List of largest cities

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

  (Redirected from List of cities by population)

Population tables of world cities
World's largest cities World's largest cities proper World's largest urban areas World's largest metropolitan areas World's largest conurbations World's largest agglomerations World megacities World megalopolises
v t e

Determining the world's largest cities depends on which definitions of city are used. The United Nations uses three definitions for what constitutes a city, as not all cities may be classified using the same criteria. Cities may be defined as the cities proper, the extent of their urban area, or their metropolitan regions.

Common methods for defining the boundaries of a city

City proper (administrative)

Main article: List of cities proper by population

A city can be defined by its administrative boundaries (city proper). World Urbanization Prospects, a UN publication, defines population of a city proper as "the population living within the administrative boundaries of a city or controlled directly from the city by a single authority." UNICEF^[1] defines city proper as "the population living within the administrative boundaries of a city, e.g., Washington, D.C.". 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.^[2][3][4] Cities proper and their boundaries and population data may not include suburbs.^[5]

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.^[5] Because of this definition, the city proper population figure may differ greatly with the urban area population figure, as many cities are amalgamations of smaller cities (Australia), and conversely, many Chinese cities govern territories that extend well beyond the traditional "city proper" into suburban and rural areas.^[6]

Urban area

Main article: List of urban areas by population

A city can be defined as a conditionally contiguous urban area, without regard to territorial or other boundaries inside an urban area. UNICEF^[1] 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).

Metropolitan area

Main article: List of metropolitan areas by population

A city can be defined by the habits of its demographic population, as by metropolitan area, labour market area, or similar in a metropolitan area. UNICEF^[1] 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).

List[edit]

