This is a list of the 100 largest urban agglomerations in the world according to the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects report (2007 revision). [1] The term “urban agglomeration” refers to the population contained within the contours of a contiguous territory inhabited at urban density levels without regard to administrative boundaries or commuter flows. It usually incorporates the population in a city or town plus that in the suburban areas lying outside of but being adjacent to the city boundaries. Whenever possible, data classified according to the concept of urban agglomeration are used. However, some countries do not produce data according to the concept of urban agglomeration but use instead that of metropolitan area or city proper. Figures in the tables below are estimates for mid-2015. The basis of the data is not consistent, so the list cannot be relied upon as hard fact. It should be seen as simply one response to the question "what are the world's largest cities"?
Rank | City | Population | Country | Statistical concept [1] | Area (km²) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Tokyo | 38,001,000 | ![]() |
Major Metropolitan Area (M.M.A.), as defined by the Statistics Bureau of Japan | 13,500 |
2 | Delhi | 25,703,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration | 1,480 |
3 | Shanghai | 23,741,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area [2] | 3,920 |
4 | São Paulo | 21,066,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area (região metropolitana) | 8,050 |
5 | Mumbai | 21,043,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration | 4,360 |
6 | Mexico City | 20,999,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area (zona metropolitana), which includes several municipios | 7,815 |
7 | Beijing | 20,384,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area [2] | 7,860 |
8 | Osaka- Kobe | 20,238,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [3] | 1,220 |
9 | Cairo | 18,772,000 | ![]() |
Official metropolitan area [4] | 1,310 |
10 | New York City-Newark | 18,593,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [5] | 8,680 |
11 | Dhaka | 17,598,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area (megacity) | 1,600 |
12 | Karachi | 16,618,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration | 3,530 |
13 | Buenos Aires | 15,180,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [6] | 3,680 |
14 | Kolkata | 14,865,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration | 1,780 |
15 | Istanbul | 14,164,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [7] | 1,830 |
16 | Chongqing | 13,332,000 | ![]() |
Urban aglomeration [2] | 7,490 |
17 | Lagos | 13,123,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [8] | 640 |
18 | Manila | 12,946,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [9] | 640 |
19 | Rio de Janeiro | 12,902,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area (região metropolitana) | 5,000 |
20 | Guangzhou | 12,458,000 | ![]() |
City proper [2] | 7,260 |
21 | Los Angeles/Long Beach/Santa Ana | 12,310,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [5] | 4,320 |
22 | Moscow | 12,166,000 | ![]() |
City Proper [10] | 1,080 |
23 | Kinshasa | 11,587,000 | ![]() |
City proper | 9,960 |
24 | Tianjin | 11,210,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area [2] | 7,130 |
25 | Paris | 10,843,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration | 2,720 |
26 | Shenzhen | 10,749,000 | ![]() |
City proper [2] | 1,950 |
27 | Jakarta ( Jabodetabek) | 10,323,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area [11] | 1,360 |
28 | London | 10,313,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [12] | 1,620 |
29 | Bangalore | 10,087,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration | 1,280 |
30 | Lima | 9,897,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area [13] | 2,810 |
21 | Seoul | 9,796,000 | ![]() |
City proper (metropolitan city) | 610 |
24 | Chicago | 8,990,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [5] | 5,500 |
28 | Tehran | 7,873,000 | ![]() |
City proper | 660 |
30 | Bogotá | 7,772,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [14] | 1,980 |
32 | Wuhan | 7,243,000 | ![]() |
City proper [2] | 8,490 |
33 | Hong Kong | 7,206,000 | ![]() ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [15] | 1,100 |
35 | Chennai | 7,163,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration | 1,180 |
37 | Bangkok | 6,704,000 | ![]() |
Official metropolitan area | 1,570 |
38 | Lahore | 6,577,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration | 1,770 |
40 | Hyderabad | 6,376,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration | 1,860 |
41 | Santiago | 5,720,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [16] | 2,350 |
42 | Miami | 5,585,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [5] | 2,890 |
43 | Belo Horizonte | 5,575,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area (região metropolitana) | 9,190 |
44 | Madrid | 5,567,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area | 1,700 |
45 | Philadelphia | 5,492,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [5] | 4,660 |
46 | Ahmedabad | 5,375,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration | 1,300 |
47 | Ho Chi Minh City | 5,314,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration | 2,090 |
48 | Toronto | 5,213,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area [17] | 5,870 |
49 | Baghdad | 5,054,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area | 730 |
