Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Turkey
Turkey: Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents was 26.91 million people in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Turkey, 1950–2020
Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
In 2020, number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Turkey stood at 26.91 million people. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.
That represents a change of up 26.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Turkey peaked at 26.91 million people in 2020 and was at its lowest, 1.64 million people, in 1950.
That places Turkey 14th 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
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 1.85 million people | 1.64 million people | 2.07 million people | 2 |
| 1960s | 3.39 million people | 2.45 million people | 4.32 million people | 2 |
| 1970s | 7.52 million people | 6.80 million people | 8.25 million people | 2 |
| 1980s | 10.43 million people | 9.51 million people | 11.34 million people | 2 |
| 1990s | 13.85 million people | 13.17 million people | 14.52 million people | 2 |
| 2000s | 17.57 million people | 16.78 million people | 18.37 million people | 2 |
| 2010s | 22.58 million people | 21.32 million people | 23.83 million people | 2 |
| 2020s | 26.91 million people | 26.91 million people | 26.91 million people | 1 |
Countries ranked near Turkey
More reference data data for Turkey
- Spring temperature anomalies -0.2619 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.4067 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 0.6004 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 0.4405 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies 1.69 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 1,784 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 0 (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 Turkey?
- Number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents in Turkey was 26.91 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 Turkey?
- The highest recorded value was 26.91 million people in 2020.
- What is the lowest number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents recorded in Turkey?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.64 million people in 1950.
- How does Turkey rank for number of people living in cities with more than 1 million residents?
- Turkey ranks 14th 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 Turkey?
- Over the last ten years it is up 26.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Turkey 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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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.