Iran, Islamic Republic of vs Türkiye: Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas
Iran, Islamic Republic of
13.42 million people
in 2020
Türkiye
15.21 million people
in 2020
Iran, Islamic Republic of rank
24th
Türkiye rank
21st
Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas over time
- Iran, Islamic Republic of
- Türkiye
How they compare
Türkiye currently reports 15.21 million people against 13.42 million people in Iran, Islamic Republic of, a difference of 1.79 million people.
That makes Türkiye's figure about 1.1 times Iran, Islamic Republic of's.
Across all 15 years both countries report, Türkiye has been ahead every year.
Iran, Islamic Republic of ranks 24th and Türkiye ranks 21st of 236 countries.
Türkiye has averaged higher in every one of the 8 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Iran, Islamic Republic of | Türkiye | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 6.99 million people | 10.46 million people | 3.47 million people | Türkiye |
| 1960s | 7.89 million people | 11.91 million people | 4.02 million people | Türkiye |
| 1970s | 8.80 million people | 13.01 million people | 4.22 million people | Türkiye |
| 1980s | 10.74 million people | 14.40 million people | 3.66 million people | Türkiye |
| 1990s | 12.66 million people | 15.56 million people | 2.90 million people | Türkiye |
| 2000s | 12.73 million people | 15.13 million people | 2.40 million people | Türkiye |
| 2010s | 13.03 million people | 14.63 million people | 1.59 million people | Türkiye |
| 2020s | 13.42 million people | 15.21 million people | 1.79 million people | Türkiye |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas, Iran, Islamic Republic of or Türkiye?
- Türkiye, at 15.21 million people against 13.42 million people in Iran, Islamic Republic of as of 2020.
- What is the difference in number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas between Iran, Islamic Republic of and Türkiye?
- 1.79 million people, with Türkiye ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Iran, Islamic Republic of and Türkiye?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Iran, Islamic Republic of and Türkiye rank globally for number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas?
- Iran, Islamic Republic of ranks 24th and Türkiye ranks 21st of 236 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Estimated number of people living in rural areas. Rural areas are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.