Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Portugal
Portugal: Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents was 1.86 million people in 2020. ▲ Rising
Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Portugal, 1950–2020
Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
The most recent figure for number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Portugal is 1.86 million people, measured in 2020. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.
That represents a change of up 6.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Portugal peaked at 1.86 million people in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0 people, in 1950.
That places Portugal 91st out of 182 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.
Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Portugal, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 0 people | — |
| 1955 | 0 people | — |
| 1960 | 1.05 million people | — |
| 1965 | 1.11 million people | +5.8% |
| 1970 | 1.14 million people | +2.9% |
| 1975 | 1.28 million people | +12.2% |
| 1980 | 1.50 million people | +17.5% |
| 1985 | 1.54 million people | +2.6% |
| 1990 | 1.55 million people | +0.3% |
| 1995 | 1.63 million people | +5.5% |
| 2000 | 1.67 million people | +2.5% |
| 2005 | 1.71 million people | +2.3% |
| 2010 | 1.74 million people | +1.9% |
| 2015 | 1.79 million people | +2.7% |
| 2020 | 1.86 million people | +4.1% |
Portugal compared with similar countries
- Portugal's 1.86 million people is above the median for high income countries, which is 1.35 million people, 1.4× the median. (60 countries reporting)
- Portugal's 1.86 million people is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1.14 million people, 1.6× the median. (49 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 0 people | 0 people | 0 people | 2 |
| 1960s | 1.08 million people | 1.05 million people | 1.11 million people | 2 |
| 1970s | 1.21 million people | 1.14 million people | 1.28 million people | 2 |
| 1980s | 1.52 million people | 1.50 million people | 1.54 million people | 2 |
| 1990s | 1.59 million people | 1.55 million people | 1.63 million people | 2 |
| 2000s | 1.69 million people | 1.67 million people | 1.71 million people | 2 |
| 2010s | 1.76 million people | 1.74 million people | 1.79 million people | 2 |
| 2020s | 1.86 million people | 1.86 million people | 1.86 million people | 1 |
Countries ranked near Portugal
More reference data data for Portugal
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.5144 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.4372 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 1.51 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0472 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 1.51 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 1.72 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 1.02 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.81 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 6.9 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.2572 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Portugal?
- Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Portugal was 1.86 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 Portugal?
- The highest recorded value was 1.86 million people in 2020.
- What is the lowest number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Portugal?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 people in 1950.
- How does Portugal rank for number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
- Portugal ranks 91st 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 Portugal?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Portugal 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
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.