Demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of cities by city population size (N=286 cities)
| Total | City population size* | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n (% distribution) or mean (SD) | 100 000–250 000 | 250 000–500 000 | 500 000–1 Million | 1–5 Million | >5 Million | P value | |
| Overall number of cities, n (%) | 286 | 130 (45.5%) | 70 (24.5%) | 47 (16.4%) | 34 (11.9%) | 5 (1.7%) | |
| Number of cities by country, n (col%) | |||||||
| Argentina | 33 (11.5%) | 15 (11.5%) | 8 (11.4%) | 5 (10.6%) | 4 (11.8%) | 1 (20.0%) | |
| Brazil | 143 (50.4%) | 74 (56.9%) | 31(44.3%) | 19 (40.4%) | 17 (50.0%) | 2 (40.0%) | |
| Chile | 21 (7.3%) | 12 (9.3%) | 6 (8.5%) | 2 (4.3%) | – | 1 (20.0%) | |
| Colombia | 16 (5.6%) | 6 (4.7%) | 5 (7.0%) | 4 (8.5%) | 1 (2.9%) | – | |
| Costa Rica | 1 (0.3%) | – | – | – | 1 (2.9%) | – | |
| Mexico | 61 (21.3%) | 19 (14.6%) | 16 (22.9%) | 15 (31.9%) | 10 (29.4%) | 1 (20.0%) | |
| Panama | 3 (1.0%) | 2 (1.6%) | – | – | 1 (2.9%) | – | |
| Peru | 8 (2.8%) | 2 (1.6%) | 4 (5.6%) | 2 (4.3%) | – | – | |
| Population growth rate†, mean% (SD) | 6.5 (3.3) | 6.5 (3.7) | 6.7 (3.2) | 6.6 (2.5) | 6.4 (2.6) | 4.2 (1.1) | 0.559 |
| 1. Score of Living conditions, mean (SD) | 0.06 (0.7) | 0.13 (0.7) | −0.02 (0.7) | −0.03 (0.7) | 0.08 (0.4) | 0.22 (0.4) | 0.613 |
| % of households with piped water in the dwelling | 89.9 (11.4) | 91.1 (11.1) | 87.5 (13.3) | 88.7 (11.8) | 91.7 (7.2) | 92.6 (7.2) | 0.227 |
| % of households with overcrowding‡ | 5.0 (4.0) | 4.5 (4.3) | 5.5 (4.0) | 5.6 (3.9) | 4.8 (3.0) | 5.2 (2.6) | 0.429 |
| % of population 15–17 attending school | 80.3 (7.6) | 80.7 (7.9) | 80.2 (7.6) | 79.5 (6.9) | 79.4 (7.5) | 83.4 (5.0) | 0.691 |
| 2. Score of Service provision, mean (SD) | −0.08 (0.4) | −0.1 (0.6) | −0.08 (0.4) | −0.03 (0.4) | −0.07 (0.4) | 0.12 (0.4) | 0.766 |
| % of households with water connected to municipal network | 90.8 (10.6) | 90.3 (10.9) | 90.1 (11.9) | 91.7 (9.0) | 91.89 (8.9) | 92.1 (9.1) | 0.822 |
| % of households with sewage system connected to municipal network | 70.0 (25.2) | 68.9 (26.8) | 70.5 (24.3) | 72.3 (24.3) | 68.2 (22.9) | 83.7 (16.2) | 0.681 |
| 3. Score of Population Educational attainment, mean (SD) | −0.22 (0.3) | −0.35 (0.3) | −0.19 (0.3) | −0.04 (0.3) | −0.004 (0.3) | −0.03 (0.2) | <0.0001 |
| % Population 25+ with complete high school or above | 38.8 (7.7) | 36.4 (7.4) | 39.7 (8.1) | 41.5 (6.9) | 41.6 (6.8) | 43.5 (3.7) | <0.0001 |
| % Population 25+ with complete university level or more | 12.2 (4.2) | 10.7 (3.8) | 12.2 (4.1) | 14.3 (4.0) | 14.9 (3.4) | 13.6 (3.9) | <0.0001 |
| 4. Availability of mass transit, n (col%) | 41 (14.3%) | – | 3 (4.2%) | 13 (27.7%) | 20 (58.8%) | 5 (100%) | <0.0001 |
| Bus rapid transit | 40 (14.0%) | – | 3 (4.2%) | 12 (25.5%) | 20 (58.8%) | 5 (100%) | <0.0001 |
| Subway | 16 (5.6%) | – | – | 2 (4.3%) | 9 (26.5%) | 5 (100%) | <0.0001 |
| MMR1 coverage, mean % (SD) | 91.3 (13.8) | 91.1 (13.2) | 90.2 (15.3) | 93.1 (12.2) | 92.0 (14.9) | 91.6 (9.24) | 0.855 |
| Overall infant mortality rate¶, mean (SD) | 11.2 (2.8) | 11.1 (2.9) | 11.4 (2.8) | 11.1 (2.6) | 11.4 (2.3) | 10.8 (2.5) | 0.877 |
| Argentina | 10.0 (2.2) | 9.5 (1.9) | 11.3 (3.0) | 9.4 (1.7) | 9.5 (1.7) | 10.0 (.) | 0.2976 |
| Brazil | 11.9 (2.4) | 11.7 (2.4) | 11.9 (2.1) | 11.9 (3.1) | 12.4 (2.3) | 12.1 (1.2) | 0.8537 |
| Chile | 7.4 (0.9) | 7.6 (1.1) | 7.2 (0.6) | 6.5 (0.3) | – | 6.8 (.) | 0.3523 |
| Colombia | 10.8 (2.8) | 9.8 (2.3) | 12.9 (3.0) | 10.3(2.0) | 7.9 (.) | – | 0.1735 |
| Costa Rica | 7.5(.) | – | – | – | 7.5 (.) | – | – |
| Mexico | 11.8 (2.4) | 12.7 (3.2) | 11.0 (1.5) | 11.6 (1.87) | 11.4 (1.9) | 13.0 (.) | 0.3445 |
| Panama | 13.1 (2.2) | 14.2 (1.7) | – | 11.0 (.) | – | 0.3573 | |
| Peru | 11.2 (4.7) | 7.04 (3.0) | 13.5 (5.6) | 11.0 (1.21) | – | – | 0.3414 |
*City population size is defined by the population in 2010.
†Population growth for the period 2010–2015.
‡Overcrowding is defined as more than three people per room, excluding kitchen and bathroom in a household.
§Mass transit availability refers to the presence of either subway or bus rapid transit networks.
¶Infant mortality rate=number of infant deaths per 1000 live births.
MMR1, measles–mumps–rubella vaccine.