List of largest cities
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The United Nations uses three definitions for what constitutes a city, as not all cities in all jurisdictions are classified using the same criteria. Cities may be defined as the cities proper, the extent of their urban area, or their metropolitan regions.
Definitions
City proper (administrative)
A city can be defined by its administrative boundaries, otherwise known as city proper. UNICEF defines city proper as, "the population living within the administrative boundaries of a city or controlled directly from the city by a single authority." A city proper is a locality defined according to legal or political boundaries and an administratively recognised urban status that is usually characterised by some form of local government.[1][2][3] Cities proper and their boundaries and population data may not include suburbs.[4]
The use of city proper as defined by administrative boundaries may not include suburban areas where an important proportion of the population working or studying in the city lives.[4] Because of this definition, the city proper population figure may differ greatly from the urban area population figure, as many cities are amalgamations of smaller municipalities (Australia), and conversely, many Chinese cities govern territories that extend well beyond the core urban area into suburban and rural areas.[5] The Chinese municipality of Chongqing, which is the largest city proper in the world by population, comprises a huge administrative area of 82,403 km2, around the size of Austria. However, more than 70% of its 30-million population are agricultural workers living in a rural setting.[6][7]
Urban area
A city can be defined as a conditionally contiguous urban area, without regard to territorial or other boundaries inside an urban area. UNICEF defines urban area as follows:
The definition of "urban" varies from country to country, and, with periodic reclassification, can also vary within one country over time, making direct comparisons difficult. An urban area can be defined by one or more of the following: administrative criteria or political boundaries (e.g., area within the jurisdiction of a municipality or town committee), a threshold population size (where the minimum for an urban settlement is typically in the region of 2,000 people, although this varies globally between 200 and 50,000), population density, economic function (e.g., where a significant majority of the population is not primarily engaged in agriculture, or where there is surplus employment) or the presence of urban characteristics (e.g., paved streets, electric lighting, sewerage).
According to Demographia, an urban area is a continuously built up land mass of urban development that is within a labor market (metropolitan area or metropolitan region) and contains no rural land.
Metropolitan area
A city can be defined by the inhabitants of its demographic population, as by metropolitan area, or labour market area. UNICEF defines metropolitan area as follows:
A formal local government area comprising the urban area as a whole and its primary commuter areas, typically formed around a city with a large concentration of people (i.e., a population of at least 100,000). In addition to the city proper, a metropolitan area includes both the surrounding territory with urban levels of residential density and some additional lower-density areas that are adjacent to and linked to the city (e.g., through frequent transport, road linkages or commuting facilities).
In many countries, metropolitan areas are established either with an official organisation or only for statistical purposes. In the United States, metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB).[8] In the Philippines, metropolitan areas have an official agency, such as Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), which manages Manila metropolitan area.[9] Similar agencies exist in Indonesia, such as Jabodetabekjur Development Cooperation Agency for Jakarta metropolitan area.[10]
List
There are 65 cities in the world with a population exceeding 5 million people.[11] The following table sorts the biggest 100 cities according to the population in their administrative city limits at the last ascertainable date. The population figures refer to the respective municipality in its political boundaries without politically independent suburbs. For Chinese cities, the urban population (urban settlement) of the respective city is given at prefecture or county level.
