List of urban areas by population

This is a list of contiguous urban areas of the world ordered according to population as of 2008. The figures here have been compiled by Demographia.

Definitions and issues

Demographia defines an urban area (urbanized area agglomeration or urban centre) as a continuously built up landmass of urban development containing a high population density, without regard for administrative boundaries (i.e. municipality, city or commune) or a labor maket (i.e. metropolitan area). Except in Australia, the authorities use a minimum urban density definition of 400 persons per square kilometer (or the nearly identical 1,000 per square mile in the United States). Demographia uses maps, satellite photographs to estimate continuous urbanization. Demographia also uses small area population data, where available, to match population estimates to urbanized land area. National census authority data are presented in Australia, Canada, France, the United Kingdom and the United States. Census of India urban agglomerations are not used because the geographical size of constituent units (municipalities) often includes large rural (non-urban) areas. Sources for population estimates and land area definitions are coded by "A", "C", "D", "E", "F", "G" or "H"; and "A", "B" or "H" in the Table below, respectively.

A: National census authority data.

B: Demographia land area estimate based upon map or satellite photograph analysis.

C: Demographia population "build up" from third, fourth or fifth order jurisdictions (NUTS-3, NUTS-4, NUTS-5 or equivalent).

D: Population estimate based upon United Nations agglomeration estimate.

E: Demographia population estimate from national census authority agglomeration data.

F: Other Demographia population estimate.

G: Estimate based upon projected growth rate from last census.

H: Combination of adjacent national census authority agglomerations.

The most reliable population estimates are "A" and "H." Population estimates "C" are generally reliable. Population estimates "D" and "E" are less reliable. Population estimates coded "F" and "G" are the least reliable.

The estimates are quite different from the list of World's largest urban agglomerations produced by the United Nations that reports inconsistently on urban geographic, despite its reference to agglomerations. This is evident, for example, in Manila, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Seoul and Moscow, where the UN data are for political jurisdictions, rather than urban areas. In other cases, metropolitan area data are shown, such as in Brazil.

Urban areas are confined to a single metropolitan area or labor market area. In some cases, urban areas have virtually grown together (e.g. BosWash in the United States and Taiheiyō Belt in Japan), yet are still considered separate urban areas.

Urban areas are confined to a single nation, unless there is freedom of movement (including labor) between the adjacent nations. Currently, this condition is met only between some continental nations of the European Union (e.g. Lille–Kortrijk in both France and Belgium).

