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

Nicaragua: Share of urban population who live in the largest city was 30.3% in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)
30.3%
World rank
67th
of 179 countries
All-time high
30.3%
in 2020
All-time low
19.1%
in 1950
Years of data
15
1950–2020

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

01020301950198520201950: 19.1 %1955: 20.3 %1960: 21.6 %1965: 22.9 %1970: 24.2 %1975: 24.3 %1980: 24.9 %1985: 25.1 %1990: 26.6 %1995: 29.4 %2000: 28.2 %2005: 29.1 %2010: 29.9 %2015: 29.5 %2020: 30.3 %

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 Nicaragua is 30.3%, measured in 2020. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.

That represents a change of up 1.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of urban population who live in the largest city in Nicaragua peaked at 30.3% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 19.1%, in 1950.

Nicaragua ranks 67th 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 19.7% 19.1% 20.3% 2
1960s 22.2% 21.6% 22.9% 2
1970s 24.2% 24.2% 24.3% 2
1980s 25.0% 24.9% 25.1% 2
1990s 28.0% 26.6% 29.4% 2
2000s 28.7% 28.2% 29.1% 2
2010s 29.7% 29.5% 29.9% 2
2020s 30.3% 30.3% 30.3% 1

Countries ranked near Nicaragua

  1. 64 Denmark 31.7% compare
  2. 65 Cote d'Ivoire 31.2% compare
  3. 66 Bhutan 31.1% compare
  4. 69 Senegal 30.1% compare
  5. 70 Israel 30.0% compare

See the full ranking of 179 places →

More population data for Nicaragua

All data for Nicaragua →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of urban population who live in the largest city in Nicaragua?
Share of urban population who live in the largest city in Nicaragua was 30.3% 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 Nicaragua?
The highest recorded value was 30.3% in 2020.
What is the lowest share of urban population who live in the largest city recorded in Nicaragua?
The lowest recorded value was 19.1% in 1950.
How does Nicaragua rank for share of urban population who live in the largest city?
Nicaragua ranks 67th out of 179 countries with data for 2020.
Is share of urban population who live in the largest city rising or falling in Nicaragua?
Over the last ten years it is up 1.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Nicaragua 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.