50 | Barcelona | 4,920,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area | 3,240 |
51 | Dallas-Fort Worth | 4,798,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [5] | 3,640 |
52 | Shenyang | 4,787,000 | ![]() |
City proper [2] | 3,460 |
53 | Khartoum | 4,754,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration | 580 |
54 | Pune | 4,672,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration | 700 |
55 | Saint Petersburg | 4,553,000 | ![]() |
City proper [10] | 1,150 |
56 | Chittagong | 4,529,000 | ![]() |
Statistical metropolitan area | 990 |
57 | Dongguan | 4,528,000 | ![]() |
City proper [2] | 2,460 |
58 | Atlanta | 4,506,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [5] | 5,080 |
59 | Boston | 4,467,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [5] | 4,500 |
60 | Riyadh | 4,465,000 | ![]() |
City proper | 1,550 |
61 | Houston | 4,459,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [5] | 3,350 |
62 | Singapore | 4,436,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration | 690 |
63 | Hanoi | 4,378,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration | 2,150 |
64 | Washington, D.C. | 4,338,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [5] | 3,000 |
65 | Sydney | 4,327,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration | 12,140 |
66 | Guadalajara | 4,198,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area (zona metropolitana), which includes several municipios | 2,730 |
67 | Alexandria | 4,165,000 | ![]() |
City proper | 2,970 |
68 | Chengdu | 4,123,000 | ![]() |
City proper [2] | 2,130 |
69 | Detroit | 4,101,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [5] | 3,270 |
70 | Yangon | 4,088,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration | 350 |
71 | Xi'an | 4,009,000 | ![]() |
City proper [2] | 3,550 |
72 | Luanda | 4,000,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration | |
73 | Porto Alegre | 3,917,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area (região metropolitana) | 9,890 |
74 | Surat | 3,842,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration | 326 |
75 | Abidjan | 3,802,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration | 550 |
76 | Melbourne | 3,728,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration | 7,690 |
77 | Ankara | 3,716,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [18] | 2,500 |
78 | Monterrey | 3,712,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area (zona metropolitana), which includes several municipios | 4,010 |
79 | Nanjing | 3,679,000 | ![]() |
City proper [2] | 6,600 |
80 | Montreal | 3,678,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area [17] | 4,050 |
81 | Guiyang | 3,662,000 | ![]() |
City proper [19] | 2,400 |
82 | Recife | 3,651,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area (região metropolitana) | 2,770 |
83 | Haerbin | 3,621,000 | ![]() |
City proper [2] | 4,280 |
84 | Brasilia | 3,599,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area (região metropolitana) [20] | 14,400 |
85 | Phoenix | 3,551,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [5] | 2,070 |
86 | Salvador | 3,484,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area (região metropolitana) | 2,340 |
87 | Busan | 3,480,000 | ![]() |
City proper (metropolitan city) | 760 |
88 | San Francisco-Oakland | 3,450,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [5] | 1,360 |
89 | Johannesburg | 3,435,000 | ![]() |
Official metropolitan area | 1,640 |
90 | Berlin | 3,406,000 | ![]() |
City proper | 890 |
91 | Fortaleza | 3,389,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area (região metropolitana) | 4,950 |
92 | Algiers | 3,354,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [21] | 270 |
93 | Rome | 3,339,000 | ![]() |
Major metropolitan area, based on the local labour market system (Sistemi locali del lavoro) as defined in the 2001 census | |
94 | Pyongyang | 3,300,000 | ![]() |
City proper | 2,110 |
95 | Medellín | 3,297,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area [22] | 1,150 |
96 | Kabul | 3,277,000 | ![]() |
City proper | |
97 | Athens | 3,242,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [23] | 680 |
98 | Nagoya | 3,230,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [24] | 480 |
99 | Cape Town | 3,215,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration | 690 |
100 | Changchun | 3,183,000 | ![]() |
City proper [2] |
Category:Lists of cities Category:Population Category:Metropolitan areas Category:Demography Category:Lists of cities by demography Largest cities
This is a list of the 100 largest urban agglomerations in the world according to the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects report (2007 revision). [1] The term “urban agglomeration” refers to the population contained within the contours of a contiguous territory inhabited at urban density levels without regard to administrative boundaries or commuter flows. It usually incorporates the population in a city or town plus that in the suburban areas lying outside of but being adjacent to the city boundaries. Whenever possible, data classified according to the concept of urban agglomeration are used. However, some countries do not produce data according to the concept of urban agglomeration but use instead that of metropolitan area or city proper. Figures in the tables below are estimates for mid-2015. The basis of the data is not consistent, so the list cannot be relied upon as hard fact. It should be seen as simply one response to the question "what are the world's largest cities"?
