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

Thailand: Share of urban population who live in the largest city was 39.7% in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)
39.7%
World rank
44th
of 179 countries
All-time high
39.7%
in 2020
All-time low
19.7%
in 1970
Years of data
15
1950–2020

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

0102030401950198520201950: 20.8 %1955: 20.7 %1960: 20.5 %1965: 20 %1970: 19.7 %1975: 19.8 %1980: 22.4 %1985: 22.9 %1990: 24.4 %1995: 24.5 %2000: 25.1 %2005: 28.9 %2010: 33.1 %2015: 35.8 %2020: 39.7 %

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 Thailand is 39.7%, measured in 2020. That is the highest value across all 15 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 20.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of urban population who live in the largest city in Thailand peaked at 39.7% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 19.7%, in 1970.

Thailand ranks 44th 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 20.7% 20.7% 20.8% 2
1960s 20.2% 20.0% 20.5% 2
1970s 19.7% 19.7% 19.8% 2
1980s 22.7% 22.4% 22.9% 2
1990s 24.5% 24.4% 24.5% 2
2000s 27.0% 25.1% 28.9% 2
2010s 34.5% 33.1% 35.8% 2
2020s 39.7% 39.7% 39.7% 1

Countries ranked near Thailand

  1. 41 Chile 41.5% compare
  2. 42 Taiwan 41.3% compare
  3. 45 Angola 38.8% compare
  4. 46 Sierra Leone 38.8% compare
  5. 47 Austria 37.7% compare

See the full ranking of 179 places →

More population data for Thailand

All data for Thailand →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of urban population who live in the largest city in Thailand?
Share of urban population who live in the largest city in Thailand was 39.7% 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 Thailand?
The highest recorded value was 39.7% in 2020.
What is the lowest share of urban population who live in the largest city recorded in Thailand?
The lowest recorded value was 19.7% in 1970.
How does Thailand rank for share of urban population who live in the largest city?
Thailand ranks 44th out of 179 countries with data for 2020.
Is share of urban population who live in the largest city rising or falling in Thailand?
Over the last ten years it is up 20.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Thailand 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.