Population in the largest city in Low & middle income
Low & middle income: Population in the largest city was 15.3% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Population in the largest city in Low & middle income, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects 2018, United Nations (UN). Measured in % of urban population.
Analysis
Low & middle income recorded 15.3% for population in the largest city in 2025.
That represents a change of up 0.7% on the previous year and up 4.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, population in the largest city in Low & middle income peaked at 18.5% in 1974 and was at its lowest, 14.7%, in 2016.
Low & middle income ranks 33rd of 43 groups on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 66 years of available data.
Population in the largest city in Low & middle income, year by year
| Year | % of urban population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 17.0% | — |
| 1961 | 17.3% | +1.8% |
| 1962 | 17.9% | +3.4% |
| 1963 | 18.0% | +0.8% |
| 1964 | 17.7% | -1.7% |
| 1965 | 17.9% | +0.8% |
| 1966 | 18.0% | +0.5% |
| 1967 | 18.0% | +0.4% |
| 1968 | 18.1% | +0.5% |
| 1969 | 18.2% | +0.5% |
| 1970 | 18.3% | +0.6% |
| 1971 | 18.4% | +0.5% |
| 1972 | 18.5% | +0.5% |
| 1973 | 18.5% | +0.2% |
| 1974 | 18.5% | +0.1% |
| 1975 | 18.4% | -0.8% |
| 1976 | 18.4% | -0.2% |
| 1977 | 18.3% | -0.2% |
| 1978 | 18.2% | -0.4% |
| 1979 | 18.1% | -1.0% |
| 1980 | 18.0% | -0.2% |
| 1981 | 17.9% | -0.9% |
| 1982 | 17.7% | -0.7% |
| 1983 | 17.5% | -1.3% |
| 1984 | 17.2% | -1.4% |
| 1985 | 17.1% | -0.7% |
| 1986 | 17.0% | -0.8% |
| 1987 | 16.9% | -0.7% |
| 1988 | 16.8% | -0.4% |
| 1989 | 16.8% | -0.3% |
| 1990 | 16.8% | +0.2% |
| 1991 | 16.7% | -0.5% |
| 1992 | 16.6% | -0.5% |
| 1993 | 16.6% | -0.5% |
| 1994 | 16.5% | -0.4% |
| 1995 | 16.4% | -0.4% |
| 1996 | 16.3% | -0.9% |
| 1997 | 16.1% | -1.0% |
| 1998 | 16.0% | -1.0% |
| 1999 | 15.8% | -0.9% |
| 2000 | 15.7% | -0.9% |
| 2001 | 15.6% | -0.6% |
| 2002 | 15.5% | -0.6% |
| 2003 | 15.4% | -0.6% |
| 2004 | 15.3% | -0.5% |
| 2005 | 15.2% | -0.5% |
| 2006 | 15.1% | -0.5% |
| 2007 | 15.0% | -0.7% |
| 2008 | 15.0% | -0.1% |
| 2009 | 15.0% | -0.2% |
| 2010 | 15.0% | -0.1% |
| 2011 | 14.8% | -1.1% |
| 2012 | 14.8% | -0.2% |
| 2013 | 14.7% | -0.3% |
| 2014 | 14.7% | -0.2% |
| 2015 | 14.7% | -0.2% |
| 2016 | 14.7% | -0.0% |
| 2017 | 14.7% | +0.1% |
| 2018 | 14.7% | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 14.7% | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 14.8% | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 14.8% | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 14.9% | +0.7% |
| 2023 | 15.1% | +0.8% |
| 2024 | 15.2% | +0.7% |
| 2025 | 15.3% | +0.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 17.8% | 17.0% | 18.2% | 10 |
| 1970s | 18.4% | 18.1% | 18.5% | 10 |
| 1980s | 17.3% | 16.8% | 18.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 16.4% | 15.8% | 16.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 15.3% | 15.0% | 15.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 14.8% | 14.7% | 15.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 15.0% | 14.8% | 15.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Low & middle income
- 30 Kyrgyzstan 45.1% compare
- 31 Lebanon 44.7% compare
- 32 Dominican Republic 43.7% compare
- 33 Afghanistan 42.9% compare
- 34 Bangladesh 42.2% compare
- 35 Azerbaijan 41.5% compare
- 36 Central African Republic 41.4% compare
More urban development data for Low & middle income
- Population density 85.33 people per sq. km of land area (2023)
- PM2.5 air pollution, mean annual exposure 37.06 micrograms per cubic meter (2023)
- PM2.5 air pollution, population exposed to levels exceeding WHO 98.3% (2017)
Frequently asked questions
- What is population in the largest city in Low & middle income?
- Population in the largest city in Low & middle income was 15.3% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects 2018, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest population in the largest city recorded in Low & middle income?
- The highest recorded value was 18.5% in 1974.
- What is the lowest population in the largest city recorded in Low & middle income?
- The lowest recorded value was 14.7% in 2016.
- How does Low & middle income rank for population in the largest city?
- Low & middle income ranks 33rd out of 43 groups with data for 2025.
- Is population in the largest city rising or falling in Low & middle income?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Low & middle income data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects 2018, United Nations (UN), published as part of Population in the largest city (% of urban population). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Population in largest city is the percentage of a country's urban population living in that country's largest metropolitan area.