List of cities in the world by population. List of world cities by population Top 10 cities by population

The role of the city in the life of a modern person is increasing: many people no longer see prospects for development outside its borders. Scientists call this phenomenon urbanization. The most populated cities in the world - what are they? In this article you will find a list of the largest cities in the world.

Urbanization and its modern scale

Urbanization refers to the trend of increasing the role of the city in the life of society. The word urbanus is translated from Latin as “urban”.

Modern urbanization can take place in three ways:

Transformation of villages and villages into small and medium-sized cities.
The outflow of population from villages to cities.
Formation of extensive suburban residential areas.

The world's most populous cities are often held hostage by their sheer size. Poor ecology, a huge amount of transport on the streets, a shortage of green spaces and recreation areas, constant noise pollution - all this, of course, negatively affects the health (physical and mental) of a person, a resident of a metropolis.

Urbanization processes, according to scientists, began around the middle of the 19th century. But then they were local, local in nature. They reached the global level a century later - in the 50s of the twentieth century. At this time, the urban population of the planet is growing rapidly, and the largest megacities of our time are being formed.

If in 1950 the share of the urban population on the planet was only 30%, then in 2000 it had already reached 45%. Today, the level of global urbanization is about 57%.

The most urbanized countries on the planet are Luxembourg (100%), Belgium (98%), UK (90%), Australia (88%) and Chile (88%).

The most populated cities in the world

In fact, determining the population of a large city is quite difficult. Firstly, researchers are not always able to obtain up-to-date and reliable statistical information (especially when it comes to the megacities of third world countries - Asia, Africa or Latin America).

Secondly, the approaches to counting the number of city residents may be different. Thus, some demographers do not take into account people living in the suburban area, while others ignore temporary labor migrants. That is why it can be very difficult to name exactly the most populated city in the world.

Another problem that demographers and statisticians face is the problem of determining the boundaries of a metropolis. To solve this problem, a very interesting method was recently invented. To do this, a photograph of the populated area is taken from the air, in the evening. The city boundaries can then be easily drawn along the edge of the distribution of city lighting.

Top most populated cities in the world

In ancient times, Jericho was considered the largest (by population) city on the planet. About 2 thousand people lived there nine thousand years ago. Today this is the number of residents in a large village and a small European town.

The total number of inhabitants living in the ten most populated cities on the planet is almost 260 million people! In other words, this is 4% of the entire world population.

Tokyo (Japan, 37.7 million people);
Jakarta (Indonesia, 29.9);
Chongqing (China, 29.0);
Delhi (India, 24.2);
Manila (Philippines, 22.8);
Shanghai (China, 22.6);
Karachi (Venezuela, 21.7);
New York (United States of America, 20.8);
Mexico City (Mexico, 20.5).

Six out of ten of these cities are located in Asia, with 2 in China. It is worth noting that the largest city in Europe, Moscow, would take only 17th place in this ranking. About 16 million people live in the capital of the Russian Federation.

Tokyo, Japan)

The capital of Japan today is the most populous city in the world, home to at least 37 million people. For comparison: this is the number of inhabitants in the whole of Poland!

Today Tokyo is not only the largest metropolis, but also the most important financial, industrial and cultural center of East Asia. The world's largest metro operates here: it carries at least 8 million passengers a day. Tokyo will amaze any traveler with a huge number of faceless, gray streets and alleys. Some of them don't even have their own names.

It is surprising that the largest metropolis on the planet is located in a seismically unstable zone. Every year about a hundred fluctuations of varying intensity are recorded in Tokyo.

Chongqing (China)

Chinese Chongqing holds the absolute world championship among cities in terms of territory size. It occupies the same area as the state of Austria in Europe - 82,000 square kilometers.

The metropolis has an almost perfect circular shape: 470 by 460 kilometers. About 29 million Chinese live here. However, since a large number of them live in the suburban area, some statisticians sometimes do not include Chongqing in the lists of the most populated cities on the planet.

In addition to its colossal size, the city also boasts an ancient history. After all, it is already more than 3 thousand years old. Chongqing arose at the confluence of two Chinese rivers, surrounded by three picturesque hills.

New York, USA)

Although New York is not the largest city on the planet by population, it can be considered the most popular metropolis in the world.

The city is often called the Big Apple. Why? Everything is very simple: according to one of the legends, it was the apple tree that was the first to take root within the boundaries of the future metropolis.

New York is an important financial center of the world; about 700 thousand (!) different companies are located here. City residents are served daily by at least 6 thousand metro cars and about 13 thousand taxi cars. By the way, it is no coincidence that local taxis are painted yellow. The founder of a shipping company once conducted special research trying to determine which color is most pleasing to the human eye. It turned out that it was yellow.

