China vs Sub-Saharan Africa: Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million
China
32.7%
in 2025
Sub-Saharan Africa
16.3%
in 2025
China rank
31st
Sub-Saharan Africa rank
29th
Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million over time
- China
- Sub-Saharan Africa
How they compare
China currently reports 32.7% against 16.3% in Sub-Saharan Africa, a difference of 16.4%.
That makes China's figure about 2.0 times Sub-Saharan Africa's.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 66 shared years of data; in 1960 it was China ahead.
China ranks 31st and Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 29th of 121 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, China averaged higher in 5 and Sub-Saharan Africa in 2.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | China | Sub-Saharan Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 8.3% | 6.6% | 1.7% | China |
| 1970s | 7.8% | 8.6% | 0.7% | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 1980s | 9.0% | 10.4% | 1.3% | Sub-Saharan Africa |
| 1990s | 12.9% | 12.1% | 0.8% | China |
| 2000s | 19.8% | 13.4% | 6.3% | China |
| 2010s | 25.7% | 14.7% | 11.0% | China |
| 2020s | 30.9% | 15.9% | 15.0% | China |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million, China or Sub-Saharan Africa?
- China, at 32.7% against 16.3% in Sub-Saharan Africa as of 2025.
- What is the difference in population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million between China and Sub-Saharan Africa?
- 16.4%, with China ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for China and Sub-Saharan Africa?
- 66 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2025.
- How do China and Sub-Saharan Africa rank globally for population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million?
- China ranks 31st and Sub-Saharan Africa ranks 29th of 121 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- World Urbanization Prospects 2018, United Nations (UN), published as Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million (% of total population). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Population in urban agglomerations of more than one million is the percentage of a country's population living in metropolitan areas that in 2018 had a population of more than one million people.