Rank | City | Population | Country | Statistical concept [1] | Area (km²) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Tokyo | 38,001,000 | ![]() |
Major Metropolitan Area (M.M.A.), as defined by the Statistics Bureau of Japan | 13,500 |
2 | Delhi | 25,703,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration | 1,480 |
3 | Shanghai | 23,741,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area [2] | 3,920 |
4 | São Paulo | 21,066,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area (região metropolitana) | 8,050 |
5 | Mumbai | 21,043,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration | 4,360 |
6 | Mexico City | 20,999,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area (zona metropolitana), which includes several municipios | 7,815 |
7 | Beijing | 20,384,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area [2] | 7,860 |
8 | Osaka- Kobe | 20,238,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [3] | 1,220 |
9 | Cairo | 18,772,000 | ![]() |
Official metropolitan area [4] | 1,310 |
10 | New York City-Newark | 18,593,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [5] | 8,680 |
11 | Dhaka | 17,598,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area (megacity) | 1,600 |
12 | Karachi | 16,618,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration | 3,530 |
13 | Buenos Aires | 15,180,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [6] | 3,680 |
14 | Kolkata | 14,865,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration | 1,780 |
15 | Istanbul | 14,164,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [7] | 1,830 |
16 | Chongqing | 13,332,000 | ![]() |
Urban aglomeration [2] | 7,490 |
17 | Lagos | 13,123,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [8] | 640 |
18 | Manila | 12,946,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [9] | 640 |
19 | Rio de Janeiro | 12,902,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area (região metropolitana) | 5,000 |
20 | Guangzhou | 12,458,000 | ![]() |
City proper [2] | 7,260 |
21 | Los Angeles/Long Beach/Santa Ana | 12,310,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [5] | 4,320 |
22 | Moscow | 12,166,000 | ![]() |
City Proper [10] | 1,080 |
23 | Kinshasa | 11,587,000 | ![]() |
City proper | 9,960 |
24 | Tianjin | 11,210,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area [2] | 7,130 |
25 | Paris | 10,843,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration | 2,720 |
26 | Shenzhen | 10,749,000 | ![]() |
City proper [2] | 1,950 |
27 | Jakarta ( Jabodetabek) | 10,323,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area [11] | 1,360 |
28 | London | 10,313,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [12] | 1,620 |
29 | Bangalore | 10,087,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration | 1,280 |
30 | Lima | 9,897,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area [13] | 2,810 |
21 | Seoul | 9,796,000 | ![]() |
City proper (metropolitan city) | 610 |
24 | Chicago | 8,990,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [5] | 5,500 |
28 | Tehran | 7,873,000 | ![]() |
City proper | 660 |
30 | Bogotá | 7,772,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [14] | 1,980 |
32 | Wuhan | 7,243,000 | ![]() |
City proper [2] | 8,490 |
33 | Hong Kong | 7,206,000 | ![]() ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [15] | 1,100 |
35 | Chennai | 7,163,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration | 1,180 |
37 | Bangkok | 6,704,000 | ![]() |
Official metropolitan area | 1,570 |
38 | Lahore | 6,577,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration | 1,770 |
40 | Hyderabad | 6,376,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration | 1,860 |
41 | Santiago | 5,720,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [16] | 2,350 |
42 | Miami | 5,585,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [5] | 2,890 |
43 | Belo Horizonte | 5,575,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area (região metropolitana) | 9,190 |
44 | Madrid | 5,567,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area | 1,700 |
45 | Philadelphia | 5,492,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [5] | 4,660 |
46 | Ahmedabad | 5,375,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration | 1,300 |
47 | Ho Chi Minh City | 5,314,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration | 2,090 |
48 | Toronto | 5,213,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area [17] | 5,870 |
49 | Baghdad | 5,054,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area | 730 |