Conclusion

Amazing fact: if you collect all the residents of the 10 most populous cities in the world, you will get a number that is almost twice the total population of Russia! In addition, these already huge megacities continue to grow.

The most populated cities in the world are Tokyo, Jakarta, Chongqing, Delhi and Seoul. All of them are located in Asia.

With the death rate falling and the birth rate rising, the world's population is constantly growing. The revolution that science is making is undoubtedly working wonders. But let's agree that she is responsible for an easily growing population. On the one hand, an increase in population can be a source of success and prosperity. But on the other hand, population growth causes destruction in the long run. This could be a very long discussion: a huge population has both pros and cons, and depends on many factors. Here is the list most populated cities in the world for 2019. From the list you can easily analyze that some of the cities are highly developed. While some are lagging behind and the main reason for this is the “large population”.

10. Dhaka

Country: Bangladesh

Population: 12043977

Total area: 1,463.6 km2

Population density: 8229/km2

The capital of Bangladesh - Dhaka is the largest city by population in Bangladesh. It is not only a cultural center, but also the economic center of the country. It is the home of the Mughal Empire to the legacy of colonial times, as well as mighty cultural buildings. Dhaka also enjoys its importance because it is also the center of the independence movement in Bangladesh. As indicated by the statistics, the maximum population in Bangladesh lives in urban houses.

9. Moscow

Country Russia

Population: 12197596

Total area: 2,510.12 km2

Population density: 4859/km2

Moscow is the capital of Russia. Moscow clearly represents both yesterday's and modern Russia. It is also one of the most expensive cities in the world. This is a global business center preserving the culture and architecture of Russia. Moscow is also home to various great writers and poets. The population of Moscow clearly shows that this is the home of talent and innovation.

8. Mumbai

Country: India

Population: 12655220

Total area: 603.4 km2

Population density: 20,680/km2

Mumbai is the capital of an Indian state. It is a metropolitan area in India with a high GDP. Mumbai is made up of seven islands that are home to fishing colonies. Most of the fishermen are from Mumbai. Mumbai is not only India's most populous city, but it is also home to the most billionaires and millionaires compared to other Indian states.

7. Guangzhou

Country: China

Population: 12,700,800

Total area: 3,843.43 km2

Population density: 3,305/km2

Guangzhou is the capital of South China. It is also the largest city when it comes to the population of Southern China. It is an important trading port in China. It is also an important transport hub and one of the five central national cities. Guangzhou is considered to be the third largest city in China. No wonder why China is excited about its most populous region!

6. Lagos

Country: Nigeria

Population: 13400000

Total area: 999.58 km2

Population density: 13,405/km2

Lagos' population is growing exponentially and it is the second largest growing city in Africa. Lagos is actually an island. The country's major financial events are held here. Lagos is popular because of its music and various inventions in the field of music like hip-hop, fuji, juju, etc. Football is Lagos' favorite sport.

5. Istanbul

Country: Türkiye

Population: 14377019

Total area: 5461 km2

Population density: 6467/km2

Istanbul is the most populous city in Turkey. The main reason for this is the area it covers. The city represents the economic, historical and cultural centers of the country. Turkey is also included in the number, and also strives to attract maximum attention of tourists from all over the world.

4. Tianjin

Country: China

Population: 14,722,100

Total area: 4037 km2

Population density: 2,314/km2

China dominates the list. Here is another city in China that is densely populated. Tianjin is located in northern China. Tianjin has a main city area and a new city area, hence it is a "double city". Tianjin has some of the largest seaports and is important to the country's economy. The ancient architecture of Tianjin attracts a large number of tourists.

3. Beijing

Country: China

Population: 21,516,000

Total area: 16,410.54 km2

Population density: 1,311/km2

Beijing is the capital of China. Therefore, it is the educational, cultural, political and financial center of the country. Beijing Airport is the second busiest airport in the world, containing a large number of passenger traffic. The famous Great Wall of China is also located in Beijing. Beijing is rich in cultural heritage. Beijing is also a must-visit for those who want to see China.

2. Karachi

Country: Pakistan

Population: 23,500,000

Total area: 3527 km2

Population density: 6,663/km2

Karachi is the capital of Pakistan. It is also known as the "city of lights". Karachi is a vibrant city with a large number of industries and educational institutes. Karachi has due importance in European and Gulf countries because of Karachi Port and Bin Qasim Port. Karachi is a large, spacious city that houses the vast majority of the country's population. Other names for Karachi include "Bride of the City" and "Quaid City", in honor of the founder of Pakistan, Quaid e Azam, whose tomb is in Karachi.