Urban areas ranked by 2008 projected population

Rank	City	Country	Population	Area (km²)	Pop. Growth Rate (%/yr)	Sources of Pop. / Area
1	Tokyo–Yokohama		34,400,000	7,835	0.15	C / B
2	Jakarta		21,800,000	2,720	2.38	F / B
3	New York City		20,090,000	11,264	0.24	H / H
4	Seoul–Incheon		20,010,000	1,943	0.43	C / B
5	Manila		19,550,000	1,425	2.31	C / B
6	Mumbai (Bombay)		19,530,000	777	2.00	C / B
7	São Paulo		19,140,000	2,590	0.78	C / B
8	Mexico City		18,430,000	2,137	0.60	C / B
9	Delhi		18,000,000	1,425	2.40	C / B
10	Osaka–Kobe–Kyoto		17,270,000	2,720	0.04	C / B
11	Cairo		16,750,000	1,269	1.53	E / B
12	Kolkata (Calcutta)		15,010,000	984	1.83	A / B
13	Los Angeles		14,730,000	5,812	0.79	H / H
14	Shanghai		14,460,000	2,396	1.54	C / B
15	Moscow		13,260,000	4,533	0.20	C / B
16	Beijing (Peking)		12,770,000	2,616	1.60	C / B
17	Buenos Aires		12,390,000	2,590	0.46	A / B
18	Guangzhou (Canton)–Foshan		11,810,000	2,590	1.48	E / B
19	Shenzhen		11,710,000	1,295	2.10	F / B
20	Istanbul		11,220,000	1,256	1.11	E / B
21	Rio de Janeiro		11,160,000	1,580	0.79	C / B
22	Paris		10,430,000	3,043	0.09	E / B
23	Karachi		9,380,000	881	2.54	G / B
24	Nagoya		9,250,000	3,302	0.27	C / B
25	Chicago		9,030,000	5,952	0.54	H / H
26	Lagos		8,860,000	971	2.99	C / B
27	London		8,320,000	1,623	0.07	A / A
28	Bangkok		8,290,000	1,502	1.19	C / B
29	Kinshasa		8,190,000	622	4.38	D / B
30	Tehran		8,000,000	635	1.27	E / B
31	Lima		7,750,000	648	1.08	C / B
32	Dongguan		7,650,000	1,295	1.79	F / B
33	Bogotá		7,440,000	414	1.34	E / B
34	Chennai (Madras)		7,320,000	414	1.88	A / B
35	Dhaka		7,310,000	311	2.86	C / B
36	Essen (Ruhr)–Düsseldorf		7,250,000	2,642	0.00	C / B
37	Tianjin (Tientsin)		7,200,000	1,295	1.28	C / B
38	Hong Kong		6,950,000	220	0.89	E / B
39	Taipei		6,820,000	440	1.20	D / B
40	Lahore		6,810,000	583	2.63	G / B
41	Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)		6,710,000	609	2.40	E / B
42	Bangalore		6,660,000	648	2.25	A / B
43	Hyderabad		6,610,000	790	2.07	C / B
44	Johannesburg–East Rand		6,470,000	2,396	1.08	C / B
45	Baghdad		6,000,000	596	1.77	D / B
46	Toronto–Hamilton		5,790,000	2,279	1.03	H / H
47	Santiago		5,630,000	790	0.72	C / B
48	Kuala Lumpur		5,470,000	2,137	2.35	E / B
49	San Francisco–San Jose		5,450,000	2,497	0.31	H / H
50	Philadelphia		5,270,000	4,661	0.30	A / A
51	Wuhan		5,240,000	712	1.36	E / B
52	Miami		5,220,000	2,891	0.76	A / A
53	Dallas–Fort Worth		5,160,000	3,959	1.89	H / H
54	Madrid		5,130,000	945	0.65	C / B
55	Ahmedabad		5,060,000	202	2.26	A / B
56	Boston		4,750,000	5,501	0.23	H / H
57	Belo Horizonte		4,640,000	1,010	1.21	C / B
58	Khartoum		4,600,000	583	2.83	D / B
59	Saint Petersburg (Leningrad)		4,570,000	1,191	−0.13	D / B
60	Shenyang		4,560,000	777	1.17	E / B
61	Houston		4,550,000	3,463	1.90	H / H
62	Pune		4,470,000	220	2.51	A / B
63	Riyadh		4,460,000	1,321	2.04	E / B
64	Singapore		4,320,000	479	0.96	D / B
65	Washington, D.C.		4,260,000	2,996	1.00	A / A
66	Yangon (Rangoon)		4,220,000	350	2.02	D / B
67	Milan		4,190,000	2,370	−0.02	C / B
68	Atlanta		4,160,000	5,083	2.19	A / A
69	Alexandria		4,150,000	293	1.82	E / B
69	Nanjing (Nanking)		4,150,000	686	1.27	E / B
69	Chongqing (Chungking)		4,150,000	570	1.27	E / B
72	Guadalajara		4,090,000	712	1.19	E / B
73	Barcelona		4,040,000	803	0.51	C / B
74	Detroit		3,860,000	3,267	−0.13	A / A
74	Chengdu (Chengtu)		3,860,000	570	1.22	E / B
76	Ankara		3,810,000	583	1.48	E / B
77	Abidjan		3,790,000	298	2.79	D / B
78	Athens		3,730,000	684	0.18	C / B
79	Berlin		3,690,000	984	0.06	C / B
80	Sydney		3,680,000	1,788	0.60	C / B
81	Monterrey		3,650,000	712	1.21	C / B
82	Phoenix–Mesa		3,540,000	2,069	2.51	A / A
83	Busan		3,510,000	259	−0.33	E / B
84	Recife		3,490,000	414	1.20	C / B
85	Bandung		3,470,000	401	1.84	E / B
86	Porto Alegre		3,440,000	777	1.12	C / B
87	Melbourne		3,420,000	2,152	0.70	C / B
88	Hangzhou (Hangchow)		3,410,000	712	1.61	E / B
88	Luanda		3,410,000	363	4.35	D / B
90	Algiers		3,390,000	453	1.98	D / B
91	Hanoi		3,370,000	194	2.38	E / B
92	Montreal		3,360,000	1,676	0.68	A / A
