List of largest cities

This is a list of the largest cities in the world by number of people.

The number of people in a city can be counted in three ways:^[1]

• City proper: The area that is officially part of the city, according to the government.
• Urban area: An area of built-up land, with many roads, buildings, and infrastructure. It usually has many people close together, who do not work in farming. Rural land is the opposite: it has a small number of people and buildings. In this list, an urban area is an area of urban land that is continuous: it has no spaces in between that are rural.
• Metropolitan area: An urban area, and nearby areas where people frequently travel (commute) to the urban area. Some of these areas are suburbs and some can have a small number of people. This is according to the government, so it can mean different things in different countries.

List

City[a]	Country	UN 2018 population estimates[b]	City proper[c]				Metropolitan area[d]			Urban area[3]
			Definition	Population	Area (km2)	Density (/km2)	Population	Area (km2)	Density (/km2)	Population	Area (km2)	Density (/km2)
Tokyo	Japan	37,468,000	Metropolis prefecture	13,515,271	2,191	6,169 [4]	37,274,000	13,452	2,771 [5]	39,105,000	8,231	4,751 [e]
Delhi	India	28,514,000	Capital City	16,753,235	1,484	11,289 [6]	29,000,000	3,483	8,326 [7]	31,870,000	2,233	14,272 [f]
Shanghai	China	25,582,000	Municipality	24,870,895	6,341	3,922 [8][9]	—	—	—	22,118,000	4,069	5,436 [g]
São Paulo	Brazil	21,650,000	Municipality	12,252,023	1,521	8,055 [10]	21,734,682	7,947	2,735 [11]	22,495,000	3,237	6,949 [h]
Mexico City	Mexico	21,581,000	City-state	9,209,944	1,485	6,202 [12]	21,804,515	7,866	2,772 [13]	21,505,000	2,385	9,017
Cairo	Egypt	20,076,000	Urban governorate	9,500,000	3,085	3,079 [14]	—	—	—	19,787,000	2,010	9,844
Mumbai	India	19,980,000	Municipality	12,478,447	603	20,694 [15]	24,400,000	4,355	5,603 [16]	22,186,000	1,008	22,010 [17][i]
Beijing	China	19,618,000	Municipality	21,893,095	16,411	1,334 [8][9]	—	—	—	19,437,000	4,172	4,659
Dhaka	Bangladesh	19,578,000	Capital city	8,906,039	338	26,349 [18][19]	14,543,124 [20]	—	—	16,839,000	456	36,928
Osaka	Japan	19,281,000	Designated city	2,725,006	225	12,111 [4]	19,303,000	13,228	1,459 [5]	15,490,000	3,020	5,129 [j]
New York	United States	18,819,000	City	8,804,190	778	11,316 [21]	20,140,470	12,093	1,665 [22]	23,582,649	34,493	684 [k]
Karachi	Pakistan	15,400,000	Metropolitan city	14,910,352	3,530	4,224 [23][24]	16,051,521	3,780	4,246 [25]	15,292,000	1,044	14,648 [26]
Buenos Aires	Argentina	14,967,000	Autonomous city	3,054,300	203	15,046 [27]	12,806,866 [28]	—	—	16,216,000	3,222	5,033
Chongqing	China	14,838,000	Municipality	32,054,159	82,403	389 [29][9]	—	—	—	8,261,000	1,536	5,378
Istanbul	Turkey	14,751,000	Metropolitan municipality	15,519,267	5,196	2,987 [30]	—	—	—	15,311,000	1,375	11,135
Kolkata	India	14,681,000	Municipality	4,496,694	205	21,935 [31]	14,035,959	1,851	7,583 [32]	18,698,000	1,352	13,830 [33]
Manila	Philippines	13,482,000	Capital city	1,780,148	43	41,399 [34]	12,877,253	620	20,770 [34]	23,971,000	1,873	12,798 [l]
Lagos	Nigeria	13,463,000	—[m]	—	—	—	21,000,000	1,171	17,933 [35]	15,487,000	1,966	7,877
Rio de Janeiro	Brazil	13,293,000	Municipality	6,520,000	1,221	5,340 [36]	12,644,321	5,327	2,374 [37]	12,486,000	2,020	6,181
Tianjin	China	13,215,000	Municipality	13,866,009	11,920	1,163 [8][9]	—	—	—	10,932,000	2,813	3,886
Kinshasa	DR Congo	13,171,000	City-province	11,462,000	9,965	1,150 [38]	—	—	—	15,056,000	466	32,309
Guangzhou	China	12,638,000	City (sub-provincial)	14,498,400	7,434	1,950 [8]	—	—	—	21,489,000	4,341	4,950 [n]
Los Angeles	United States	12,458,000	City	3,990,456	1,214	3,287 [21]	13,291,486	12,559	1,058 [39]	15,477,000	6,351	2,437
Moscow	Russia	12,410,000	Federal city	13,200,000	2,511	5,257 [40][41]	20,004,462 [42]	—	—	17,693,000	5,879	3,010
Shenzhen	China	11,908,000	City (sub-provincial)	12,528,300	2,050	6,111 [8]	—	—	—	14,678,000	1,803	8,141
Lahore	Pakistan	11,738,000	Metropolitan city	11,126,000	1,772	6,279 [23]	—	—	—	11,148,000	852	13,085
Bangalore	India	11,440,000	Municipality	8,443,675	709	11,909 [43]	—	—	—	13,999,000	1,204	11,627
Paris	France	10,901,000	Commune	2,148,271	105	20,460 [44]	12,244,807	—	—	11,027,000	2,844	3,877
Bogotá	Colombia	10,574,000	Capital District	7,963,000	1,587	5,018 [45]	12,545,272	5,934	2,114 [46]	9,274,000	562	16,502
Jakarta	Indonesia	10,517,000	Special capital region	10,154,134	664	15,292 [47]	33,430,285	7,063	4,733 [48]	35,362,000	3,541	9,986 [o]
Chennai	India	10,456,000	Municipality	6,727,000	426	15,791 [49][50]	—	—	—	11,564,000	1,085	10,658
Lima	Peru	10,391,000	Metropolitan municipality	8,894,000	2,672	3,329 [51]	9,569,468	2,819	3,395 [52]	8,992,000	891	10,092
Bangkok	Thailand	10,156,000	Special administrative area	8,305,218	1,569	5,293 [53]	16,255,900	7,762	2,094 [54]	17,573,000	3,199	5,493 [55]