City	Nation	Image	Population
			City proper	Metropolitan area	Urban area[7]
Shanghai	China		24,256,800[8]	34,750,000[9]	23,416,000[a]
Karachi	Pakistan		27,500,000[10]	25,400,000[11]	25,400,000
Beijing	China		21,516,000[12]	24,900,000[13]	21,009,000
Dhaka	Bangladesh		16,970,105[14]	15,669,000	18,305,671[15][not in citation given]
Delhi	India		16,787,941[16]	24,998,000	21,753,486[17]
Lagos	Nigeria		16,060,303[b]	21,000,000[20]	13,123,000
Istanbul	Turkey		14,025,000[21]	13,520,000	14,657,000[21]
Tokyo	Japan		13,513,734[22]	37,843,000	36,923,000[23]
Guangzhou	China		13,080,500[24]	44,259,000[25]	20,800,654[26]
Mumbai	India		12,478,447[17]	17,712,000	20,748,395[17]
Moscow	Russia		12,197,596[27]	16,170,000	16,800,000
São Paulo	Brazil		12,038,175[28]	21,090,791	36,842,102[29]
Lahore	Pakistan		13,570,105	13,569,000	13,505,671
Shenzhen	China		10,778,900[30]	10,630,000	12,084,000
Suzhou	China		10,650,501[31]
Cairo	Egypt		10,230,350[32]	18,290,000	22,439,541
Kinshasa	The Congo, Democratic Republic of		10,130,000[33]	13,265,000
Jakarta	Indonesia		10,075,310[34]	30,539,000	30,075,310[35]
Seoul	Korea, South		9,995,784[36]	12,700,000	25,520,000[37]
Mexico City	Mexico		8,974,724[38]	20,063,000	21,178,959[39]
Lima	Peru		8,852,000[40]	10,750,000	9,886,647[41]
London	United Kingdom		8,673,713[42]	13,879,757	9,787,426[43]
New York City	United States		8,550,405[44]	20,182,305	23,723,696[45]
Bengaluru	India		8,425,970[17]	9,807,000	8,728,906[17]
Bangkok	Thailand		8,280,925[46]	14,998,000	8,305,218[46]
Dongguan	China		8,220,207[47]
Chongqing	China		8,189,800[c]	52,100,100	36,700,000[49]
Nanjing	China		8,230,000[50]	34,360,000[51]
Tehran	Iran		8,154,051[52]	13,532,000	14,595,904[53]
Quanzhou	China		8,128,533	6,107,475	1,435,185
Shenyang	China		8,106,171[54]
Bogotá	Colombia		7,878,783 [55]	9,800,000[56][57]	9,520,000 [7]
Hyderabad	India		7,859,250[17]		8,955,450[17]
Ho Chi Minh City	Vietnam		7,681,700[58]
Hong Kong	Hong Kong[d]		7,298,600[59]	7,331,699[60]
Baghdad	Iraq		7,180,889[61]
Fuzhou	China		7,115,369		4,468,076
Chennai	India		7,088,000[62]		9,373,521[17]
Changsha	China		7,044,118
Wuhan	China		6,886,253[63]
Tianjin	China		6,859,779[64]	10,920,000
Hanoi	Vietnam		6,844,100[58]
Faisalabad	Pakistan		6,480,765[65]	3,675,000
Rio de Janeiro	Brazil		6,429,923[66]	12,727,000	13,973,505[28]
Foshan	China		6,151,622[67][68]
Zunyi	China		6,127,009
Santiago	Chile		5,743,719[69]		6,683,852[70]
Riyadh	Saudi Arabia		5,676,621[71]
Ahmedabad	India		5,570,585[17]		6,352,254[17]
Singapore	Singapore		5,535,000[72]
Shantou	China		5,391,028[73]	11,535,677
Ankara	Turkey		5,271,000[21]	4,585,000[21]	4,919,000[21]
Yangon	Myanmar		5,214,000[74]
Saint Petersburg	Russia		5,191,690[75]	5,900,000	6,200,000
Abidjan	Ivory Coast		4,765,000[76]
Chengdu	China		4,741,929[77]	10,376,000
Alexandria	Egypt		4,616,625[78]
Kolkata	India		4,486,679[17]	14,667,000	14,617,882[17]
Xi'an	China		4,467,837[79]
Surat	India		4,462,002[17]
Johannesburg	South Africa		4,434,827[80]
Dar es Salaam	Tanzania		4,364,541[81]
Harbin	China		4,280,701[82][83]
Giza	Egypt		4,239,988[84]
İzmir	Turkey		4,168,000[21]	3,019,000[21]	3,575,000[21]
Zhengzhou	China		4,122,087[85]
New Taipei City	Taiwan		3,954,929[86]
Los Angeles	United States		3,884,307[87]	15,058,000	13,262,220[45]
Cape Town	South Africa		3,740,026[80]
Yokohama	Japan		3,726,167[22][e]
Hangzhou	China		3,560,391[88]
Xiamen	China		3,531,347[89]	5,114,758	1,861,289
Berlin	Germany		3,517,424[90]	5,871,022
Busan	Korea, South		3,510,833[37]	8,202,239[91]
Guayaquil	Ecuador		3,600,000[92]	5,000,000
Jeddah	Saudi Arabia		3,456,259[93]
Durban	South Africa		3,442,361[80]
Hyderabad	Pakistan		3,429,471[94]
Kabul	Afghanistan		3,414,100[95]
