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

Philippines: Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents was 29.67 million people in 2020. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2020)
29.67 million people
World rank
13th
of 182 countries
All-time high
29.67 million people
in 2020
All-time low
2.60 million people
in 1950
Years of data
15
1950–2020

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

010.0M20.0M30.0M1950198520201950: 2.6M people1955: 3.4M people1960: 4.4M people1965: 5.4M people1970: 6.6M people1975: 8.3M people1980: 9.9M people1985: 11.7M people1990: 15.1M people1995: 17.6M people2000: 19.4M people2005: 22.3M people2010: 24.5M people2015: 27.8M people2020: 29.7M people

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

Analysis

Philippines recorded 29.67 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 20.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Philippines peaked at 29.67 million people in 2020 and was at its lowest, 2.60 million people, in 1950.

That places Philippines 13th out of 182 countries with data for 2020, putting it 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 2.99 million people 2.60 million people 3.37 million people 2
1960s 4.88 million people 4.38 million people 5.37 million people 2
1970s 7.45 million people 6.57 million people 8.33 million people 2
1980s 10.78 million people 9.88 million people 11.68 million people 2
1990s 16.32 million people 15.06 million people 17.59 million people 2
2000s 20.87 million people 19.41 million people 22.33 million people 2
2010s 26.15 million people 24.54 million people 27.75 million people 2
2020s 29.67 million people 29.67 million people 29.67 million people 1

Countries ranked near Philippines

  1. 10 Egypt 42.42 million people compare
  2. 11 Mexico 34.17 million people compare
  3. 12 South Korea 30.90 million people compare
  4. 14 Turkey 26.91 million people compare
  5. 15 Russia 24.98 million people compare
  6. 16 Iran 22.00 million people compare

See the full ranking of 182 places →

More reference data data for Philippines

All data for Philippines →

Frequently asked questions

What is number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Philippines?
Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Philippines was 29.67 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 Philippines?
The highest recorded value was 29.67 million people in 2020.
What is the lowest number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Philippines?
The lowest recorded value was 2.60 million people in 1950.
How does Philippines rank for number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
Philippines ranks 13th 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 Philippines?
Over the last ten years it is up 20.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Philippines 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.