Seoul	South Korea	9,963,000	Special city	10,013,781	605	16,208[56]	25,514,000	11,704	2,180[56]	22,394,000	2,769	8,087
Nagoya	Japan	9,507,000	Designated city	2,320,361	326	7,118 [4]	9,363,000	7,271	1,288 [5]	9,522,000	3,704	2,571
Hyderabad	India	9,482,000	Municipality	6,993,262	650	10,759 [57][58]	—	—	—	9,840,000	1,274	7,724
London	United Kingdom	9,046,000	Capital city	8,825,001	1,572	5,614 [59]	14,372,596 [60]	8,382	1,715	11,120,000	1,738	6,398
Tehran	Iran	8,896,000	Capital city	9,033,003	751	12,028 [61][62]	—	—	—	13,819,000	1,704	8,110
Chicago	United States	8,864,000	City	2,746,388	589	4,663 [21]	9,618,502	18,640	516 [63]	9,013,000	7,006	1,286
Chengdu	China	8,813,000	City (sub-provincial)	16,044,700	14,378	1,116 [8]	—	—	—	11,920,000	1,829	6,517
Nanjing	China	8,245,000	City (sub-provincial)	7,260,000	6,582	1,103 [64]	—	—	—	7,729,000	1,614	4,789
Wuhan	China	8,176,000	City (sub-provincial)	10,892,900	8,494	1,282 [8]	—	—	—	9,729,000	1,722	5,650
Ho Chi Minh City	Vietnam	8,145,000	Municipality	7,431,000	2,061	3,606 [65]	—	—	—	13,954,000	1,637	8,524
Luanda	Angola	7,774,000	Municipality	2,165,867	116	18,671 [66]	—	—	—	8,883,000	1,005	8,839
Ahmedabad	India	7,681,000	Municipality	5,570,585	464	12,006 [67]	6,300,000 [68]	—	—	7,717,000	360	21,436
Kuala Lumpur	Malaysia	7,564,000	City	1,768,000	243	7,276 [69]	7,200,000	2,793	2,578 [70]	8,639,000	2,163	3,994
Xi'an	China	7,444,000	City (sub-provincial)	8,989,000	10,135	887 [8]	—	—	—	7,090,000	1,093	6,487
Hong Kong	China	7,429,000	Special administrative region	7,298,600	1,104	6,611 [71][72]	—	—	—	7,398,000	290	25,510
Dongguan	China	7,360,000	Prefecture-level city	8,342,500	2,465	3,384 [8]	—	—	—	8,142,000	1,759	4,629
Hangzhou	China	7,236,000	City (sub-provincial)	9,468,000	16,596	570 [8]	—	—	—	6,713,000	1,445	4,646
Foshan	China	7,236,000	Prefecture-level city	7,197,394	3,848	1,870 [8]	—	—	—	—[p]	—	—
Shenyang	China	6,921,000	City (sub-provincial)	8,294,000	12,980	639 [8]	—	—	—	7,208,000	1,515	4,758 [q]
Riyadh	Saudi Arabia	6,907,000	Municipality	6,694,000	1,913	3,499 [73]	—	—	—	6,889,000	1,673	4,118
Baghdad	Iraq	6,812,000	Urban governorate	8,126,755	5,200	1,563 [74]	—	—	—	6,107,000	694	8,800
Santiago	Chile	6,680,000	City (commune)	236,453	22	10,748 [75]	7,112,808	15,403	462 [76]	7,026,000	1,147	6,126
Surat	India	6,564,000	Municipality	4,466,826	327	13,660 [77]	—	—	—	4,875,000	238	20,483
Madrid	Spain	6,497,000	Municipality	3,266,126	606	5,390 [78]	6,641,649	—	—	6,006,000	1,365	4,400
Suzhou	China	6,339,000	Prefecture-level city	10,721,700	8,488	1,263 [8]	—	—	—	5,103,000	1,386	3,682
Pune	India	6,276,000	Municipality	3,124,458	276	11,321 [79]	7,276,000	7,256	1,003 [80]	7,948,000	650	12,228
Harbin	China	6,115,000	City (sub-provincial)	10,635,971	53,068	200 [8]	—	—	—	4,583,000	671	6,830
Houston	United States	6,115,000	City	2,325,502	1,553	1,497 [21]	6,997,384	21,395	327 [81]	6,529,000	4,931	1,324
Dallas	United States	6,099,000	City	1,345,047	882	1,525 [21]	7,470,158	22,463	333 [82]	6,960,000	5,278	1,319 [r]
Toronto	Canada	6,082,000	City	2,731,571	630	4,336 [83][84]	5,928,040	5,906	1,004 [85]	6,985,000	2,300	3,037
Dar es Salaam	Tanzania	6,048,000	City	4,364,541	1,393	3,133	—	—	—	7,461,000	961	7,764
Miami	United States	6,036,000	City	470,914	93	5,069 [21]	6,158,824	15,890	388	6,212,000	3,313	1,875
Belo Horizonte	Brazil	5,972,000	City	2,502,557	331	7,563	5,156,217	9,459	545	5,159,000	1,288	4,005
Singapore	Singapore	5,792,000	Country	5,638,700	726	7,770	—	—	—	5,271,000	1,287	4,096
Philadelphia	United States	5,695,000	Consolidated city-county	1,526,006	370	4,129	6,096,120	—	—	5,697,000	5,429	1,049
Atlanta	United States	5,572,000	City	420,003	354	1,186	5,949,951	21,690	274	5,434,000	7,400	734
Fukuoka	Japan	5,551,000	Designated city	1,588,924	343	4,627	—	—	—	2,280,000	505	4,515
Khartoum	Sudan	5,534,000	—	639,598	22,142	29	5,274,321	—	—	6,017,000	1,031	5,836
Barcelona	Spain	5,494,000	Municipality	1,620,343	101	15,980 [86]	5,474,482 [87]	—	—	4,735,000	1,072	4,417
Johannesburg	South Africa	5,486,000	Metropolitan municipality	—	—	—	—	—	—	14,167,000	4,040	3,507[88]
Saint Petersburg	Russia	5,383,000	Federal city	—	—	—	—	—	—	5,207,000	1,373	3,792
Qingdao	China	5,381,000	City (sub-provincial)	—	—	—	—	—	—	6,232,000	1,655	3,766
Dalian	China	5,300,000	City (sub-provincial)	—	—	—	—	—	—	3,994,000	987	4,047
Washington metropolitan area	United States	5,207,000	Federal district	702,455	177	3,969 [21]	6,263,245	17,009	368 [89]	7,583,000	5,501	1,378 [s]
Yangon	Myanmar	5,157,000	City	—	—	—	—	—	—	6,497,000	603	10,774
Alexandria	Egypt	5,086,000	Urban governorate	—	—	—	—	—	—	4,857,000	293	16,577
Jinan	China	5,052,000	City (sub-provincial)	8,700,000	10,244	849	—	—	—	4,381,000	798	5,490
Guadalajara	Mexico	5,023,000	Municipality	1,385,621	151	9,176 [12]	5,286,642	3,560	1,485	5,437,000	313	17,371 [13]

