Largest Cities in the World (2015)

Below are the urban areas in the world ranked by the most populated.

"Urban Area" is defined as a continuous urban area or a combination of urban areas which statistically can be considered as a single labor market.

An alternative list could adopt a different definition of "city" and rank "cities proper" which are cities with an administratively recognized urban status. However, these might stretch beyond the metropolitan area and include rural areas.

Rank Urban Area Population Estimate (2015) Country Land Area: Km2 Density
1 Tokyo-Yokohama 37,843,000 Japan 8,547 4,400
2 Jakarta 30,539,000 Indonesia 3,225 9,500
3 Delhi, DL-UP-HR 24,998,000 India 2,072 12,100
4 Manila 24,123,000 Philippines 1,580 15,300
5 Seoul-Incheon 23,480,000 South Korea 2,266 10,400
6 Shanghai, SHG-JS-ZJ 23,416,000 China 3,820 6,100
7 Karachi 22,123,000 Pakistan 945 23,400
8 Beijing, BJ 21,009,000 China 3,820 5,500
9 New York, NY-NJ-CT 20,630,000 United States 11,642 1,800
10 Guangzhou-Foshan, GD 20,597,000 China 3,432 6,000
11 Sao Paulo 20,365,000 Brazil 2,707 7,500
12 Mexico City 20,063,000 Mexico 2,072 9,700
13 Mumbai, MH 17,712,000 India 546 32,400
14 Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto 17,444,000 Japan 3,212 5,400
15 Moscow 16,170,000 Russia 4,662 3,500
16 Dhaka 15,669,000 Bangladesh 360 43,500
17 Cairo 15,600,000 Egypt 1,761 8,900
18 Los Angeles, CA 15,058,000 United States 6,299 2,400
19 Bangkok 14,998,000 Thailand 2,590 5,800
20 Kolkata, WB 14,667,000 India 1,204 12,200
21 Buenos Aires 14,122,000 Argentina 2,681 5,300
22 Tehran 13,532,000 Iran 1,489 9,100
23 Istanbul 13,287,000 Turkey 1,360 9,800
24 Lagos 13,123,000 Nigeria 907 14,500
25 Shenzhen, GD 12,084,000 China 1,748 6,900
26 Rio de Janeiro 11,727,000 Brazil 2,020 5,800
27 Kinshasa 11,587,000 Congo (Dem. Rep.) 583 19,900
28 Tianjin, TJ 10,920,000 China 2,007 5,400
29 Paris 10,858,000 France 2,845 3,800
30 Lima 10,750,000 Peru 919 11,700
31 Chengdu, SC 10,376,000 China 1,541 6,700
32 London 10,236,000 United Kingdom 1,738 5,900
33 Nagoya 10,177,000 Japan 3,885 2,600
34 Lahore 10,052,000 Pakistan 790 12,700
35 Bangalore, KA 9,807,000 India 1,166 8,400
36 Chennai, TN 9,714,000 India 971 10,000
37 Chicago, IL-IN-WI 9,156,000 United States 6,856 1,300
38 Bogota 8,991,000 Colombia 492 18,300
39 Ho Chi Minh City 8,957,000 Vietnam 1,489 6,000
40 Hyderabad, AP 8,754,000 India 1,230 7,100
41 Dongguan, GD 8,442,000 China 1,619 5,200
42 Johannesburg-East Rand 8,432,000 South Africa 2,590 3,300
43 Wuhan, HUB 7,509,000 China 1,166 6,400
44 Taipei 7,438,000 China: Taiwan 1,140 6,500
45 Hangzhou, ZJ 7,275,000 China 1,217 6,000
46 Hong Kong 7,246,000 China: Hong Kong SAR 275 26,400
47 Chongqing, CQ 7,217,000 China 932 7,700
48 Ahmadabad, GJ 7,186,000 India 350 20,600
49 Kuala Lumpur 7,088,000 Malaysia 1,943 3,600
50 Quanzhou, FJ 6,710,000 China 1,528 4,400
51 Essen-Dusseldorf 6,679,000 Germany 2,655 2,500
52 Baghdad 6,625,000 Iraq 673 9,800
53 Toronto, ON 6,456,000 Canada 2,287 2,800
54 Santiago 6,225,000 Chile 984 6,300
55 Dallas-Fort Worth, TX 6,174,000 United States 5,175 1,200
