Canada vs Mexico: Share of urban population who live in the largest city
Canada
18.0%
in 2020
Mexico
18.0%
in 2020
Canada rank
129th
Mexico rank
130th
Share of urban population who live in the largest city over time
- Canada
- Mexico
How they compare
Canada currently reports 18.0% against 18.0% in Mexico, a difference of 0.0%.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Mexico ahead.
Canada ranks 129th and Mexico ranks 130th of 179 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Canada averaged higher in 1 and Mexico in 7.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Canada | Mexico | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 10.0% | 27.6% | 17.6% | Mexico |
| 1960s | 11.2% | 28.2% | 17.0% | Mexico |
| 1970s | 12.4% | 28.5% | 16.1% | Mexico |
| 1980s | 13.6% | 27.7% | 14.1% | Mexico |
| 1990s | 15.9% | 25.0% | 9.1% | Mexico |
| 2000s | 17.3% | 22.8% | 5.6% | Mexico |
| 2010s | 18.2% | 20.5% | 2.3% | Mexico |
| 2020s | 18.0% | 18.0% | 0.1% | Canada |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of urban population who live in the largest city, Canada or Mexico?
- Canada, at 18.0% against 18.0% in Mexico as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of urban population who live in the largest city between Canada and Mexico?
- 0.0%, with Canada ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Canada and Mexico?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Canada and Mexico rank globally for share of urban population who live in the largest city?
- Canada ranks 129th and Mexico ranks 130th of 179 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of urban population who live in the largest city. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Percentage of the urban population living in the country's largest city (by population). City boundaries are defined using a consistent global approach based on satellite imagery and population data.