Japan vs Malta: Share of population living in cities
Japan
68.4%
in 2020
Malta
68.7%
in 2020
Japan rank
19th
Malta rank
18th
Share of population living in cities over time
- Japan
- Malta
How they compare
Malta currently reports 68.7% against 68.4% in Japan, a difference of 0.3%.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Malta ahead.
Japan ranks 19th and Malta ranks 18th of 236 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Japan averaged higher in 2 and Malta in 6.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Japan | Malta | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 45.6% | 65.5% | 19.9% | Malta |
| 1960s | 54.9% | 69.1% | 14.2% | Malta |
| 1970s | 61.5% | 69.6% | 8.1% | Malta |
| 1980s | 64.1% | 68.5% | 4.5% | Malta |
| 1990s | 66.9% | 68.3% | 1.4% | Malta |
| 2000s | 68.0% | 67.3% | 0.7% | Japan |
| 2010s | 68.6% | 65.5% | 3.1% | Japan |
| 2020s | 68.4% | 68.7% | 0.4% | Malta |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of population living in cities, Japan or Malta?
- Malta, at 68.7% against 68.4% in Japan as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of population living in cities between Japan and Malta?
- 0.3%, with Malta ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Japan and Malta?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Japan and Malta rank globally for share of population living in cities?
- Japan ranks 19th and Malta ranks 18th of 236 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) β with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of population living in cities. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Estimated share of the population living in cities. Cities are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.