Malawi vs Netherlands: Share of urban population who live in the largest city

Malawi
6.7%
in 2020
Netherlands
7.7%
in 2020
Malawi rank
173rd
Netherlands rank
171st

Share of urban population who live in the largest city over time

  • Malawi
  • Netherlands
02.557.51012.5195019852020

How they compare

Netherlands currently reports 7.7% against 6.7% in Malawi, a difference of 1.0%.

That makes Netherlands's figure about 1.2 times Malawi's.

The two have swapped places 2 times across 9 shared years of data; in 1980 it was Netherlands ahead.

Malawi ranks 173rd and Netherlands ranks 171st of 179 countries.

Across the 5 decades both report, Malawi averaged higher in 4 and Netherlands in 1.

Head to head by decade

Decade Malawi Netherlands Difference Ahead
1980s 7.8% 7.6% 0.2% Malawi
1990s 10.0% 7.4% 2.6% Malawi
2000s 10.9% 7.3% 3.6% Malawi
2010s 8.2% 7.4% 0.8% Malawi
2020s 6.7% 7.7% 1.0% Netherlands

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, Malawi or Netherlands?
Netherlands, at 7.7% against 6.7% in Malawi as of 2020.
What is the difference in share of urban population who live in the largest city between Malawi and Netherlands?
1.0%, with Netherlands ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Malawi and Netherlands?
9 years are reported by both, from 1980 to 2020.
How do Malawi and Netherlands rank globally for share of urban population who live in the largest city?
Malawi ranks 173rd and Netherlands ranks 171st 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

Indicator
Share of urban population who live in the largest city
Unit
%
Source
European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
179 places, 2,452 data points, 1950–2020
Last refreshed

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.