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Countries Ranked by Urban population in 1990

Urban population for each country in 1990, ranked from highest to lowest. Source: The World Bank (CC BY 4.0).

Summary

In 1990, China ranks #1 with 297.37 million people. India is second with 221.25 million people, 34.4% behind. The top five are China, India, United States, Brazil and Russian Federation. Together the top 10 account for 55.3% of the total across the 217 countries listed. The median across all 217 is 1.72 million people; Tuvalu is last at 3,490 people.

#1
China · 297.37 million people
Median
1.72 million people
Coverage
217 countries
Data year
1990
Last updated
2026-11-14
Top 10: Urban populationBar chart of the top 10: 1. China 297.37 million; 2. India 221.25 million; 3. United States 187.89 million; 4. Brazil 111.66 million; 5. Russian Federation 109.07 million; 6. Japan 95.5 million; 7. Germany 63.56 million; 8. Mexico 59.18 million; 9. Indonesia 56.14 million; 10. United Kingdom 44.72 million.China297.37 millionIndia221.25 millionUnited States187.89 millionBrazil111.66 millionRussian Federation109.07 millionJapan95.5 millionGermany63.56 millionMexico59.18 millionIndonesia56.14 millionUnited Kingdom44.72 million
Top 10: Urban population (people). Bar chart of the top 10: 1. China 297.37 million; 2. India 221.25 million; 3. United States 187.89 million; 4. Brazil 111.66 million; 5. Russian Federation 109.07 million; 6. Japan 95.5 million; 7. Germany 63.56 million; 8. Mexico 59.18 million; 9. Indonesia 56.14 million; 10. United Kingdom 44.72 million.
Share of the total: Urban populationChina 13.2%; India 9.8%; United States 8.3%; Brazil 5.0%; Russian Federation 4.8%; All others 58.9%13%10%8%59%

China 13.2%India 9.8%United States 8.3%Brazil 5.0%Russian Federation 4.8%All others 58.9%

Share of the total: Urban population, as a share of 217 countries. China 13.2%; India 9.8%; United States 8.3%; Brazil 5.0%; Russian Federation 4.8%; All others 58.9%.

Full ranking

Countries Ranked by Urban population in 1990, 1990
RankCountryUrban population (people)
1China297,370,000
2India221,250,000
3United States187,890,000
4Brazil111,660,000
5Russian Federation109,070,000
6Japan95,498,000
7Germany63,557,000
8Mexico59,182,000
9Indonesia56,141,000
10United Kingdom44,716,000
11France43,153,000
12Italy37,837,000
13Pakistan35,721,000
14Ukraine35,090,000
15Nigeria34,174,000
16Iran, Islamic Rep.32,962,000
17Korea, Rep.31,717,000
18Spain29,087,000
19Türkiye28,586,000
20Argentina28,471,000
21Egypt, Arab Rep.25,443,000
22Poland23,362,000
23Philippines22,628,000
24Colombia22,543,000
25Bangladesh22,174,000
26Canada21,199,000
27South Africa21,175,000
28Venezuela, RB16,650,000
29Peru15,175,000
30Australia14,573,000
31Algeria13,231,000
32Romania12,579,000
33Viet Nam12,560,000
34Korea, Dem. People's Rep.12,337,000
35Iraq12,258,000
36Morocco11,806,000
37Chile11,179,000
38Congo, Dem. Rep.11,106,000
39Netherlands10,315,000
40Thailand10,295,000
41Myanmar10,274,000
42Kazakhstan9,813,500
43Malaysia8,744,200
44Uzbekistan8,343,900
45Saudi Arabia8,194,300
46Cuba7,838,600
47Belgium7,829,900
48Czechia7,772,600
49Greece7,290,200
50Sweden7,138,400
51Belarus6,768,500
52Sudan6,595,500
53Hungary6,328,200
54Syrian Arab Republic6,144,100
55Ethiopia6,077,000
56Bulgaria5,844,600
57Ecuador5,769,900
58Hong Kong SAR, China5,665,200
59Ghana5,502,500
60Tanzania4,942,400
61Austria4,922,300
62Côte d'Ivoire4,837,500
63Tunisia4,832,900
64Portugal4,765,800
65Switzerland4,611,000
66Cameroon4,542,800
67Angola4,403,800
68Denmark4,361,400
69Israel4,214,300
70Kenya4,165,600
71Bolivia3,987,800
72Serbia3,977,900
73Dominican Republic3,930,400
74Nepal3,858,400
75Azerbaijan3,852,800
76Libya3,581,800
77Finland3,185,200
78Zambia3,064,900
79Guatemala3,059,500
80Norway3,048,600
81Singapore3,047,100
82Mozambique3,036,400
83Slovak Republic3,009,800
84Senegal3,006,900
85Zimbabwe2,999,800
86Lebanon2,996,500
87Puerto Rico (US)2,968,600
88Sri Lanka2,958,300
89New Zealand2,823,100
90Yemen, Rep.2,802,900
91Uruguay2,765,800
92Jordan2,721,800
93Georgia2,647,700
94El Salvador2,645,000
95Madagascar2,640,100
96Croatia2,583,000
97Lithuania2,501,600
98Armenia2,405,300
99Nicaragua2,226,700
100Somalia, Fed. Rep.2,082,700

Showing the top 100 of 217. Premium downloads the full list as CSV or JSON.

About the top 10

#3 United States

United States ranks #3 on this list with 187.89 million people.

Capital
Washington, D.C.
Continent
North America
Income group
High income
Population
341.78 million people (2025)
GDP
US$30.77 trillion (2025)
GDP per person
US$90,027 (2025)
Life expectancy
78.9 years (2024)
Urban population
80.2% of population (2025)

Largest cities: New York metropolitan area, New York City, Chicago.

Also ranks #1 in gdp (current us$) · #1 in health expenditure per capita · #1 in imports of goods and services.

Full country profile Weather in New York (Purr Weather)

#10 United Kingdom

United Kingdom ranks #10 on this list with 44.72 million people.

Capital
London
Continent
Europe
Income group
High income
Population
69.49 million people (2025)
GDP
US$4 trillion (2025)
GDP per person
US$57,602 (2025)
Life expectancy
81.4 years (2024)
Urban population
83.3% of population (2025)

Largest cities: London, Birmingham, Glasgow.

Also ranks #2 in government debt share of gdp · #2 in new businesses registered · #4 in exports of goods and services.

Full country profile Weather in London (Purr Weather)

Profile facts: World Bank (CC BY 4.0) and Wikidata (CC0); weather links go to Purr Weather, another ChowChow Labs site.

Related rankings

Source and method

Urban population for each country in 1990, ranked from highest to lowest.

Source: The World Bank, indicator SP.URB.TOTL. Licence: CC BY 4.0. Retrieved: 2026-11-14.

The World Bank: Urban population: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN) (via World Development Indicators)

Original data provider, as recorded by the World Bank: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN); Staff estimates, World Bank (WB), note: World Bank staff estimates based on the United Nations Population Division's World Urbanization Prospe.

Values are shown as published. Provider terms: The World Bank. All licences: Sources & licences.