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The following is a list of the largest satellite cities worldwide, with over 500,000 people. A satellite city is defined as subordinate to a central city in a business or infrastructure sense, and it may or may not have more population than the central city due to arbitrary municipal definitions.

Excluded are transborder agglomerations. In the Pop date column, C stands for census, P for provisional result, E for estimate. Although the list is ordered by population for ease of reference, the figures are not comparable with each other due to different dates and lack of updates by respective countries.

Satellite cities by population

  • Satellite cities are generally suburbs or bedroom communities but not always; an example is a capital that is dwarfed by a megacity. Large satellite cities may be as densely populated as a megacity.
  • Cities in mainland China are often defined as prefectures or counties; for the sake of simplicity, they are listed in a separate list as explained in the respective section.
  • The Taiwan municipalities of Taichung, Taoyuan, New Taipei, Tainan, and Kaohsiung are usually considered large in area, as they merged with their respective surrounding suburban counties in December 2010, thus becoming direct-controlled municipalities.
  • The city of Pretoria, South Africa has an exceedingly large area of 6,298 km2 (2,432 sq mi), and as a national capital, it is hard to determine the boundaries between Pretoria's suburban areas and the suburbs of the nearby city of Johannesburg. Therefore, it is excluded here.
  • Malaysia has multiple types of local government, which confusingly overlap as the system was partially but not completely overhauled.
  • Local data may be outdated for many of the least-developed nations, and as such may not be comparable.
More information Rank, City ...
Rank City Population Pop date Metropolitan area Nation
1Giza (informal)5,094,0002017CGreater Cairo Egypt[1]
2New Taipei City (agglo)3,979,2082016ETaipei Taiwan[2]
3Yokohama3,778,7182020CTokyo Japan[3]
4Ekurhuleni (agglo)3,379,1042016EJohannesburg South Africa[4]
5Incheon3,209,2952019ESeoul South Korea[5]
6Quezon City2,960,0482020CManila Philippines[6]
7Bekasi2,714,8002015EGreater Jakarta Indonesia[7]
8Gazipur2,677,0002022CGreater Dhaka Bangladesh[8]
9Ghaziabad2,358,5252011CCentral NCR India[9]
10Taoyuan2,147,7632016ETaipei Taiwan[2]
11Depok2,106,1002014EGreater Jakarta Indonesia[7]
12Tangerang2,047,1052015EGreater Jakarta Indonesia[10]
13Omdurman1,849,6592008CKhartoum Sudan[11]
14La Matanza1,837,7742022CBuenos Aires Argentina[12]
15Thane1,818,8722011CMumbai Metropolitan Region India[9]
16Narayanganj1,771,0002022CGreater Dhaka Bangladesh[8]
17Pimpri-Chinchwad1,729,3592011CPune India[9]
18Caloocan1,661,5832920CManila Philippines[6]
19Ecatepec de Morelos1,645,3522020CMexico City Mexico[13]
20Matola1,616,2672017CMaputo Mozambique[14]
21Karaj1,592,4922016CGreater Tehran Iran[15]
22South Tangerang1,543,2092015EGreater Jakarta Indonesia[10]
23Kawasaki1,539,0812020CTokyo Japan[3]
24Kobe City1,527,0222020COsaka Japan[3]
25Gurgaon1,514,0852011CCentral NCR India[9]
26Zapopan1,476,4912020CGuadalajara Mexico[13]
27Faridabad1,404,6532011CCentral NCR India[9]
28Viana1,382,8542014CGreater Luanda Angola[16]
29Guarulhos1,379,1822019ESão Paulo Brazil[17]
30Saitama City1,324,5912020CTokyo Japan[3]
32Sharjah1,270,0002015CDubai-Sharjah-Ajman metropolitan area United Arab Emirates[18]
33Kalyan-Dombivali1,246,3812011CMumbai Metropolitan Region India[9]
34Suwon1,235,0222016ESeoul South Korea[5]
48Shubra El-Kheima1,226,1432020ECairo Egypt
35Vasai-Virar1,221,2232011CMumbai Metropolitan Region India[9]
37Ulsan1,168,4692019EBusan-Ulsan South Korea[5]
38Cazenga1,151,2062022EGreater Luanda Angola[16]
39Navi Mumbai1,119,4772011CMumbai Metropolitan Region India[9]
40Changwon1,080,1332016EBusan-Ulsan South Korea[5]
41Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl1,077,2082020CMexico City Mexico[13]
42Howrah1,072,1612011CKolkata India[9]
43Goyang1,078,8592019ESeoul South Korea[5]
44Yongin1,078,5912019ESeoul South Korea[5]
45Biên Hòa1,055,4042019CSaigon Vietnam[19]
45Bogor1,047,9002015EGreater Jakarta Indonesia[7]
47Callao1,010,3152015EGreater Lima Peru[20]
48Khartoum North1,012,2112008CKhartoum Sudan[11]
49Chiba City975,2102020CTokyo Japan[3]
50Seongnam960,3422019ESeoul South Korea[5]
51El Alto943,5582019EGreater La Paz Bolivia[21]
52São Gonçalo929,4462022CPRio de Janeiro Brazil[17]
53Hawalli911,2742014EKuwait City Kuwait[22]
54Santo Domingo Este891,9522019ESanto Domingo Dominican Republic[23]
55Salé890,4032014CRabat Morocco[24]
56Antipolo887,3992020CManila Philippines[6]
57Taguig886,7222020CManila Philippines[6]
58Bucheon855,6852019ESeoul South Korea[5]
59Hwaseong855,9492019ESeoul South Korea[5]
60Cheongju853,7142019EDaejeon South Korea[5]
61São Bernardo do Campo838,9362015ESão Paulo Brazil[17]
62Naucalpan de Juárez834,4342020CMexico City Mexico[13]
63Sakai826,4472020COsaka Japan[3]
64Soacha826,7002023EBogota Colombia[25]
65Seberang Perai818,1972010CPenang Malaysia[26]
66Farwaniya816,0152015EKuwait City Kuwait[22]
67Mira-Bhayander814,6552011CMumbai Metropolitan Region India[9]
68Nova Iguaçu821,1282019ERio de Janeiro Brazil[17]
69Pasig803,1592020CManila Philippines[6]
70Kajang795,5222010CGreater Kuala Lumpur Malaysia[26]
71Duque de Caxias782,7992022CPRio de Janeiro Brazil[17]
72Osasco777,0482022CPSão Paulo Brazil[17]
73Santo André776,6402022CPSão Paulo Brazil[17]
74La Plata772,6182022CBuenos Aires Argentina[27]
75Hempstead770,3672016CNew York United States[28]
76Ansan707,3852019ESeoul South Korea[5]
77Noida/Greater Noida750,0572011CCentral NCR India[9]
78Klang744,0622010CGreater Kuala Lumpur Malaysia[26]
79Tlajomulco de Zúñiga727,7502020CGreater Guadalajara Mexico[13]
80Sagamihara725,3022017ETokyo Japan[3]
81Emfuleni733,4452016EJohannesburg South Africa[4]
82Mississauga721,5992016CGreater Toronto Area Canada[29][30]
83Valenzuela714,9782020CManila Philippines[6]
84Bhiwandi711,3292011CMumbai Metropolitan Region India[9]
85Parañaque714,9782020CManila Philippines[6]
86Namyangju709,3072019ESeoul South Korea[5]
87Subang Jaya708,2962010CGreater Kuala Lumpur Malaysia[26]
88Chimalhuacán705,1532020CGreater Mexico City Mexico[13]
89Dasmariñas703,1312020CManila Philippines[6]
90Tolyatti699,3672020CSamara-Tolyatti-Syzran metropolitan area Russia
91Lomas de Zamora698,4182022CBuenos Aires Argentina[31]
92Jaboatão dos Guararapes702,2982019ERecife Brazil[17]
93Tlaquepaque687,1272020CGreater Guadalajara Mexico[13]
94Tlalnepantla de Baz672,2022020CGreater Mexico City Mexico[13]
95Soledad691,9002023EBarranquilla Colombia[25]
96Contagem663,8552019EBelo Horizonte Brazil[17]
97Bacoor664,6252020CManila Philippines[6]
98Apodaca656,4542020CGreater Monterrey Mexico[13]
99San Jose del Monte651,8132020CManila Philippines[6]
100Gold Coast650,0002016EBrisbane Australia[32]
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Satellite cities in China and Taiwan

