France vs United Kingdom: Urban population
Urban population over time
- France
- United Kingdom
How they compare
United Kingdom currently reports 57.90 million against 54.18 million in France, a difference of 3.72 million.
That makes United Kingdom's figure about 1.1 times France's.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 66 shared years of data; in 1960 it was United Kingdom ahead.
France ranks 17th and United Kingdom ranks 16th of 215 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, France averaged higher in 1 and United Kingdom in 6.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | France | United Kingdom | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 32.95 million | 42.02 million | 9.07 million | United Kingdom |
| 1970s | 39.03 million | 43.51 million | 4.48 million | United Kingdom |
| 1980s | 41.60 million | 44.36 million | 2.76 million | United Kingdom |
| 1990s | 44.58 million | 45.60 million | 1.02 million | United Kingdom |
| 2000s | 48.55 million | 48.52 million | 27,420 | France |
| 2010s | 51.61 million | 53.00 million | 1.39 million | United Kingdom |
| 2020s | 53.73 million | 56.61 million | 2.88 million | United Kingdom |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher urban population, France or United Kingdom?
- United Kingdom, at 57.90 million against 54.18 million in France as of 2025.
- What is the difference in urban population between France and United Kingdom?
- 3.72 million, with United Kingdom ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for France and United Kingdom?
- 66 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2025.
- How do France and United Kingdom rank globally for urban population?
- France ranks 17th and United Kingdom ranks 16th of 215 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as Urban population. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.