Share of urban population who live in the largest city in Chile

Chile: Share of urban population who live in the largest city was 41.5% in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)
41.5%
World rank
41st
of 179 countries
All-time high
44.6%
in 2000
All-time low
34.3%
in 1950
Years of data
15
1950–2020

Share of urban population who live in the largest city in Chile, 1950–2020

0102030401950198520201950: 34.3 %1955: 35.3 %1960: 36.2 %1965: 36.3 %1970: 37.1 %1975: 38.5 %1980: 41.6 %1985: 43.3 %1990: 43.7 %1995: 43.9 %2000: 44.6 %2005: 44.4 %2010: 43.3 %2015: 42.4 %2020: 41.5 %

Source: European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2020, share of urban population who live in the largest city in Chile stood at 41.5%.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 4.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of urban population who live in the largest city in Chile peaked at 44.6% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 34.3%, in 1950.

That places Chile 41st out of 179 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 15 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 34.8% 34.3% 35.3% 2
1960s 36.2% 36.2% 36.3% 2
1970s 37.8% 37.1% 38.5% 2
1980s 42.5% 41.6% 43.3% 2
1990s 43.8% 43.7% 43.9% 2
2000s 44.5% 44.4% 44.6% 2
2010s 42.9% 42.4% 43.3% 2
2020s 41.5% 41.5% 41.5% 1

Countries ranked near Chile

  1. 38 Albania 43.4% compare
  2. 39 Uruguay 42.5% compare
  3. 40 Peru 41.9% compare
  4. 42 Taiwan 41.3% compare
  5. 44 Thailand 39.7% compare

See the full ranking of 179 places →

More population data for Chile

All data for Chile →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of urban population who live in the largest city in Chile?
Share of urban population who live in the largest city in Chile was 41.5% in 2020, according to European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest share of urban population who live in the largest city recorded in Chile?
The highest recorded value was 44.6% in 2000.
What is the lowest share of urban population who live in the largest city recorded in Chile?
The lowest recorded value was 34.3% in 1950.
How does Chile rank for share of urban population who live in the largest city?
Chile ranks 41st out of 179 countries with data for 2020.
Is share of urban population who live in the largest city rising or falling in Chile?
Over the last ten years it is down 4.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Chile data come from?
The figures come from European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of urban population who live in the largest city. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 15 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

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.