Japan vs Mali: Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas

Japan
11.21 million people
in 2020
Mali
11.49 million people
in 2020
Japan rank
32nd
Mali rank
31st

Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas over time

  • Japan
  • Mali
4.0M6.0M8.0M10.0M12.0M195019852020

How they compare

Mali currently reports 11.49 million people against 11.21 million people in Japan, a difference of 284,000 people.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Japan ahead.

Japan ranks 32nd and Mali ranks 31st of 236 countries.

Across the 8 decades both report, Japan averaged higher in 7 and Mali in 1.

Head to head by decade

Decade Japan Mali Difference Ahead
1950s 11.83 million people 3.45 million people 8.38 million people Japan
1960s 11.71 million people 3.93 million people 7.78 million people Japan
1970s 11.69 million people 4.51 million people 7.18 million people Japan
1980s 12.04 million people 5.43 million people 6.62 million people Japan
1990s 11.88 million people 6.43 million people 5.45 million people Japan
2000s 11.53 million people 7.69 million people 3.84 million people Japan
2010s 11.30 million people 9.70 million people 1.60 million people Japan
2020s 11.21 million people 11.49 million people 284,000 people Mali

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, Japan or Mali?
Mali, at 11.49 million people against 11.21 million people in Japan as of 2020.
What is the difference in number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas between Japan and Mali?
284,000 people, with Mali ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Japan and Mali?
15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
How do Japan and Mali rank globally for number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas?
Japan ranks 32nd and Mali ranks 31st 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.

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Japan vs Mali: Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas. Statizoid, drawing on European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 02 September 2026, from https://population.statizoid.com/compare/population-of-cities-towns-and-villages/japan/mali/

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About this data

Indicator
Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas
Unit
people
Source
European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
236 places, 3,540 data points, 1950–2020
Last refreshed

Estimated number of people living in rural areas. Rural areas are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.