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List of Worlds Largest Cities

The United Nations uses three definitions for what constitutes a city, as not all cities in all jurisdictions are classified using the same criteria.

The largest city by population using the city proper definition, which is the area under the administrative boundaries of a local government, is Chongqing, China.

The largest city by population using the metropolitan area definition, which is a loose term referring to an urban area and its primary commuter areas, is Tokyo, Japan.

The largest city by population using the urban area definition, which is a loose term referring to a contiguous area with a certain population density, is also Tokyo, Japan

There are 81 cities with a population of over 5 million people according to the United Nations 2018 estimates.

Rank  City Country Population Continent
1 Tokyo Japan 38,001,000 Asia
2 Delhi India 25,703,168 Asia
3 Shanghai China 23,740,778 Asia
4 Sao Paulo Brazil 21,066,245 South America
5 Mumbai India 21,042,538 Asia
6 Mexico City Mexico 20,998,543 North America
7 Beijing China 20,383,994 Asia
8 Osaka Japan 20,237,645 Asia
9 Cairo Egypt 18,771,769 Asia
10 New York United States 18,593,220 North America
11 Dhaka Bangladesh 17,598,228 Asia
12 Karachi Pakistan 16,617,644 Asia
13 Buenos Aires Argentina 15,180,176 South America
14 Kolkata India 14,864,919 Asia
15 Istanbul Turkey 14,163,989 Asia/Europe
16 Chongqing China 13,331,579 Asia
17 Lagos Nigeria 13,122,829 Africa
18 Manila Philippines 12,946,263 Asia
19 Rio de Janeiro Brazil 12,902,306 South America
20 Guangzhou China 12,458,130 Asia
21 Los Angeles United States 12,309,530 North America
22 Moscow Russia 12,165,704 Europe
23 Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo 11,586,914 Africa
24 Tianjin China 11,210,329 Asia
25 Paris France 10,843,285 Europe
26 Shenzhen China 10,749,473 Asia
27 Jakarta Indonesia 10,323,142 Asia
28 London United Kingdom 10,313,307 Europe
29 Bangalore India 10,087,132 Asia
30 Lima Peru 9,897,033 South America
31 Chennai India 9,890,427 Asia
32 Seoul South Korea 9,773,746 Asia
33 Bogotá Colombia 9,764,769 South America
34 Nagoya Japan 9,406,264 Asia
35 Johannesburg South Africa 9,398,698 Africa
36 Bangkok Thailand 9,269,823 Asia
37 Hyderabad India 8,943,523 Asia
38 Chicago United States 8,744,835 North America
39 Lahore Pakistan 8,741,365 Asia
40 Tehran Iran 8,432,196 Asia
41 Wuhan China 7,905,572 Asia
42 Chengdu China 7,555,705 Asia
43 Dongguan China 7,434,935 Asia
44 Nanjing China 7,369,157 Asia
45 Ahmadabad India 7,342,850 Asia
46 Hong Kong Hong Kong 7,313,557 Asia
47 Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam 7,297,780 Asia
48 Foshan Foshan 7,035,945 Asia
49 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia 6,836,911 Asia
50 Baghdad Iraq 6,642,848 Asia
51 Santiago Chile 6,507,400 South America
52 Hangzhou China 6,390,637 Asia
53 Riyadh Saudi Arabia 6,369,710 Asia
54 Shenyang China 6,315,470 Asia
55 Madrid Spain 6,199,254 Europe
56 Xi’an China 6,043,700 Asia
57 Toronto Canada 5,992,739 North America
58 Miami United States 5,817,221 North America
59 Pune India 5,727,530 Asia
60 Belo Horizonte Brazil 5,716,422 South America
61 Dallas United States 5,702,641 North America
62 Surat India 5,650,011 Asia
63 Houston United States 5,638,045 North America
64 Singapore Singapore 5,618,866 Asia
65 Philadelphia United States 5,585,211 North America
66 Kitakyushu Japan 5,510,478 Asia
67 Luanda Angola 5,506,000 Africa
68 Suzhou China 5,472,033 Asia
69 Haerbin China 5,457,414 Asia
70 Barcelona Spain 5,258,319 Europe
71 Atlanta United States 5,142,140 North America
72 Khartoum Sudan 5,129,358 Africa
73 Dar es Salaam Tanzania 5,115,670 Africa
74 Saint Petersburg Russia 4,992,991 Europe
75 Washington, D.C. United States 4,955,139 North America
76 Abidjan Cote d’Ivoire 4,859,798 Africa
77 Guadalajara Mexico 4,843,241 North America
78 Yangon Myanmar 4,801,930 Asia
79 Alexandria Egypt 4,777,677 Asia/Africa
80 Ankara Turkey 4,749,968 Asia
81 Kabul Afghanistan 4,634,875 Asia
82 Qingdao China 4,565,549 Asia
83 Chittagong Bangladesh 4,539,393 Asia
84 Monterrey Mexico 4,512,572 North America
85 Sydney Australia 4,505,341 Australia
86 Dalian China 4,489,380 Asia
87 Xiamen China 4,430,081 Asia
88 Zhengzhou China 4,387,118 Asia
89 Boston United States 4,249,036 North America
90 Melbourne Australia 4,203,416 Australia
91 Brasília Brazil 4,155,476 South America
92 Jiddah Saudi Arabia 4,075,803 Asia
93 Phoenix United States 4,062,605 North America
94 Ji’nan China 4,032,150 Asia
95 Montréal Canada 3,980,708 North America
96 Shantou China 3,948,813 Asia
97 Nairobi Kenya 3,914,791 Africa
98 Medellín Colombia 3,910,989 South America
99 Fortaleza Brazil 3,880,202 South America
100 Kunming China 3,779,558 Asia

Source: The World’s Cities Data Booklet, United Nations. January 16, 2018.

101 Changchun China 3,762,390
102 Changsha China 3,761,018
103 Recife Brazil 3,738,526
104 Rome Italy 3,717,956
105 Zhongshan China 3,691,360
106 Cape Town South Africa 3,660,447
107 Detroit United States 3,639,050
108 Hanoi Vietnam 3,629,493
109 Tel Aviv Israel 3,608,265
110 Porto Alegre Brazil 3,602,526
111 Kano Nigeria 3,587,049
112 Salvador Brazil 3,582,967
113 Faisalabad Pakistan 3,566,952
114 Berlin Germany 3,563,194
115 Aleppo Syria 3,561,796
116 Dakar Senegal 3,520,215
117 Casablanca Morroco 3,514,958
118 Urumqi China 3,498,591
119 Taiyuan China 3,481,810
120 Curitiba Brazil 3,473,681
121 Jaipur India 3,460,701
122 Shizuoka Japan 3,368,988
123 Hefei China 3,347,591
124 San Francisco United States 3,300,075
125 Fuzhou China 3,282,932

Number of Cities In Each Continent (%)
  • Asia
  • Africa
  • North America
  • South America
  • Oceanic and Australia
  • Europe