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

Libya: Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents was 1.17 million people in 2020. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2020)
1.17 million people
World rank
116th
of 182 countries
All-time high
1.17 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 Libya, 1950–2020

0250.0k500.0k750.0k1.0M1.2M1950198520201950: 0 people1955: 0 people1960: 0 people1965: 0 people1970: 0 people1975: 0 people1980: 0 people1985: 0 people1990: 0 people1995: 0 people2000: 0 people2005: 0 people2010: 1.0M people2015: 1.2M people2020: 1.2M people

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

Analysis

Libya recorded 1.17 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 12.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Libya peaked at 1.17 million people in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0 people, in 1950.

That places Libya 116th 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

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 0 people 0 people 0 people 2
1990s 0 people 0 people 0 people 2
2000s 0 people 0 people 0 people 2
2010s 1.10 million people 1.05 million people 1.16 million people 2
2020s 1.17 million people 1.17 million people 1.17 million people 1

Countries ranked near Libya

  1. 113 Uruguay 1.24 million people compare
  2. 114 Denmark 1.20 million people compare
  3. 115 Czechia 1.18 million people compare
  4. 117 Netherlands 1.14 million people compare
  5. 118 Burundi 1.14 million people compare
  6. 119 Serbia 1.14 million people compare

See the full ranking of 182 places →

More reference data data for Libya

All data for Libya →

Frequently asked questions

What is number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Libya?
Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Libya was 1.17 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 Libya?
The highest recorded value was 1.17 million people in 2020.
What is the lowest number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Libya?
The lowest recorded value was 0 people in 1950.
How does Libya rank for number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
Libya ranks 116th 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 Libya?
Over the last ten years it is up 12.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Libya 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.