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

Denmark: Share of urban population who live in the largest city was 31.7% in 2020. ▼ Falling

Latest (2020)
31.7%
World rank
64th
of 179 countries
All-time high
38.7%
in 1950
All-time low
27.6%
in 2000
Years of data
15
1950–2020

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

0102030401950198520201950: 38.7 %1955: 37.4 %1960: 37.8 %1965: 37.9 %1970: 36.9 %1975: 33.2 %1980: 30.3 %1985: 29.2 %1990: 28.5 %1995: 28.2 %2000: 27.6 %2005: 28.3 %2010: 29.7 %2015: 30.6 %2020: 31.7 %

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

Analysis

Denmark recorded 31.7% for share of urban population who live in the largest city in 2020.

The figure is up 6.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of urban population who live in the largest city in Denmark peaked at 38.7% in 1950 and was at its lowest, 27.6%, in 2000.

Denmark ranks 64th of 179 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 38.0% 37.4% 38.7% 2
1960s 37.8% 37.8% 37.9% 2
1970s 35.1% 33.2% 36.9% 2
1980s 29.7% 29.2% 30.3% 2
1990s 28.3% 28.2% 28.5% 2
2000s 28.0% 27.6% 28.3% 2
2010s 30.2% 29.7% 30.6% 2
2020s 31.7% 31.7% 31.7% 1

Countries ranked near Denmark

  1. 61 Lesotho 32.8% compare
  2. 62 Cyprus 32.2% compare
  3. 63 Namibia 32.2% compare
  4. 65 Cote d'Ivoire 31.2% compare
  5. 66 Bhutan 31.1% compare
  6. 67 Nicaragua 30.3% compare

See the full ranking of 179 places →

More population data for Denmark

All data for Denmark →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of urban population who live in the largest city in Denmark?
Share of urban population who live in the largest city in Denmark was 31.7% 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 Denmark?
The highest recorded value was 38.7% in 1950.
What is the lowest share of urban population who live in the largest city recorded in Denmark?
The lowest recorded value was 27.6% in 2000.
How does Denmark rank for share of urban population who live in the largest city?
Denmark ranks 64th out of 179 countries with data for 2020.
Is share of urban population who live in the largest city rising or falling in Denmark?
Over the last ten years it is up 6.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Denmark 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.