| Rank | City | Population | Country | Year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shanghai | 21,909,814 |  China
|
2020 |
| 2 | Delhi | 21,359,000 |  India
|
2023 |
| 3 | Karachi | 20,382,881 |  Pakistan
|
2023 |
| 4 | Beijing | 18,960,744 | China
|
2020 |
| 5 | Shenzhen | 17,444,609 | China
|
2020 |
| 6 | Kinshasa | 16,316,000 |  Democratic Republic of the Congo
|
2023 |
| 7 | Guangzhou | 16,096,724 | China
|
2020 |
| 8 | Lagos | 15,946,000 |  Nigeria
|
2023 |
| 9 | İstanbul | 15,907,951 |  Turkey
|
2022 |
| 10 | Bengaluru | 14,254,786 | India
|
2021 |
| 11 | Chengdu | 13,568,357 | China
|
2020 |
| 12 | Mumbai | 13,127,825 | India
|
2021 |
| 13 | Moscow | 13,010,112 |  Russia
|
2021 |
| 14 | Lahore | 13,004,135 | Pakistan
|
2023 |
| 15 | São Paulo | 12,200,180 |  Brazil
|
2022 |
| 16 | Tianjin | 11,052,404 | China
|
2020 |
| 17 | Jakarta | 10,562,088 |  Indonesia
|
2020 |
| 18 | Wuhan | 10,494,879 | China
|
2020 |
| 19 | Dhaka | 10,278,882 |  Bangladesh
|
2022 |
| 20 | Hyderabad | 10,269,000 | India
|
2021 |
| 21 | Cairo | 10,100,166 |  Egypt
|
2022 |
| 22 | Tokyo | 9,733,276 |  Japan
|
2020 |
| 23 | Chennai | 9,722,974 | India
|
2021 |
| 24 | Lima | 9,674,800 |  Peru
|
2020 |
| 25 | Dongguan | 9,644,871 | China
|
2020 |
| 26 | Seoul | 9,586,195 |  South Korea
|
2020 |
| 27 | Chongqing | 9,580,810 | China
|
2020 |
| 28 | Xi’an | 9,392,938 | China
|
2020 |
| 29 | Hangzhou | 9,236,032 | China
|
2020 |
| 30 | Luanda | 9,079,800 |  Angola
|
2022 |
| 31 | Foshan | 9,042,509 | China
|
2020 |
| 32 | Tehran | 9,039,000 |  Iran
|
2021 |
| 33 | London | 8,888,608 |  United Kingdom
|
2021 |
| 34 | Mexico City | 8,843,706 |  Mexico
|
2020 |
| 35 | New York City | 8,467,513 |  United States
|
2021 |
| 36 | Ahmedabad | 8,253,226 | India
|
2021 |
| 37 | Bogotá | 7,936,500 |  Colombia
|
2023 |
| 38 | Surat | 7,567,538 | India
|
2021 |
| 39 | Nanjing | 7,519,814 | China
|
2020 |
| 40 | Hongkong | 7,413,070 | China
|
2021 |
| 41 | Shenyang | 7,026,358 | China
|
2020 |
| 42 | Ho Chi Minh City | 7,004,921 |  Vietnam
|
2019 |
| 43 | Riyadh | 6,924,566 |  Saudi Arabia
|
2022 |
| 44 | Baghdad | 6,719,476 |  Iraq
|
2018 |
| 45 | Rio de Janeiro | 6,625,849 | Brazil
|
2022 |
| 46 | Zhengzhou | 6,461,013 | China
|
2020 |
| 47 | Qingdao | 6,165,279 | China
|
2020 |
| 48 | Kolkata | 6,112,874 | India
|
2020 |
| 49 | Suzhou | 5,892,892 | China
|
2020 |
| 50 | Singapore | 5,685,807 |  Singapore
|
2020 |
| 51 | Bangkok | 5,666,264 |  Thailand
|
2019 |
| 52 | Changsha | 5,630,256 | China
|
2020 |
| 53 | Abidjan | 5,616,633 |  Ivory Coast
|
2021 |
| 54 | Sankt Petersburg | 5,601,911 | Russia
|
2021 |
| 55 | Jinan | 5,452,335 | China
|
2020 |
| 56 | Daressalam | 5,383,728 |  Tanzania
|
2022 |
| 57 | Kunming | 5,273,144 | China
|
2020 |
| 58 | Alexandria | 5,263,542 | Egypt
|
2021 |
| 59 | Harbin | 5,242,897 | China
|
2020 |
| 60 | Sydney | 5,231,147 |  Australia
|
2021 |
| 61 | Santiago de Chile | 5,220,161 |  Chile
|
2017 |
| 62 | Ankara | 5,186,002 | Turkey
|
2022 |
| 63 | Shijiazhuang | 5,090,440 | China
|
2020 |
| 64 | Hefei | 5,055,978 | China
|
2020 |
| 65 | Melbourne | 5,031,195 | Australia
|
2022 |
| 66 | Dalian | 4,913,879 | China
|
2020 |
| 67 | Johannesburg | 4,803,262 |  South Africa
|
2022 |
| 68 | Cape Town | 4,772,846 | South Africa
|
2022 |
| 69 | Rangun | 4,728,524 |  Myanmar
|
2014 |
| 70 | Xiamen | 4,617,251 | China
|
2020 |
