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The 150 Largest Cities in the World

The largest city in the world by population is Tokyo, Japan, with a population of 38,001,000. Tokyo is followed by Delhi, India (population 25,703,168) and Shanghai, China (population 23,740,778). The following is a list of the world's 150 largest metropolitan areas, which generally includes an urban area and its surrounding suburbs. 

Capital cities of the world - with population

Rank City Country Population (Metropolitan Area)
1 Tokyo Japan 38,001,000
2 Delhi India 25,703,168
3 Shanghai China 23,740,778
4 Sao Paulo Brazil 21,066,245
5 Mumbai India 21,042,538
6 Mexico City  Mexico 20,998,543
7 Beijing China 20,383,994
8 Osaka  Japan 20,237,645
9 Cairo  Egypt 18,771,769
10 New York United States 18,593,220
11 Dhaka Bangladesh 17,598,228
12 Karachi Pakistan 16,617,644
13 Buenos Aires Argentina 15,180,176
14 Kolkata India 14,864,919
15 Istanbul Turkey 14,163,989
16 Chongqing China 13,331,579
17 Lagos Nigeria 13,122,829
18 Manila Philippines 12,946,263
19 Rio de Janeiro Brazil 12,902,306
20 Guangzhou China 12,458,130
21 Los Angeles United States 12,309,530
22 Moscow  Russia 12,165,704
23 Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo 11,586,914
24 Tianjin China 11,210,329
25 Paris France 10,843,285
26 Shenzhen China 10,749,473
27 Jakarta Indonesia 10,323,142
28 London United Kingdom 10,313,307
29 Bangalore India 10,087,132
30 Lima Peru 9,897,033
31 Chennai  India 9,890,427
32 Seoul South Korea 9,773,746
33 Bogotá Colombia 9,764,769
34 Nagoya  Japan 9,406,264
35 Johannesburg South Africa 9,398,698
36 Bangkok Thailand 9,269,823
37 Hyderabad India 8,943,523
38 Chicago United States 8,744,835
39 Lahore Pakistan 8,741,365
40 Tehran Iran 8,432,196
41 Wuhan China 7,905,572
42 Chengdu China 7,555,705
43 Dongguan China 7,434,935
44 Nanjing China 7,369,157
45 Ahmadabad India 7,342,850
46 Hong Kong Hong Kong 7,313,557
47 Ho Chi Minh City  Vietnam 7,297,780
48 Foshan Foshan 7,035,945
49 Kuala Lumpur Malaysia 6,836,911
50 Baghdad Iraq 6,642,848
51 Santiago Chile 6,507,400
52 Hangzhou China 6,390,637
53 Riyadh  Saudi Arabia 6,369,710
54 Shenyang China 6,315,470
55 Madrid Spain 6,199,254
56 Xi'an China 6,043,700
57 Toronto Canada 5,992,739
58 Miami United States 5,817,221
59 Pune   India 5,727,530
60 Belo Horizonte Brazil 5,716,422
61 Dallas United States 5,702,641
62 Surat India 5,650,011
63 Houston United States 5,638,045
64 Singapore Singapore 5,618,866
65 Philadelphia United States 5,585,211
66 Kitakyushu Japan 5,510,478
67 Luanda Angola 5,506,000
68 Suzhou China 5,472,033
69 Haerbin China 5,457,414
70 Barcelona Spain 5,258,319
71 Atlanta United States 5,142,140
72 Khartoum  Sudan 5,129,358
73 Dar es Salaam Tanzania 5,115,670
74 Saint Petersburg  Russia 4,992,991
75 Washington, D.C. United States 4,955,139
76 Abidjan Cote d'Ivoire 4,859,798
77 Guadalajara Mexico 4,843,241
78 Yangon Myanmar 4,801,930
79 Alexandria  Egypt 4,777,677
80 Ankara Turkey 4,749,968
81 Kabul Afghanistan 4,634,875
82 Qingdao China 4,565,549
83 Chittagong Bangladesh 4,539,393
84 Monterrey Mexico 4,512,572
85 Sydney Australia 4,505,341
86 Dalian China 4,489,380
87 Xiamen China 4,430,081
88 Zhengzhou China 4,387,118
89 Boston United States 4,249,036
90 Melbourne Australia 4,203,416
91 Brasília Brazil 4,155,476
92 Jiddah Saudi Arabia 4,075,803
93 Phoenix United States 4,062,605
94 Ji'nan  China 4,032,150
95 Montréal Canada 3,980,708
96 Shantou China 3,948,813
97 Nairobi Kenya 3,914,791
98 Medellín Colombia 3,910,989
99 Fortaleza Brazil 3,880,202
100 Kunming China 3,779,558
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
126 Shijiazhuang China 3,264,498
127 Seattle United States 3,248,724
128 Addis Ababa Ethiopia 3,237,525
129 Nanning China 3,234,379
130 Lucknow India 3,221,817
131 Busan South Korea 3,216,298
132 Wenzhou China 3,207,846
133 Ibadan Nigeria 3,160,190
134 Ningbo China 3,131,921
135 San Diego United States 3,107,034
136 Milan  Italy 3,098,974
137 Yaounde Cameroon 3,065,692
138 Athens  Greece 3,051,899
139 Wuxi  China 3,049,042
140 Campinas Brazil 3,047,102
141 Izmir Turkey 3,040,416
142 Kanpur India 3,020,795
143 Mashhad Iran 3,014,424
144 Puebla Mexico 2,984,048
145 Sana'a  Yemen 2,961,934
146 Santo Domingo Domican Republic 2,945,353
147 Douala Cameroon 2,943,318
148 Kiev  Ukraine 2,941,884
149 Guatemala City  Guatemala 2,918,337
150 Caracas Venezuela 2,916,183


Source: The World's Cities Data Booklet, United Nations. Page last updated on January 16, 2018. 

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This page was last updated on January 17, 2018.