Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million in Switzerland
Switzerland: Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million was 16.0% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million in Switzerland, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects 2018, United Nations (UN). Measured in % of total population.
Analysis
The most recent figure for population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million in Switzerland is 16.0%, measured in 2025.
The figure is down 0.1% on the previous year and down 0.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million in Switzerland peaked at 16.2% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 10.1%, in 1960.
Switzerland ranks 85th of 121 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
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 Switzerland, year by year
| Year | % of total population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 10.1% | — |
| 1961 | 10.1% | +0.1% |
| 1962 | 10.1% | +0.4% |
| 1963 | 10.2% | +0.8% |
| 1964 | 10.3% | +1.3% |
| 1965 | 10.5% | +1.8% |
| 1966 | 10.7% | +1.9% |
| 1967 | 10.9% | +1.7% |
| 1968 | 11.0% | +1.7% |
| 1969 | 11.2% | +1.8% |
| 1970 | 11.5% | +2.2% |
| 1971 | 11.6% | +0.6% |
| 1972 | 11.5% | -0.9% |
| 1973 | 11.4% | -0.9% |
| 1974 | 11.3% | -0.7% |
| 1975 | 11.3% | -0.1% |
| 1976 | 11.3% | +0.4% |
| 1977 | 11.3% | +0.2% |
| 1978 | 11.3% | -0.2% |
| 1979 | 11.2% | -0.4% |
| 1980 | 11.2% | -0.6% |
| 1981 | 11.4% | +1.5% |
| 1982 | 11.7% | +3.2% |
| 1983 | 12.1% | +3.3% |
| 1984 | 12.5% | +3.4% |
| 1985 | 12.9% | +3.3% |
| 1986 | 13.3% | +3.2% |
| 1987 | 13.8% | +3.1% |
| 1988 | 14.2% | +3.0% |
| 1989 | 14.6% | +2.9% |
| 1990 | 15.0% | +2.7% |
| 1991 | 15.1% | +0.9% |
| 1992 | 15.1% | -0.1% |
| 1993 | 15.1% | +0.1% |
| 1994 | 15.2% | +0.2% |
| 1995 | 15.2% | +0.4% |
| 1996 | 15.3% | +0.6% |
| 1997 | 15.4% | +0.8% |
| 1998 | 15.5% | +0.7% |
| 1999 | 15.6% | +0.6% |
| 2000 | 15.7% | +0.5% |
| 2001 | 15.8% | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 15.8% | +0.3% |
| 2003 | 15.9% | +0.3% |
| 2004 | 15.9% | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 16.0% | +0.4% |
| 2006 | 16.1% | +0.5% |
| 2007 | 16.1% | +0.2% |
| 2008 | 16.1% | -0.2% |
| 2009 | 16.1% | -0.2% |
| 2010 | 16.1% | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 16.1% | -0.0% |
| 2012 | 16.1% | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 16.1% | -0.1% |
| 2014 | 16.0% | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 16.0% | -0.1% |
| 2016 | 16.0% | -0.0% |
| 2017 | 16.0% | +0.1% |
| 2018 | 16.1% | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 16.1% | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 16.2% | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 16.2% | +0.1% |
| 2022 | 16.2% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 16.1% | -0.4% |
| 2024 | 16.0% | -0.5% |
| 2025 | 16.0% | -0.1% |
Switzerland compared with similar countries
- Switzerland's 16.0% is below the median for high income countries, which is 28.3%, 57% of the median. (40 countries reporting)
- Switzerland's 16.0% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 21.8%, 73% of the median. (31 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 10.5% | 10.1% | 11.2% | 10 |
| 1970s | 11.4% | 11.2% | 11.6% | 10 |
| 1980s | 12.8% | 11.2% | 14.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 15.3% | 15.0% | 15.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 16.0% | 15.7% | 16.1% | 10 |
| 2010s | 16.1% | 16.0% | 16.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 16.1% | 16.0% | 16.2% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Switzerland
More climate change data for Switzerland
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 72.47 million kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 6,008 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 1,192 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 4,816 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 4.5 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 171.99 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 476.97 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 472.94 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 4.03 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 1.78 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million in Switzerland?
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million in Switzerland was 16.0% 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 Switzerland?
- The highest recorded value was 16.2% in 2022.
- What is the lowest population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million recorded in Switzerland?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.1% in 1960.
- How does Switzerland rank for population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million?
- Switzerland ranks 85th out of 121 countries with data for 2025.
- Is population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million rising or falling in Switzerland?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Switzerland 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
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.