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

Mexico: Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents was 34.17 million people in 2020. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2020)
34.17 million people
World rank
11th
of 182 countries
All-time high
36.67 million people
in 2015
All-time low
3.69 million people
in 1950
Years of data
15
1950–2020

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

010.0M20.0M30.0M40.0M1950198520201950: 3.7M people1955: 4.5M people1960: 5.7M people1965: 8.5M people1970: 12.0M people1975: 14.7M people1980: 17.6M people1985: 19.4M people1990: 22.8M people1995: 25.5M people2000: 29.7M people2005: 31.7M people2010: 33.2M people2015: 36.7M people2020: 34.2M people

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

Analysis

Mexico recorded 34.17 million people for number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in 2020.

The figure is up 3.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Mexico peaked at 36.67 million people in 2015 and was at its lowest, 3.69 million people, in 1950.

Mexico ranks 11th 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 4.10 million people 3.69 million people 4.51 million people 2
1960s 7.08 million people 5.70 million people 8.46 million people 2
1970s 13.31 million people 11.95 million people 14.67 million people 2
1980s 18.51 million people 17.62 million people 19.40 million people 2
1990s 24.13 million people 22.76 million people 25.50 million people 2
2000s 30.68 million people 29.68 million people 31.69 million people 2
2010s 34.91 million people 33.16 million people 36.67 million people 2
2020s 34.17 million people 34.17 million people 34.17 million people 1

Countries ranked near Mexico

  1. 8 Bangladesh 45.99 million people compare
  2. 9 Nigeria 43.76 million people compare
  3. 10 Egypt 42.42 million people compare
  4. 12 South Korea 30.90 million people compare
  5. 13 Philippines 29.67 million people compare
  6. 14 Turkey 26.91 million people compare

See the full ranking of 182 places →

More reference data data for Mexico

All data for Mexico →

Frequently asked questions

What is number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Mexico?
Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Mexico was 34.17 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 Mexico?
The highest recorded value was 36.67 million people in 2015.
What is the lowest number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Mexico?
The lowest recorded value was 3.69 million people in 1950.
How does Mexico rank for number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
Mexico ranks 11th 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 Mexico?
Over the last ten years it is up 3.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Mexico 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.