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

Senegal: Share of urban population who live in the largest city was 30.1% in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)
30.1%
World rank
69th
of 179 countries
All-time high
32.2%
in 1990
All-time low
21.1%
in 1955
Years of data
15
1950–2020

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

01020301950198520201950: 21.1 %1955: 21.1 %1960: 24.3 %1965: 25.5 %1970: 26.6 %1975: 27.8 %1980: 29.7 %1985: 31.5 %1990: 32.2 %1995: 31.7 %2000: 31.7 %2005: 32.1 %2010: 31.8 %2015: 31.4 %2020: 30.1 %

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 Senegal stood at 30.1%.

The figure is down 5.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of urban population who live in the largest city in Senegal peaked at 32.2% in 1990 and was at its lowest, 21.1%, in 1955.

Senegal ranks 69th 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 21.1% 21.1% 21.1% 2
1960s 24.9% 24.3% 25.5% 2
1970s 27.2% 26.6% 27.8% 2
1980s 30.6% 29.7% 31.5% 2
1990s 32.0% 31.7% 32.2% 2
2000s 31.9% 31.7% 32.1% 2
2010s 31.6% 31.4% 31.8% 2
2020s 30.1% 30.1% 30.1% 1

Countries ranked near Senegal

  1. 66 Bhutan 31.1% compare
  2. 67 Nicaragua 30.3% compare
  3. 70 Israel 30.0% compare
  4. 71 Eswatini 29.9% compare
  5. 72 Zambia 29.5% compare

See the full ranking of 179 places →

More population data for Senegal

All data for Senegal →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of urban population who live in the largest city in Senegal?
Share of urban population who live in the largest city in Senegal was 30.1% 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 Senegal?
The highest recorded value was 32.2% in 1990.
What is the lowest share of urban population who live in the largest city recorded in Senegal?
The lowest recorded value was 21.1% in 1955.
How does Senegal rank for share of urban population who live in the largest city?
Senegal ranks 69th out of 179 countries with data for 2020.
Is share of urban population who live in the largest city rising or falling in Senegal?
Over the last ten years it is down 5.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Senegal 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.