Casablanca	Morocco		3,359,818[96]
Hefei	China		3,352,076[97]
Pyongyang	Korea, North		3,255,388[98]
Madrid	Spain		3,207,247[99]		6,378,297[43]
Peshawar	Pakistan		3,201,000[citation needed]
Rawalpindi	Pakistan		3,198,911[100]
Ekurhuleni	South Africa		3,178,470[80]
Nairobi	Kenya		3,138,369[101]
Zhongshan	China		3,121,275[102]
Multan	Pakistan		3,117,000[103]
Pune	India		3,115,431[17]
Addis Ababa	Ethiopia		3,103,673[104]	4,567,857	3,384,569
Jaipur	India		3,073,350[17]
Buenos Aires	Argentina		3,054,300[105]	14,122,000	13,074,000[106]
Wenzhou	China		3,039,439[107]
Lucknow	India		2,815,601[17]
Incheon	Korea, South		2,978,367[108]
Quezon City	Philippines		2,936,116[109][f]
Kiev	Ukraine		2,908,703 [110]		3,375,000[111]
Salvador	Brazil		2,902,927[112]	3,919,864[113]
Rome	Italy		2,874,038[114]	4,362,282[g][115]
Luanda	Angola		2,825,311		6,542,944[116]
Kaohsiung	Taiwan		2,778,918[117]		2,540,000
Surabaya	Indonesia		2,765,487[118]	7,302,283
Taichung	Taiwan		2,752,413[119]		2,520,000[120]
Toronto	Canada		2,731,571	6,417,516	6,129,900
Taipei	Taiwan		2,704,974		7,045,488[121]
Gujranwala	Pakistan		2,700,003[122]
Chicago	United States		2,695,598[123]	9,156,000	9,554,598[45]
Osaka	Japan		2,691,742[22]	19,341,976[23]	17,444,000
Quito	Ecuador		2,671,191	4,700,000
Chaozhou	China		2,669,844
Dubai	United Arab Emirates		2,643,410
Chittagong	Bangladesh		2,581,643[124]	4,009,423
Bandung	Indonesia		2,575,478	6,965,655
Brasília	Brazil		2,556,149[125]	3,919,864[126]
Daegu	Korea, South		2,492,994[127]
Houston	United States		2,489,558[128]	6,490,180	4,944,332
Medellin	Colombia		2,441,123[129]	2,497,870	3,731,447
Nagpur	India		2,405,665[130]	2,497,870
Brisbane	Australia		2,349,699[131][132]
Nagoya	Japan		2,296,014[22]	9,107,414[23]	10,177,000
Phnom Penh	Cambodia		2,234,566
Kochi	India		2,232,456	4,221,140
Paris	France		2,229,621	10,601,122
Medan	Indonesia		2,097,610	4,103,696
Visakhapatnam	India		2,035,922	5,340,000[133]
Minsk	Belarus		1,959,781[134]
Sapporo	Japan		1,918,096[22]	2,584,880
Islamabad	Pakistan		1,900,000[135]	2,200,000	1,829,180
Tainan	Taiwan		1,885,252[136]		1,170,000[137]
Bucharest	Romania		1,883,425	2,272,163[138]	1,931,000[139]
Vienna	Austria		1,863,881	2,600,000
Brazzaville	The Congo, Republic of		1,827,000
Hamburg	Germany		1,787,408[140]		5,046,182
Manila	Philippines		1,780,148[109]	12,877,253[109]	24,123,000
Kuala Lumpur	Malaysia		1,768,000[141]	7,254,000	7,200,000[142]
Budapest	Hungary		1,759,407[143]	2,927,944[144]	3,303,786
Montreal	Canada		1,649,519	4,127,100	3,407,963
Davao City	Philippines		1,632,991[145]	2,516,216[h]
Barcelona	Spain		1,604,555[146]	5,375,774	4,740,000[147]
Caloocan	Philippines		1,583,978[109][i]
Philadelphia	United States		1,567,442[148]	6,051,170[149]	7,146,706[150]
Phoenix	United States		1,563,025[151]	4,574,531	3,629,114
Kobe	Japan		1,536,499[22][j]
Daejeon	Korea, South		1,535,028
Guadalajara	Mexico		1,495,189	4,424,252
Auckland	New Zealand		1,495,000[152]	1,614,300[153]
Vijayawada	India		1,491,202[154]		5,873,588
Fukuoka	Japan		1,483,052[22]	5,590,378
Kyoto	Japan		1,474,570[22][k]
Kwangju	Korea, South		1,466,516
Munich	Germany		1,450,381[155]	2,606,021
Kawasaki	Japan		1,437,266[22][l]
Milan	Italy		1,359,905[156]	3,206,465[m]
Córdoba	Argentina		1,330,023[157]	1,528,000
Prague	Czech Republic		1,324,000[158]
Saitama	Japan		1,226,656[22][n]
Rosario	Argentina		1,193,605[159]	1,276,000[160]
Belgrade	Serbia		1,166,763	1,659,440	1,344,844
Ulsan	Korea, South		1,163,690[37]
Tbilisi	Georgia		1,118,035[161]	1,485,293
Fez	Morocco		1,112,072[162]
Calgary	Canada		1,235,171[163]	1,214,839	1,095,404
Yerevan	Armenia		1,060,138[164]
Cologne	Germany		1,057,327[165]	3,573,500
Managua	Nicaragua		2,560,789		2,205,676

