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

Kazakhstan: Share of urban population who live in the largest city was 14.6% in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)
14.6%
World rank
147th
of 179 countries
All-time high
14.6%
in 2020
All-time low
10.0%
in 1990
Years of data
15
1950–2020

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

0510151950198520201950: 11.9 %1955: 11.4 %1960: 10.6 %1965: 10 %1970: 10 %1975: 10.1 %1980: 10.6 %1985: 10.3 %1990: 10 %1995: 10.3 %2000: 11.4 %2005: 12.1 %2010: 12.7 %2015: 13.7 %2020: 14.6 %

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 Kazakhstan is 14.6%, measured in 2020. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.

The figure is up 14.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of urban population who live in the largest city in Kazakhstan peaked at 14.6% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 10.0%, in 1990.

That places Kazakhstan 147th out of 179 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 11.6% 11.4% 11.9% 2
1960s 10.3% 10.0% 10.6% 2
1970s 10.0% 10.0% 10.1% 2
1980s 10.4% 10.3% 10.6% 2
1990s 10.1% 10.0% 10.3% 2
2000s 11.8% 11.4% 12.1% 2
2010s 13.2% 12.7% 13.7% 2
2020s 14.6% 14.6% 14.6% 1

Countries ranked near Kazakhstan

  1. 144 Myanmar 14.7% compare
  2. 145 Nepal 14.7% compare
  3. 146 Spain 14.6% compare
  4. 148 Kenya 14.2% compare
  5. 149 Botswana 13.8% compare
  6. 150 South Africa 13.7% compare

See the full ranking of 179 places →

More population data for Kazakhstan

All data for Kazakhstan →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of urban population who live in the largest city in Kazakhstan?
Share of urban population who live in the largest city in Kazakhstan was 14.6% 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 Kazakhstan?
The highest recorded value was 14.6% in 2020.
What is the lowest share of urban population who live in the largest city recorded in Kazakhstan?
The lowest recorded value was 10.0% in 1990.
How does Kazakhstan rank for share of urban population who live in the largest city?
Kazakhstan ranks 147th out of 179 countries with data for 2020.
Is share of urban population who live in the largest city rising or falling in Kazakhstan?
Over the last ten years it is up 14.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Kazakhstan 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.