93	Xi'an (Sian)		3,340,000	531	1.37	E / B
94	Qingdao (Tsingtao)		3,330,000	440	1.32	E / B
94	Pyongyang		3,330,000	207	0.61	E / B
96	Surat		3,210,000	109	1.91	A / B
97	Fortaleza		3,160,000	725	1.21	C / B
98	Medellín		3,080,000	189	1.40	C / B
99	Durban (eThekwini)		3,070,000	829	1.17	C / B
100	Kanpur		3,030,000	142	1.70	A / B
101	Jeddah		3,020,000	842	1.93	E / B
101	Nairobi		3,020,000	479	3.80	E / B
101	Addis Ababa		3,020,000	228	3.83	D / B
104	Naples		3,010,000	777	0.04	C / B
105	Kabul		3,000,000	259	4.47	E / B
106	Salvador		2,980,000	389	0.95	C / B
106	Harbin		2,980,000	570	1.00	E / B
108	Kano		2,950,000	199	2.61	C / B
109	Casablanca		2,930,000	220	1.16	E / B
110	Curitiba		2,900,000	842	1.74	C / B
110	Cape Town		2,900,000	686	1.02	C / B
112	Surabaya		2,850,000	376	1.84	D / B
113	San Diego		2,790,000	2,026	0.52	A / A
113	Seattle		2,790,000	2,470	0.35	A / A
115	Rome		2,740,000	855	−0.07	C / B
116	Taichung		2,700,000	492	1.93	E / B
116	Dar es Salaam		2,700,000	324	3.84	C / B
118	Jaipur		2,690,000	168	2.26	A / B
119	Caracas		2,670,000	272	0.94	C / B
120	Dakar		2,650,000	181	2.98	E / B
121	Kaohsiung		2,630,000	363	1.30	E / B
122	Minneapolis–Saint Paul		2,570,000	2,316	0.91	A / A
123	Lucknow		2,560,000	130	1.73	A / B
124	Tel Aviv		2,530,000	453	1.22	D / B
124	Guayaquil		2,530,000	220	1.90	D / B
124	Amman		2,530,000	344	1.21	E / B
127	Kiev		2,520,000	544	0.18	D / B
128	Faisalabad		2,510,000	168	2.81	C / B
129	Mashhad		2,490,000	207	1.91	E / B
130	İzmir		2,480,000	272	1.51	E / B
131	Katowice–Gliwice–Tychy		2,450,000	725	−0.01	C / B
131	Rawalpindi–Islamabad		2,450,000	233	2.85	C / B
131	Tashkent		2,450,000	531	1.22	E / B
134	Changchun		2,440,000	376	1.87	E / B
135	Campinas		2,400,000	958	1.39	C / B
136	Daegu		2,390,000	181	−0.03	E / B
136	Changsha		2,390,000	389	2.27	E / B
136	Nagpur		2,390,000	114	1.70	A / B
139	San Juan		2,380,000	2,309	0.91	A / A
140	Aleppo		2,360,000	210	2.37	D / B
141	Lisbon		2,340,000	881	0.58	C / B
142	Frankfurt		2,320,000	673	0.39	C / B
143	Tampa–St. Petersburg		2,310,000	2,078	1.44	A / A
143	Birmingham		2,310,000	600	0.17	A / A
143	Nanchang		2,310,000	155	2.49	E / B
146	Medan		2,300,000	246	1.79	E / B
147	Tunis		2,270,000	363	1.55	F / B
147	Shijiazhuang		2,270,000	363	2.26	E / B
147	Dalian		2,270,000	570	1.57	E / B
150	Manchester		2,250,000	558	0.04	A / A
150	Port-au-Prince		2,250,000	171	2.86	C / B
152	Damascus		2,240,000	207	2.30	D / B
153	Fukuoka		2,230,000	583	0.11	C / B
153	Jinan (Tsinan)		2,230,000	350	1.35	E / B
155	Santo Domingo		2,220,000	246	1.78	C / B
156	Cali		2,190,000	155	1.44	C / B
156	Havana		2,190,000	285	−0.07	D / B
158	Denver		2,180,000	1,292	1.17	A / A
159	St. Louis		2,160,000	2,147	0.48	A / A
159	Colombo		2,160,000	223	1.13	E / B
161	Dubai		2,150,000	829	2.48	E / B
161	Baltimore		2,150,000	1,768	0.45	A / A
163	Sapporo		2,130,000	648	0.06	C / B
164	Rotterdam–The Hague		2,090,000	842	0.26	C / B
165	Vancouver		2,060,000	1,178	0.89	A / A
165	Pretoria (Tshwane)		2,060,000	673	1.58	C / B
167	San‘a’		2,030,000	194	4.55	E / B
167	Patna		2,030,000	83	2.51	A / B
169	Warsaw		2,020,000	544	0.16	D / B
170	Cologne–Bonn		2,010,000	932	0.39	C / B
171	Bucharest		2,000,000	285	0.03	D / B
171	Accra		2,000,000	453	2.85	C / B

References and notes

External links

• Demographia
• UN Demographic Yearbook
• UN World Urbanization Prospects (2007 revision)
• UN World Urbanization Prospects (2005 revision)
• Th. Brinkhoff: The Principal Agglomerations of the World
• The World Gazetteer
• Institut National de la Statistique et des Études Économiques
• insee.fr - Geopolis study of urban areas
• Gridded Population of the World

See also

• List of metropolitan areas by population
• List of urban agglomerations by population
• List of cities by population
• List of countries by population
• Largest urban areas of the European Union
• Largest urban areas of the United States
• List of the 100 largest urban areas in Canada by population
• List of urban areas in Malaysia by population