1. Jump up^ Shanghai, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Suzhou, Wuxi, Ningbo, Changzhou, Shaoxing, and urban area of Zhangjiaggang-Jiangyin within the prefecture-level cities of Suzhou and Wuxi are treated as separate urban areas which constitute the Yangtze River Delta economic zone. Huai'an (1,856,000; 148 km²), Xuzhou (1,246,000; 233 km²), Nantong (1,036,000; 233 km²), Lianyungang (985,000; 155 km²), Zhenjiang (983,000; 168 km²), Yancheng (797,000; 207 km²), Huzhou (690,000; 111 km²), Taizhou (in Jiangsu Province; 300,000; 117 km²) and Suqian (220,000; 36 km²), as well as urban areas of Yangzhou (1,593,000; 233 km²) and Gaoyou (180,000; 39 km²) within the prefecture-level city of Yangzhou, urban areas of Kunshan (1,596,000; 492 km²), Changshu (1,139,000; 285 km²) and Taicang (523,000; 117 km²) within the prefecture-level city of Suzhou, urban areas of Cixi (1,200,000; 298 km²) and Yuyao (650,000; 122 km²) within the sub-provincial city of Ningbo, urban areas of Jiaxing (1,044,000; 259 km²) and Tongxiang (510,000; 52 km²) within the prefecture-level city of Jiaxing, urban areas of Wenling (510,000; 52 km²), Jiaojiang (375,000; 41 km²) and Huangyan (200,000; 34 km²) within the prefecture-level city of Taizhou (in Zhejiang Province), urban areas of Zhuji (500,000; 117 km²) and Shangyu (400,000; 158 km²) within the prefecture-level city of Shaoxing, urban areas of Yiwu-Dongyang (925,000; 233 km²), Jinhua (520,000; 186 km²), Yongkang (500,000; 223 km²), Dongyang (260,000; 104 km²) and Lanxi (220,000; 34 km²) within the prefecture-level city of Jinhua, and urban area of Fuyang (450,000; 49 km²) within the sub-provincial city of Hangzhou are also excluded.
2. Jump up^ Lagos consists 16 out of Lagos State's 20 LGA, which excludes: Badagry, Epe, Ibeju-Lekki and Ikorodu.^[18][19]
3. Jump up^ Sum of the 2014 population estimates for the "urban-function core district" and "urban-function extended district" of Chongqing, which were 3,677,600 and 4,512,200 respectively.^[48] See also the next note.
4. Jump up^ Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region (S.A.R.) of The People's Republic of China.
5. Jump up^ The cities of Yokohama, Kawasaki and Saitama are all part of the Greater Tokyo Area
6. Jump up^ Quezon City and Caloocan City are both under the administration of Metropolitan Manila
7. Jump up^ Rome and its neighbouring comunes are all under the administration of Metropolitan City of Rome Capital.
8. Jump up^ Davao City and its neighbouring cities and towns are all under part of Metropolitan Davao.
9. Jump up^ Quezon City and Caloocan City are both under the administration of Metropolitan Manila
10. Jump up^ Kyoto and Kobe are both part of the Keihanshin, centered on Osaka.
11. Jump up^ Kyoto and Kobe are both part of the Keihanshin, centered on Osaka.
12. Jump up^ The cities of Yokohama, Kawasaki and Saitama are all part of the Greater Tokyo Area
13. Jump up^ Milan and its neighbouring comunes are all under the administration of Metropolitan City of Milan.
14. Jump up^ The cities of Yokohama, Kawasaki and Saitama are all part of the Greater Tokyo Area

Databases of cities

• UNSD Demographics Statistics – City population by sex, city and city type
• Nordpil World Database of Large Urban Areas, 1950–2050