People in the capital city: Japan, Congo - Kinshasa, and United Kingdom, 1950–2020
People in the capital city: how do Japan, Congo - Kinshasa, and United Kingdom compare?
Japan: from 12.6M in 1950 to 33.7M in 2020.
Congo - Kinshasa: from 213K in 1950 to 10.5M in 2020.
United Kingdom: from 7.91M in 1950 to 9.99M in 2020.
Greater Tokyo grew from 13 to 34 million people: the largest city on Earth. Kinshasa had about 200,000 people in 1950. By 2020 it had over 10 million: 49 times more. London actually shrank as families moved out to the suburbs and new towns. It hit bottom in 1980, then grew again to 10 million.
What does this chart measure?
People in the capital city (people). People living in the capital's built-up area, suburbs included. One value every 5 years.
What are the exact numbers?
| Year | Japan | Congo - Kinshasa | United Kingdom |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 12.6M | 213K | 7.91M |
| 1955 | 14.5M | 278K | 7.86M |
| 1960 | 16.8M | 375K | 8.03M |
| 1965 | 19.4M | 555K | 7.95M |
| 1970 | 21.7M | 770K | 7.65M |
| 1975 | 24.3M | 1.04M | 7.37M |
| 1980 | 25.9M | 1.55M | 7.03M |
| 1985 | 27.2M | 2.25M | 7.03M |
| 1990 | 28.6M | 3.06M | 7.14M |
| 1995 | 29.2M | 4.25M | 7.39M |
| 2000 | 30.3M | 5.33M | 7.65M |
| 2005 | 31.4M | 5.65M | 7.95M |
| 2010 | 32.6M | 6.28M | 8.6M |
| 2015 | 33.1M | 7.96M | 9.27M |
| 2020 | 33.7M | 10.5M | 9.99M |
Where does the data come from?
Number of people living in the capital city. European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025). Data published by Our World in Data under CC BY 4.0.
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