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

Finland: Share of urban population who live in the largest city was 29.5% in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)
29.5%
World rank
73rd
of 179 countries
All-time high
29.5%
in 2020
All-time low
9.9%
in 1950
Years of data
15
1950–2020

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

10152025301950198520201950: 9.9 %1955: 9.9 %1960: 10.1 %1965: 10.3 %1970: 10.4 %1975: 11 %1980: 16.5 %1985: 17.1 %1990: 22.2 %1995: 26.1 %2000: 26.8 %2005: 26.7 %2010: 26.5 %2015: 29 %2020: 29.5 %

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for share of urban population who live in the largest city in Finland is 29.5%, measured in 2020. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.

The figure is up 11.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of urban population who live in the largest city in Finland peaked at 29.5% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 9.9%, in 1950.

Finland ranks 73rd of 179 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 9.9% 9.9% 9.9% 2
1960s 10.2% 10.1% 10.3% 2
1970s 10.7% 10.4% 11.0% 2
1980s 16.8% 16.5% 17.1% 2
1990s 24.1% 22.2% 26.1% 2
2000s 26.8% 26.7% 26.8% 2
2010s 27.7% 26.5% 29.0% 2
2020s 29.5% 29.5% 29.5% 1

Countries ranked near Finland

  1. 70 Israel 30.0% compare
  2. 71 Eswatini 29.9% compare
  3. 72 Zambia 29.5% compare
  4. 74 Japan 29.3% compare
  5. 75 Croatia 29.2% compare
  6. 76 Jamaica 29.1% compare

See the full ranking of 179 places →

More population data for Finland

All data for Finland →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of urban population who live in the largest city in Finland?
Share of urban population who live in the largest city in Finland was 29.5% 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 Finland?
The highest recorded value was 29.5% in 2020.
What is the lowest share of urban population who live in the largest city recorded in Finland?
The lowest recorded value was 9.9% in 1950.
How does Finland rank for share of urban population who live in the largest city?
Finland ranks 73rd out of 179 countries with data for 2020.
Is share of urban population who live in the largest city rising or falling in Finland?
Over the last ten years it is up 11.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Finland 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.