Cities in the People's Republic of China and Republic of China are often defined in way as prefectures/counties. Their prefecture/county limits often are physically more extensive than entire metropolitan areas, encompassing large rural areas and outright separate cities. "Satellite city" may be located both within the municipality and/or adjacent to it, depending on how the area agglomerated. Some urban districts, as in the case of Wanzhou Urban District in Chongqing Municipality (Province Level), are separated by farmlands from the core metropolitan area and functions as a satellite city in spite of naming.

As to what constitutes a "city" in the PRC, there exist other definitions of city limits are in actual usage, such as combination of several districts where urban area of the central city is dominant, or roads, railways, natural boundaries, or a combination thereof. This is commonly designated by the central statistics bureaus as "urban districts", however some counties are also included, as well as some cities opt for towns rather than counties. Some counties/districts (e.g. Handan County, Handan City(Prefecture level)) are indeed satellites of their respective central cities (e.g. Congtai, Hanshan, Fuxing districts of Handan City(Prefecture level) are a common definition of true urban area of Handan, although this definition now often also involves Handan County as the city expands).

In the case of Chaoshan Metropolitan Area, Jieyang (Prefecture-level city) urban districts border that of the central city of Shantou (Prefecture-level city), effectively spanning neighboring municipalities. Complicating the matter is the nesting of city structures, as Jieyang municipality itself is a satellite of Shantou, even though Puning city (County level city, and can be a satellite of Shantou) lies within Jieyang's jurisdiction.

More information Rank, City ...
Rank City Population Pop date Type Includes Metropolitan area Province/province-level municipality
1Puning2,054,703[33] 2010CCounty-level city within Jieyangentire city (县级市)Greater ChaoshanGuangdong
2Jieyang1,899,394[33] 2010Cadjacent Prefecture-level cityurban districts (市辖区)Greater ChaoshanGuangdong
3Huilai County1,097,615[33] 2010CCounty within Jieyangentire county (县)Greater ChaoshanGuangdong
4Wanzhou District859,662[34] 2010Cnon contiguous urban districtsingle district (市辖区)Greater ChongqingChongqing
5Changshu City929,124[35]2010CCounty-level city within SuzhouEntire city (县级市)Greater SuzhouJiangsu
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References

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