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

Congo: Share of urban population who live in the largest city was 62.4% in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)
62.4%
World rank
15th
of 179 countries
All-time high
62.4%
in 2020
All-time low
33.9%
in 1965
Years of data
12
1965–2020

Share of urban population who live in the largest city in Congo, 1965–2020

02040601965199220201965: 33.9 %1970: 38.4 %1975: 41.8 %1980: 47.4 %1985: 52.1 %1990: 50.3 %1995: 48.1 %2000: 47.2 %2005: 46.9 %2010: 50.3 %2015: 57.1 %2020: 62.4 %

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

Analysis

Congo recorded 62.4% for share of urban population who live in the largest city in 2020. That is the highest value across all 12 years on record.

That represents a change of up 24.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of urban population who live in the largest city in Congo peaked at 62.4% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 33.9%, in 1965.

That places Congo 15th out of 179 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 12 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 33.9% 33.9% 33.9% 1
1970s 40.1% 38.4% 41.8% 2
1980s 49.7% 47.4% 52.1% 2
1990s 49.2% 48.1% 50.3% 2
2000s 47.1% 46.9% 47.2% 2
2010s 53.7% 50.3% 57.1% 2
2020s 62.4% 62.4% 62.4% 1

Countries ranked near Congo

  1. 12 Hong Kong 64.5% compare
  2. 13 New Caledonia 64.4% compare
  3. 14 Mongolia 63.1% compare
  4. 16 Jordan 60.6% compare
  5. 17 Liberia 58.2% compare
  6. 18 Suriname 56.8% compare

See the full ranking of 179 places →

More population data for Congo

All data for Congo →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of urban population who live in the largest city in Congo?
Share of urban population who live in the largest city in Congo was 62.4% 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 Congo?
The highest recorded value was 62.4% in 2020.
What is the lowest share of urban population who live in the largest city recorded in Congo?
The lowest recorded value was 33.9% in 1965.
How does Congo rank for share of urban population who live in the largest city?
Congo ranks 15th out of 179 countries with data for 2020.
Is share of urban population who live in the largest city rising or falling in Congo?
Over the last ten years it is up 24.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Congo 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 — 12 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.