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

Malta: Share of urban population who live in the largest city was 72.3% in 2020. ▼ Falling

Latest (2020)
72.3%
Rank
9th
of 179 regions
All-time high
77.3%
in 1970
All-time low
68.9%
in 2015
Years of data
15
1950–2020

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

0204060801950198520201950: 70.9 %1955: 73.6 %1960: 75.1 %1965: 76.4 %1970: 77.3 %1975: 75.7 %1980: 74.4 %1985: 74.8 %1990: 72.8 %1995: 74 %2000: 72.3 %2005: 70.8 %2010: 70.2 %2015: 68.9 %2020: 72.3 %

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

Analysis

Malta recorded 72.3% for share of urban population who live in the largest city in 2020.

The figure is up 3.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of urban population who live in the largest city in Malta peaked at 77.3% in 1970 and was at its lowest, 68.9%, in 2015.

That places Malta 9th out of 179 regions with data for 2020, putting it in the top 10%.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 72.3% 70.9% 73.6% 2
1960s 75.8% 75.1% 76.4% 2
1970s 76.5% 75.7% 77.3% 2
1980s 74.6% 74.4% 74.8% 2
1990s 73.4% 72.8% 74.0% 2
2000s 71.6% 70.8% 72.3% 2
2010s 69.5% 68.9% 70.2% 2
2020s 72.3% 72.3% 72.3% 1

Countries ranked near Malta

  1. 6 Qatar 75.7% compare
  2. 7 Bahamas 75.4% compare
  3. 8 Sao Tome and Principe 74.5% compare
  4. 10 Iceland 71.1% compare
  5. 11 Djibouti 70.4% compare
  6. 12 Hong Kong 64.5% compare

See the full ranking of 179 places →

More population data for Malta

All data for Malta →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of urban population who live in the largest city in Malta?
Share of urban population who live in the largest city in Malta was 72.3% 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 Malta?
The highest recorded value was 77.3% in 1970.
What is the lowest share of urban population who live in the largest city recorded in Malta?
The lowest recorded value was 68.9% in 2015.
How does Malta rank for share of urban population who live in the largest city?
Malta ranks 9th out of 179 regions with data for 2020.
Is share of urban population who live in the largest city rising or falling in Malta?
Over the last ten years it is up 3.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Malta 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.