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

Peru: Share of urban population who live in the largest city was 41.9% in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)
41.9%
World rank
40th
of 179 countries
All-time high
42.2%
in 2015
All-time low
36.2%
in 1950
Years of data
15
1950–2020

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

0102030401950198520201950: 36.2 %1955: 36.7 %1960: 37.2 %1965: 37.7 %1970: 38.8 %1975: 39.6 %1980: 40.5 %1985: 40.3 %1990: 39.9 %1995: 39.7 %2000: 39.5 %2005: 40.5 %2010: 41.5 %2015: 42.2 %2020: 41.9 %

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

Analysis

Peru recorded 41.9% for share of urban population who live in the largest city in 2020.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of urban population who live in the largest city in Peru peaked at 42.2% in 2015 and was at its lowest, 36.2%, in 1950.

Peru ranks 40th of 179 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

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

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 36.4% 36.2% 36.7% 2
1960s 37.5% 37.2% 37.7% 2
1970s 39.2% 38.8% 39.6% 2
1980s 40.4% 40.3% 40.5% 2
1990s 39.8% 39.7% 39.9% 2
2000s 40.0% 39.5% 40.5% 2
2010s 41.9% 41.5% 42.2% 2
2020s 41.9% 41.9% 41.9% 1

Countries ranked near Peru

  1. 37 Fiji 44.7% compare
  2. 38 Albania 43.4% compare
  3. 39 Uruguay 42.5% compare
  4. 41 Chile 41.5% compare
  5. 42 Taiwan 41.3% compare

See the full ranking of 179 places →

More population data for Peru

All data for Peru →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of urban population who live in the largest city in Peru?
Share of urban population who live in the largest city in Peru was 41.9% 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 Peru?
The highest recorded value was 42.2% in 2015.
What is the lowest share of urban population who live in the largest city recorded in Peru?
The lowest recorded value was 36.2% in 1950.
How does Peru rank for share of urban population who live in the largest city?
Peru ranks 40th out of 179 countries with data for 2020.
Is share of urban population who live in the largest city rising or falling in Peru?
Over the last ten years it is up 0.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Peru 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.