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

Mali: Share of urban population who live in the largest city was 35.7% in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)
35.7%
World rank
54th
of 179 countries
All-time high
35.7%
in 2020
All-time low
8.7%
in 1950
Years of data
15
1950–2020

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

102030401950198520201950: 8.7 %1955: 9.5 %1960: 9.9 %1965: 10.4 %1970: 12.4 %1975: 15.9 %1980: 19.7 %1985: 23.3 %1990: 27.3 %1995: 28 %2000: 29 %2005: 32.7 %2010: 34.7 %2015: 35 %2020: 35.7 %

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 Mali stood at 35.7%. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.

That represents a change of up 2.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of urban population who live in the largest city in Mali peaked at 35.7% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 8.7%, in 1950.

Mali ranks 54th 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 9.1% 8.7% 9.5% 2
1960s 10.1% 9.9% 10.4% 2
1970s 14.2% 12.4% 15.9% 2
1980s 21.5% 19.7% 23.3% 2
1990s 27.7% 27.3% 28.0% 2
2000s 30.9% 29.0% 32.7% 2
2010s 34.9% 34.7% 35.0% 2
2020s 35.7% 35.7% 35.7% 1

Countries ranked near Mali

  1. 51 Zimbabwe 36.1% compare
  2. 52 Central African Republic 36.0% compare
  3. 53 Argentina 35.9% compare
  4. 55 Guinea 35.6% compare
  5. 56 Comoros 34.8% compare
  6. 57 Lebanon 34.1% compare

See the full ranking of 179 places →

More population data for Mali

All data for Mali →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of urban population who live in the largest city in Mali?
Share of urban population who live in the largest city in Mali was 35.7% 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 Mali?
The highest recorded value was 35.7% in 2020.
What is the lowest share of urban population who live in the largest city recorded in Mali?
The lowest recorded value was 8.7% in 1950.
How does Mali rank for share of urban population who live in the largest city?
Mali ranks 54th out of 179 countries with data for 2020.
Is share of urban population who live in the largest city rising or falling in Mali?
Over the last ten years it is up 2.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Mali 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.