| 71 | Nanning | 4,582,703 | China
|
2020 |
| 72 | Changchun | 4,557,356 | China
|
2020 |
| 73 | Kabul | 4,434,600 |  Afghanistan
|
2020 |
| 74 | Nairobi | 4,397,073 |  Kenya
|
2019 |
| 75 | Gizeh | 4,367,343 | Egypt
|
2021 |
| 76 | Kano | 4,348,000 | Nigeria
|
2023 |
| 77 | Taiyuan | 4,303,673 | China
|
2020 |
| 78 | eThekwini (Durban) | 4,239,901 | South Africa
|
2022 |
| 79 | Bamako | 4,227,569 |  Mali
|
2022 |
| 80 | Jaipur | 4,067,826 | India
|
2021 |
| 81 | Ekurhuleni | 4,066,691 | South Africa
|
2022 |
| 82 | Tshwane (Pretoria) | 4,040,315 | South Africa
|
2022 |
| 83 | New Taipei City | 4,030,954 |  Taiwan
|
2020 |
| 84 | Guiyang | 4,021,275 | China
|
2020 |
| 85 | Wuxi | 3,956,985 | China
|
2020 |
| 86 | Pune | 3,891,823 | India
|
2021 |
| 87 | Shantou | 3,890,169 | China
|
2020 |
| 88 | Ibadan | 3,875,000 | Nigeria
|
2023 |
| 89 | Ürümqi | 3,864,136 | China
|
2020 |
| 90 | Los Angeles | 3,849,297 | United States
|
2021 |
| 91 | Zhongshan | 3,841,873 | China
|
2020 |
| 92 | Abuja | 3,840,000 | Nigeria
|
2023 |
| 93 | Lucknow | 3,790,274 | India
|
2021 |
| 94 | Yokohama | 3,777,491 | Japan
|
2020 |
| 95 | Berlin | 3,735,164 |  Germany
|
2022 |
| 96 | Ningbo | 3,731,203 | China
|
2020 |
| 97 | Fuzhou | 3,723,454 | China
|
2020 |
| 98 | Jeddah | 3,712,917 | Saudi Arabia
|
2022 |
| 99 | Hanoi | 3,605,364 | Vietnam
|
2019 |
| 100 | Nanchang | 3,518,975 | China
|
2020 |
- ^ "World Urbanization Prospects: The 2007 Revision Population Database". United Nations. Archived from the original on 22 August 2010. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
- ^ "United Nations Statistics Division – Demographic and Social Statistics". United Nations. Archived from the original on 23 June 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
- ^ Demographic Yearbook 2005, Volume 57. United Nations. 2008. p. 241. ISBN 978-92-1-051099-8. Archived from the original on 2 May 2016.
- ^ a b World Urbanization Prospects: The 2003 Revision. United Nations. 2004. ISBN 92-1-151396-0. Archived from the original on 3 February 2020. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
- ^ Alexander, Ruth (29 January 2012). "The world's biggest cities: How do you measure them?". BBC News. Archived from the original on 2 March 2015. Retrieved 16 March 2015.
- ^ Alexander, Ruth (29 January 2012). "Which is the world's biggest city?". BBC News. Archived from the original on 2 March 2015. Retrieved 21 July 2018.
- ^ Callahan, William A. (12 April 2015). China Dreams: 20 Visions of the Future. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780190235239. Archived from the original on 16 June 2021. Retrieved 21 September 2020 – via Google Books.
- ^ Nussle, Jim (20 November 2008). "Update of Statistical Area Definitions and Guidance on Their Uses" (PDF). Office of Management and Budget. pp. 1–2. Archived (PDF) from the original on 21 January 2017.
- ^ "Home". mmda.gov.ph. Archived from the original on 10 June 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2021.
- ^ Widyanto, Untung (6 December 2018). "3 Masalah Utama BKSP Jabodetabekjur yang Dipimpin Anies Baswedan". Tempo. Archived from the original on 9 March 2021. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
- ^ "City Population - Population Statistics in Maps and Charts for Cities, Agglomerations and Administrative Divisions of all Countries of the World". www.citypopulation.de. Retrieved 19 January 2025.