Largest Cities in the World· by numbers
The 150 largest cities on Earth, ranked by city-proper population — the administrative city itself, not the sprawling metro area. Shanghai leads with 24.9M people inside its boundaries, more than entire countries.
The world’s biggest cities, mapped
Each circle is a city; its size is the city-proper population — bigger circle, more people.
The full ranking
All 150 cities, largest to smallest. Sort any column; search a city or country.
| # ▲ | City | Country | Population | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shanghai |  China | 25M | 2.8% |
| 2 | Beijing | China | 19M | 2.1% |
| 3 | Shenzhen | China | 17M | 2.0% |
| 4 | Guangzhou | China | 16M | 1.8% |
| 5 | Kinshasa |  Democratic Republic of the Congo | 16M | 1.8% |
| 6 | Istanbul |  Turkey | 16M | 1.8% |
| 7 | Lagos |  Nigeria | 15M | 1.7% |
| 8 | Ho Chi Minh City |  Vietnam | 14M | 1.6% |
| 9 | Chengdu | China | 14M | 1.5% |
| 10 | Lahore |  Pakistan | 13M | 1.5% |
| 11 | Mumbai |  India | 13M | 1.4% |
| 12 | São Paulo |  Brazil | 12M | 1.4% |
| 13 | Mexico City |  Mexico | 12M | 1.4% |
| 14 | Karachi | Pakistan | 12M | 1.3% |
| 15 | Tianjin | China | 11M | 1.3% |
City proper vs metro area
The answer to “what is the biggest city in the world” depends entirely on where you draw the line. This ranking uses city proper — the population inside the official administrative boundary — which is why Shanghai, Beijing and Delhi lead it. Switch to metropolitan areas and the order reshuffles: Tokyo’s metro, around 37 million, tops that list instead.
City proper is the tighter, more comparable figure: it counts only the people governed by the city itself. A metropolitan area bolts on the surrounding commuter belt — suburbs, satellite towns, whole other municipalities — and countries define that belt inconsistently, so metro numbers are often two to five times larger and much harder to compare.
Neither is “right”. City proper answers “how big is the city as a unit of government”; metro answers “how many people live in and around it”. This page keeps to city proper end to end, so every row is measured the same way.
Frequently asked questions
What is the largest city in the world?
By city-proper population, Shanghai — about 24.9 million people within its administrative boundaries. By metropolitan area the answer differs (Tokyo's metro is larger), which is why the basis matters.
Why isn't Tokyo number one?
Tokyo leads the world by metropolitan area (~37 million), but this ranking uses city-proper population — the administrative city itself — where Shanghai, Beijing and Delhi come first.
What is the biggest city on each continent?
The biggest cities by continent include Shanghai (Asia), Lagos and Kinshasa (Africa), Moscow and Istanbul (Europe), São Paulo (South America) and New York (North America).
City proper vs metro area — what's the difference?
City proper counts only people inside the official city/municipality boundary; a metropolitan area adds the surrounding commuter region. Metro figures are often 2–5× larger and defined inconsistently between countries.
Where does this data come from?
GeoNames, which compiles city-proper population from national statistical agencies. Figures reflect the latest available year per country and are openly licensed (CC BY 4.0).
Cite this page
CC BY 4.0Our compilation on this page — the figures as arranged, ranked and dated here — is published under CC BY 4.0. Reuse it anywhere, including commercially, with a link back. The underlying data belongs to the organizations credited below.
Us, by Numbers. "Us, by Numbers." https://usbynumbers.com
Sources & method
City-proper population from GeoNames, compiled from national statistical agencies (CC BY 4.0).