Portugal vs South Africa: Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million
Portugal
40.4%
in 2025
South Africa
36.1%
in 2025
Portugal rank
24th
South Africa rank
26th
Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million over time
- Portugal
- South Africa
How they compare
Portugal currently reports 40.4% against 36.1% in South Africa, a difference of 4.3%.
That makes Portugal's figure about 1.1 times South Africa's.
Across all 66 years both countries report, Portugal has been ahead every year.
Portugal ranks 24th and South Africa ranks 26th of 121 countries.
Portugal has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Portugal | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 28.3% | 24.3% | 4.0% | Portugal |
| 1970s | 34.0% | 23.5% | 10.5% | Portugal |
| 1980s | 36.6% | 22.1% | 14.5% | Portugal |
| 1990s | 37.8% | 23.9% | 13.9% | Portugal |
| 2000s | 38.2% | 29.5% | 8.8% | Portugal |
| 2010s | 40.1% | 33.4% | 6.7% | Portugal |
| 2020s | 41.0% | 35.6% | 5.4% | Portugal |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million, Portugal or South Africa?
- Portugal, at 40.4% against 36.1% in South Africa as of 2025.
- What is the difference in population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million between Portugal and South Africa?
- 4.3%, with Portugal ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Portugal and South Africa?
- 66 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2025.
- How do Portugal and South Africa rank globally for population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million?
- Portugal ranks 24th and South Africa ranks 26th 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.