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There are 81 cities in the world with a population exceeding 5 million people, according to 2018 estimates by the United Nations. The UN figures include a mixture of city proper, metropolitan area, and urban area.
Mumbai. India. 21,673,149. Osaka. Japan. 18,967,459. It is perhaps unsurprising that the majority of the most populous cities in the world are in the two most populated countries in the world, China and India. Among these are Shanghai and Beijing in China, with populations of 29.9M and 22.2M million respectively, along with Delhi ( 33.8M ), and ...
- Tokyo, Japan - 37,274,000
- Delhi, India - 32,065,760
- Shanghai, China - 28,516,904
- Dhaka, Bangladesh - 22,478,116
- São Paulo, Brazil - 22,429,800
- Mexico City, Mexico - 22,085,140
- Cairo, Egypt - 21,750,020
- Beijing, China - 21,333,332
- Mumbai, India - 20,961,472
- Osaka, Japan - 19,059,856
Far and away, the world's most-populated metropolitan, Tokyo, Japan, has a life of its own. The nation's capital city is located on the East-Central coast of the island of Honshu, within the Kantō region. This fast-paced yet humble; crowded yet clean; futuristic yet steeped in spiritual tradition; two-time host of the Summer Olympics has to be seen...
Delhi, in Northcentral India, is the National Capital Territory and the country's largest city (by population). This urban agglomeration is composed of two main parts: the historic city of Old Delhi (in the North) and the capital city of New Delhi (in the South). With that said, Delhi reveals its many additional layers, built upon themselves over t...
Shanghai (上海), or Shàng-Hǎi, is the most populous city in the world's most populous country. This vital seaport is located in East-Central China, on the coast of the East China Sea, on the South shore of the Yangtze River. Shanghai was one of the first areas to receive Western trade ships, which helped it grow into the commercial and industrial bac...
The capital city ofBangladesh, Dhaka (or Dacca), is situated in the country's central region alongside the Buriganga River. Dhaka is part of the Dhaka Division and the Dhaka District. Like Mumbai, the population density of this city has it nearly bursting at the seams, and yet, the rapidly growing metropolitan shows no signs of slowing. This create...
Shifting down to South America, São Paulo (or "Sampa" as it is also called), Brazil takes the crown as the largest city on the continent. This juggernaut is located in the Southeast, in the state of São Paulo, just inland from the port of Santos on the South Atlantic Ocean. São Paulo is also about 450 kilometers (280 miles) Southwest of the iconic ...
Mexico City (Ciudad de México) is the capital city of Mexico, the most populous megacity in North America, and one of the oldest continuously-inhabited capital cities in the Western Hemisphere. Mexico City was founded by Spanish conquistadors in 1521 (atop the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán), in the Valley of Mexico, in the South-Central part of the...
Cairo (Al-Qāhirah) is the capital city of Egypt and the largest metropolitan in Africa. Cairo is located in the Northeast of the country, along the shores of the famed Nile River, and just North of the Great Pyramids of Giza, which can be seen in the distance, contrasted against the infinite layers of modern infrastructure. Cairo readily celebrat...
Beijing (北京), Pei-ching, or Peking, is the capital city of the People's Republic of China. It is located in the Eastern part of the country, near the Bohai Wan and the mouth of the Yellow Sea. Beijing has been the cultural and administrative center of China for (nearly) eight centuries, despite some renaming over the years and a brief changing of t...
On India's West coast, Mumbai (formerly Bombay) sprawls along a peninsula on Bombay Island - stretching out into Bombay Harbour and the Arabian Sea. Mumbai is the capital city of the state of Maharashtra and is the major entertainment, financial, and commercial hub (namely, cotton textiles and information technology) of India. "The City of Dreams" ...
In the South of Japan, on the island of Honshu, in the region of Kansai and the Osaka Prefecture, the bright and lively metropolitan of Osaka looms large. Between the vigorous economic engine that keeps businesses hustling all day and the tourist-drawing nightlife, Osaka knows how to burn the candle at both ends (especially on Karaoke night). Food ...
- Matt Rosenberg
- Tokyo, Japan: 37,468,000. The top city is expected to move down the list and with 2030's projected population of 36,574,000 become the second largest city.
- Delhi, India: 28,514,000. Delhi, India, is projected to gain about 10 million people by 2030 to end up with a population of about 38,939,000 and exchange places with Tokyo, becoming thus the world's first largest city.
- Shanghai, China: 25,582,000. Shanghai's estimated population of 32,869,000 in 2030 will keep it at the number three spot.
- São Paulo, Brazil: 21,650,000. Asia and Africa are foreseen to have the most growth in the coming decades. As a result, in 2030, São Paulo, Brazil—with the projected population of 23,824,000—is expected to move down and become only No. 9 on the world's list of most populous cities.
This web page shows the rankings of the 103 largest U.S. cities by population in 2024, based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau. It does not include the largest city in the world, which is likely to be Tokyo or Delhi.
Aug 15, 2023 · Find out which cities top the charts by city proper, urban area, and metropolitan area metrics. See how China, India, and Japan dominate the rankings and how urbanization is changing the world.
Urban areas. See also. References. List of largest cities by area. This is a list of the largest municipalities and urban areas in the world by area. Cities/municipalities. This table shows all cities or municipalities with a total area of at least 50,000 km 2.
