15 million people | 2 |
| 1970s | 48.44 million people | 45.74 million people | 51.13 million people | 2 |
| 1980s | 54.58 million people | 53.75 million people | 55.40 million people | 2 |
| 1990s | 59.31 million people | 58.65 million people | 59.98 million people | 2 |
| 2000s | 60.87 million people | 60.35 million people | 61.40 million people | 2 |
| 2010s | 63.35 million people | 62.66 million people | 64.04 million people | 2 |
| 2020s | 64.56 million people | 64.56 million people | 64.56 million people | 1 |
Countries ranked near Japan
More reference data data for Japan
- Spring temperature anomalies 1.24 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.1053 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month -0.7172 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 1.9 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 0.5865 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 118.04 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 Japan?
- Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Japan was 64.56 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 Japan?
- The highest recorded value was 64.56 million people in 2020.
- What is the lowest number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Japan?
- The lowest recorded value was 22.80 million people in 1950.
- How does Japan rank for number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
- Japan ranks 5th 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 Japan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Japan 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.
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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.