56 Madrid 6,171,000 Spain 1,321 4,700
57 Nanjing, JS 6,155,000 China 1,269 4,800
58 Shenyang, LN 6,078,000 China 1,010 6,000
59 Xi'an, SAA 5,977,000 China 932 6,400
60 San Francisco-San Jose, CA 5,929,000 United States 2,797 2,100
61 Luanda 5,899,000 Angola 894 6,600
62 Qingdao, SD 5,816,000 China 1,489 3,900
63 Houston, TX 5,764,000 United States 4,644 1,200
63 Miami, FL 5,764,000 United States 3,209 1,800
65 Bandung 5,695,000 Indonesia 466 12,200
66 Riyadh 5,666,000 Saudi Arabia 1,502 3,800
67 Pune, MH 5,631,000 India 479 11,800
68 Singapore 5,624,000 Singapore 518 10,900
69 Philadelphia, PA-NJ-DE-MD 5,570,000 United States 5,131 1,100
70 Surat, GJ 5,447,000 India 233 23,400
71 Milan 5,257,000 Italy 1,891 2,800
72 Suzhou, JS 5,246,000 China 1,127 4,700
73 St. Petersburg 5,126,000 Russia 1,347 3,800
74 Khartoum 5,125,000 Sudan 932 5,500
75 Atlanta, GA 5,015,000 United States 6,851 700
76 Zhengzhou, HEN 4,942,000 China 829 6,000
77 Washington, DC-VA-MD 4,889,000 United States 3,424 1,400
78 Surabaya 4,881,000 Indonesia 673 7,200
79 Harbin, HL 4,815,000 China 570 8,500
80 Abidjan 4,800,000 Ivory Coast 324 14,800
80 Yangon 4,800,000 Myanmar 544 8,800
82 Nairobi 4,738,000 Kenya 557 8,500
83 Barcelona 4,693,000 Spain 1,075 4,400
84 Alexandria 4,689,000 Egypt 293 16,000
85 Kabul 4,635,000 Afghanistan 259 17,900
86 Guadalajara 4,603,000 Mexico 751 6,100
87 Ankara 4,538,000 Turkey 660 6,900
88 Belo Horizonte 4,517,000 Brazil 1,088 4,200
89 Boston, MA-NH-RI 4,478,000 United States 5,325 800
90 Xiamen, FJ 4,420,000 China 583 7,600
91 Kuwait 4,283,000 Kuwait 712 6,000
92 Dar es Salaam 4,219,000 Tanzania 570 7,400
93 Phoenix, AZ 4,194,000 United States 3,196 1,300
94 Dalian, LN 4,183,000 China 777 5,400
95 Accra 4,145,000 Ghana 971 4,300
96 Monterrey 4,083,000 Mexico 894 4,600
97 Berlin 4,069,000 Germany 1,347 3,000
98 Sydney, NSW 4,036,000 Australia 2,037 2,000
99 Fuzhou, FJ 3,962,000 China 440 9,000
100 Medan 3,942,000 Indonesia 479 8,200
101 Dubai 3,933,000 United Arab Emirates 1,347 2,900
102 Melbourne, VIC 3,906,000 Australia 2,543 1,500
102 Rome 3,906,000 Italy 1,114 3,500
102 Busan 3,906,000 South Korea 401 9,700
105 Cape Town 3,812,000 South Africa 816 4,700
106 Jinan, SD 3,789,000 China 725 5,200
107 Ningbo, ZJ 3,753,000 China 738 5,100
108 Hanoi 3,715,000 Vietnam 466 8,000
109 Naples 3,706,000 Italy 1,023 3,600
110 Taiyuan, SAX 3,702,000 China 518 7,100
111 Jiddah 3,677,000 Saudi Arabia 842 4,400
112 Detroit, MI 3,672,000 United States 3,463 1,100
113 Hefei, AH 3,665,000 China 725 5,100
114 Changsha, HUN 3,657,000 China 622 5,900
115 Kunming, YN 3,649,000 China 712 5,100
116 Wuxi, JS 3,597,000 China 738 4,900
117 Medellín 3,568,000 Colombia 228 15,700
118 Faisalabad 3,560,000 Pakistan 181 19,600
118 Aleppo 3,560,000 Syria 259 13,700
120 Kano 3,550,000 Nigeria 251 14,100
121 Montréal, QC 3,536,000 Canada 1,546 2,300
122 Dakar 3,520,000 Senegal 194 18,100
123 Athens 3,484,000 Greece 583 6,000

Source: Demographia World Urban Areas: 11th Annual Edition: 2015.01 (Built-Up Urban Areas or World Agglomerations)