Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million in Latin America & Caribbean
Latin America & Caribbean: Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million was 39.7% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million in Latin America & Caribbean, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects 2018, United Nations (UN). Measured in % of total population.
Analysis
Latin America & Caribbean recorded 39.7% for population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million in 2025. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.4% on the previous year and up 5.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million in Latin America & Caribbean peaked at 39.7% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 23.5%, in 1960.
Latin America & Caribbean ranks 3rd of 37 groups on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million in Latin America & Caribbean, year by year
| Year | % of total population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 23.5% | — |
| 1961 | 23.9% | +1.7% |
| 1962 | 24.3% | +1.7% |
| 1963 | 24.7% | +1.7% |
| 1964 | 25.1% | +1.7% |
| 1965 | 25.5% | +1.7% |
| 1966 | 26.0% | +1.8% |
| 1967 | 26.5% | +1.8% |
| 1968 | 27.0% | +1.9% |
| 1969 | 27.5% | +2.0% |
| 1970 | 28.1% | +2.0% |
| 1971 | 28.5% | +1.5% |
| 1972 | 28.9% | +1.4% |
| 1973 | 29.3% | +1.3% |
| 1974 | 29.6% | +1.2% |
| 1975 | 30.0% | +1.2% |
| 1976 | 30.4% | +1.3% |
| 1977 | 30.8% | +1.3% |
| 1978 | 31.2% | +1.4% |
| 1979 | 31.7% | +1.4% |
| 1980 | 32.1% | +1.5% |
| 1981 | 32.3% | +0.6% |
| 1982 | 32.5% | +0.5% |
| 1983 | 32.6% | +0.4% |
| 1984 | 32.7% | +0.4% |
| 1985 | 32.9% | +0.5% |
| 1986 | 33.1% | +0.5% |
| 1987 | 33.3% | +0.6% |
| 1988 | 33.5% | +0.7% |
| 1989 | 33.7% | +0.7% |
| 1990 | 34.0% | +0.7% |
| 1991 | 34.1% | +0.5% |
| 1992 | 34.2% | +0.4% |
| 1993 | 34.4% | +0.4% |
| 1994 | 34.5% | +0.4% |
| 1995 | 34.7% | +0.5% |
| 1996 | 34.8% | +0.5% |
| 1997 | 35.0% | +0.5% |
| 1998 | 35.2% | +0.6% |
| 1999 | 35.4% | +0.6% |
| 2000 | 35.6% | +0.6% |
| 2001 | 35.7% | +0.3% |
| 2002 | 35.9% | +0.3% |
| 2003 | 36.0% | +0.3% |
| 2004 | 36.1% | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 36.2% | +0.4% |
| 2006 | 36.4% | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 36.5% | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 36.7% | +0.5% |
| 2009 | 36.8% | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 36.9% | +0.2% |
| 2011 | 37.1% | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 37.2% | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 37.4% | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 37.6% | +0.5% |
| 2015 | 37.7% | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 37.9% | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 38.1% | +0.5% |
| 2018 | 38.4% | +0.6% |
| 2019 | 38.5% | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 38.7% | +0.5% |
| 2021 | 38.9% | +0.6% |
| 2022 | 39.2% | +0.6% |
| 2023 | 39.3% | +0.5% |
| 2024 | 39.5% | +0.4% |
| 2025 | 39.7% | +0.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 25.4% | 23.5% | 27.5% | 10 |
| 1970s | 29.8% | 28.1% | 31.7% | 10 |
| 1980s | 32.9% | 32.1% | 33.7% | 10 |
| 1990s | 34.6% | 34.0% | 35.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 36.2% | 35.6% | 36.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 37.7% | 36.9% | 38.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 39.2% | 38.7% | 39.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Latin America & Caribbean
More climate change data for Latin America & Caribbean
- Urban population 543.31 million (2025)
- Population, total, annual growth rate 0.6655 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population, total, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Urban population, annual growth rate 0.9558 % change on previous year (2025)
- Urban population, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Urban population, per capita 0.8151 units per person (2025)
- Urban population 81.5% (2025)
- Urban population growth 1.0% (2025)
- Population, total 666.59 million (2025)
- Population growth 0.7% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million in Latin America & Caribbean?
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million in Latin America & Caribbean was 39.7% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects 2018, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million recorded in Latin America & Caribbean?
- The highest recorded value was 39.7% in 2025.
- What is the lowest population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million recorded in Latin America & Caribbean?
- The lowest recorded value was 23.5% in 1960.
- How does Latin America & Caribbean rank for population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million?
- Latin America & Caribbean ranks 3rd out of 37 groups with data for 2025.
- Is population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million rising or falling in Latin America & Caribbean?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Latin America & Caribbean data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects 2018, United Nations (UN), published as part of Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million (% of total population). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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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.