Notes

1. For urban/metropolitan areas that have more than one core city, the number for their city proper should use either the most populous one (e.g. Dallas for Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex) or the best-known one (e.g. Manila for Metro Manila, instead of Quezon City).
2. UN numbers for each cities are varied between city proper, metropolitan area, and urban area.^[2]
3. Numbers taken from official census when possible
4. Numbers taken from official census when possible
5. Includes large areas Tokyo, Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama prefectures and smaller areas of Gunma, Tochigi and Ibaraki prefectures.
6. Includes Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Noida, Gurgaon and Bahadurgarh urban areas and New Delhi.
7. Includes Taicang
8. Includes Francisco Morato
9. Includes Kalyan and urban areas of Panvel, Bhiwandi and Vasai-Virar.
10. Includes major cities of Kobe and Kyoto, collectively also known as Keihanshin area.
11. Includes Bridgeport, New Haven, Trenton, Danbury, Waterbury and Twin Rivers urban areas.
12. The continuous urbanization of Manila extends outward its Metro Manila into other neighbouring provinces such as Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, Rizal, Pampanga and Batangas provinces.
13. Although commonly referred to as a city, Lagos is a metropolitan area consisting of 16 local government areas.
14. Includes the city of Foshan.
15. Includes Tangerang, South Tangerang, Bogor, Bekasi and Karawang.
16. Included in Guangzhou
17. Includes the city of Fushun.
18. Includes the city of Fort Worth, collectively known as Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex.
19. Includes the city of Baltimore.