Egypt vs Libya: Share of urban population who live in the largest city
Egypt
22.7%
in 2020
Libya
22.1%
in 2020
Egypt rank
105th
Libya rank
107th
Share of urban population who live in the largest city over time
- Egypt
- Libya
How they compare
Egypt currently reports 22.7% against 22.1% in Libya, a difference of 0.6%.
The two have swapped places 3 times across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Libya ahead.
Egypt ranks 105th and Libya ranks 107th of 179 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Egypt averaged higher in 4 and Libya in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Egypt | Libya | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 17.8% | 22.1% | 4.3% | Libya |
| 1960s | 19.7% | 23.6% | 3.9% | Libya |
| 1970s | 21.0% | 29.2% | 8.2% | Libya |
| 1980s | 20.9% | 23.2% | 2.3% | Libya |
| 1990s | 21.8% | 19.4% | 2.4% | Egypt |
| 2000s | 22.5% | 21.3% | 1.2% | Egypt |
| 2010s | 22.5% | 22.5% | 0.0% | Egypt |
| 2020s | 22.7% | 22.1% | 0.6% | Egypt |
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, Egypt or Libya?
- Egypt, at 22.7% against 22.1% in Libya as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of urban population who live in the largest city between Egypt and Libya?
- 0.6%, with Egypt ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Egypt and Libya?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Egypt and Libya rank globally for share of urban population who live in the largest city?
- Egypt ranks 105th and Libya ranks 107th 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.