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

Portugal: Share of urban population who live in the largest city was 25.5% in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)
25.5%
World rank
92nd
of 179 countries
All-time high
25.5%
in 2020
All-time low
17.3%
in 1950
Years of data
15
1950–2020

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

01020301950198520201950: 17.3 %1955: 18.1 %1960: 18.5 %1965: 19.5 %1970: 20.8 %1975: 21.6 %1980: 23.3 %1985: 23.1 %1990: 23 %1995: 23.9 %2000: 23.6 %2005: 23.4 %2010: 23.5 %2015: 24.5 %2020: 25.5 %

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 Portugal is 25.5%, measured in 2020. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.

That represents a change of up 8.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of urban population who live in the largest city in Portugal peaked at 25.5% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 17.3%, in 1950.

Portugal ranks 92nd 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 17.7% 17.3% 18.1% 2
1960s 19.0% 18.5% 19.5% 2
1970s 21.2% 20.8% 21.6% 2
1980s 23.2% 23.1% 23.3% 2
1990s 23.5% 23.0% 23.9% 2
2000s 23.5% 23.4% 23.6% 2
2010s 24.0% 23.5% 24.5% 2
2020s 25.5% 25.5% 25.5% 1

Countries ranked near Portugal

  1. 89 Moldova 25.9% compare
  2. 90 Bulgaria 25.9% compare
  3. 91 Honduras 25.7% compare
  4. 93 Serbia 25.4% compare
  5. 94 Philippines 25.3% compare
  6. 95 Kyrgyzstan 24.9% compare

See the full ranking of 179 places →

More population data for Portugal

All data for Portugal →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of urban population who live in the largest city in Portugal?
Share of urban population who live in the largest city in Portugal was 25.5% 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 Portugal?
The highest recorded value was 25.5% in 2020.
What is the lowest share of urban population who live in the largest city recorded in Portugal?
The lowest recorded value was 17.3% in 1950.
How does Portugal rank for share of urban population who live in the largest city?
Portugal ranks 92nd out of 179 countries with data for 2020.
Is share of urban population who live in the largest city rising or falling in Portugal?
Over the last ten years it is up 8.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Portugal 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.