50 | Barcelona | 4,920,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area | 3,240 |
51 | Dallas-Fort Worth | 4,798,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [5] | 3,640 |
52 | Shenyang | 4,787,000 | ![]() |
City proper [2] | 3,460 |
53 | Khartoum | 4,754,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration | 580 |
54 | Pune | 4,672,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration | 700 |
55 | Saint Petersburg | 4,553,000 | ![]() |
City proper [10] | 1,150 |
56 | Chittagong | 4,529,000 | ![]() |
Statistical metropolitan area | 990 |
57 | Dongguan | 4,528,000 | ![]() |
City proper [2] | 2,460 |
58 | Atlanta | 4,506,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [5] | 5,080 |
59 | Boston | 4,467,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [5] | 4,500 |
60 | Riyadh | 4,465,000 | ![]() |
City proper | 1,550 |
61 | Houston | 4,459,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [5] | 3,350 |
62 | Singapore | 4,436,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration | 690 |
63 | Hanoi | 4,378,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration | 2,150 |
64 | Washington, D.C. | 4,338,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [5] | 3,000 |
65 | Sydney | 4,327,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration | 12,140 |
66 | Guadalajara | 4,198,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area (zona metropolitana), which includes several municipios | 2,730 |
67 | Alexandria | 4,165,000 | ![]() |
City proper | 2,970 |
68 | Chengdu | 4,123,000 | ![]() |
City proper [2] | 2,130 |
69 | Detroit | 4,101,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [5] | 3,270 |
70 | Yangon | 4,088,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration | 350 |
71 | Xi'an | 4,009,000 | ![]() |
City proper [2] | 3,550 |
72 | Luanda | 4,000,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration | |
73 | Porto Alegre | 3,917,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area (região metropolitana) | 9,890 |
74 | Surat | 3,842,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration | 326 |
75 | Abidjan | 3,802,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration | 550 |
76 | Melbourne | 3,728,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration | 7,690 |
77 | Ankara | 3,716,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [18] | 2,500 |
78 | Monterrey | 3,712,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area (zona metropolitana), which includes several municipios | 4,010 |
79 | Nanjing | 3,679,000 | ![]() |
City proper [2] | 6,600 |
80 | Montreal | 3,678,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area [17] | 4,050 |
81 | Guiyang | 3,662,000 | ![]() |
City proper [19] | 2,400 |
82 | Recife | 3,651,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area (região metropolitana) | 2,770 |
83 | Haerbin | 3,621,000 | ![]() |
City proper [2] | 4,280 |
84 | Brasilia | 3,599,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area (região metropolitana) [20] | 14,400 |
85 | Phoenix | 3,551,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [5] | 2,070 |
86 | Salvador | 3,484,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area (região metropolitana) | 2,340 |
87 | Busan | 3,480,000 | ![]() |
City proper (metropolitan city) | 760 |
88 | San Francisco-Oakland | 3,450,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [5] | 1,360 |
89 | Johannesburg | 3,435,000 | ![]() |
Official metropolitan area | 1,640 |
90 | Berlin | 3,406,000 | ![]() |
City proper | 890 |
91 | Fortaleza | 3,389,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area (região metropolitana) | 4,950 |
92 | Algiers | 3,354,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [21] | 270 |
93 | Rome | 3,339,000 | ![]() |
Major metropolitan area, based on the local labour market system (Sistemi locali del lavoro) as defined in the 2001 census | |
94 | Pyongyang | 3,300,000 | ![]() |
City proper | 2,110 |
95 | Medellín | 3,297,000 | ![]() |
Metropolitan area [22] | 1,150 |
96 | Kabul | 3,277,000 | ![]() |
City proper | |
97 | Athens | 3,242,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [23] | 680 |
98 | Nagoya | 3,230,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration [24] | 480 |
99 | Cape Town | 3,215,000 | ![]() |
Urban agglomeration | 690 |
100 | Changchun | 3,183,000 | ![]() |
City proper [2] |
Category:Lists of cities Category:Population Category:Metropolitan areas Category:Demography Category:Lists of cities by demography Largest cities