1. Shanghai

Country: China

Population: 24150000

Total area: 6,340.5 km2

Population density: 3,809/km2

Shanghai most populated city in the world. Its population is used very constructively. Shanghai is the financial center of China. It is also one of the world's transport hubs and contains some of the busiest ports. Shanghai plays a very important role in China's success and prosperity. Unlike other trading cities, Shanghai also generates its economy through its tourism area. City of God Temple, The Bund, China Art Museum, Shanghai Museum and Yu Garden are some of the places to see.

The list includes the largest cities in the world with a population of over 1 million people. The largest cities in the world are represented, where the population of the largest cities in the world is more than 1 billion people. Thus, the total population of the world's largest cities is 1,180,485,707 people.

The list shows the largest cities in the world, where the largest cities in the world by population are presented starting from the largest cities - the number of the largest cities in the world, the flag of the country, the name of the country and the name of the continent of each major city are indicated.

Population of the largest cities in the world in relation to the population of the Earth.

The population of the world's largest cities makes up 15.76% of the total world population (7.4 billion people), as of 2017. The largest cities in the world by population on our list begin with the largest city on planet Earth - the city of Chongqing in China with a population of 30,165,500 people. Other largest cities in the world are Shanghai in China (24,150,000 people), Beijing in China (21,148,000 people), Tianjin in China (14,425,000 people), Istanbul in Turkey with a population 13,854,740 people

Top 10 largest cities in the world.

The 10 largest cities in the world in descending order from the largest: Chongqing, Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Istanbul, Guangzhou, Tokyo, Karachi, Mumbai, Moscow. At the same time, the city of Moscow is the only European city among the 10 largest cities in the world and is the largest city in Europe. The largest cities in the world by population on our list are the capitals and major cities of the world with over one million people (1,000,000 people).

Which countries have the most millionaire cities?

An interesting fact to note is that of all the millionaire cities on planet Earth, 15 millionaire cities are located in Russia. The number of the largest cities in the world differs in different countries: 123 cities with a population of over a million are located in China, 54 cities with a population of over one million people are in India, 17 cities with a population of over one million are in Indonesia, 14 cities with a population of over a million are located in Brazil, 12 cities with a population of over a million are located in Japan and 9 cities located in the USA.

Incredible Facts

On our planet, the population is constantly increasing, and this has already grown into a real problem. There are sparsely populated places, there are simply big cities, and there are megacities, the population of which is amazing, calculated at tens of millions.

Exactly about such giant cities we will tell you further. At the same time, we included in the list of such cities agglomerations, representing a merger of settlements.

Population of Sao Paulo

Brazil

20,900,000 people

Sao Paulo remained a small city until the mid-19th century, and then rapidly began to develop into a commercial agglomerate with a developed coffee industry.

Population of Manila

Philippines

21,950,000 people

We are talking about the formation of Metro Manila (exists since 1975), which includes 17 cities.

Population of New York

22,200,000 people

New York is a symbol of American capitalism, freedom and democracy. This is a city where life never stops boiling - neither day nor night. You can always see crowds of tourists here, because New York is famous for its architecture, museums and other attractions.

Population of Mumbai

India

22,800,000 people

It is the second largest city in India. Mumbai is considered a rich city in India. The high standard of living of this city is very different from the rest of the country.

Mumbai attracts many tourists every year from all over the world, making it one of the most cosmopolitan cities in the world.

Population of New Delhi

India

23,200,000 people

New Delhi is one of the most important cultural and political centers in India. The city has been the epicenter of power struggles throughout the country's history, contributing to both the creation and destruction of entire kingdoms and empires on several occasions.

Population of Mexico City

Mexico

23,400,000 people

In 1950, there were already 3 million people in Mexico City. No one thought that 60 years later the capital of Mexico would become one of the largest cities in the world. Mexico City is the country's largest city, as well as its most important political, cultural, educational and financial center.

Shanghai population

China

24,150,000 people

Shanghai is practically the largest city in China, and one of the most densely populated in the world. The metropolis continues to grow very quickly year after year.

Population of Guangzhou

China

24,200,000 people

The city of Guangzhou (Canton) is approximately 2,200 years old. The best time to visit Guangzhou is from October to November and from April to May inclusive. This city has a subtropical climate with high levels of humidity in the summer. Temperatures can reach almost 40 degrees Celsius.

Population of Seoul

South Korea

29,500,000 people

A city with an incredible population density: 17,288 people per 1 sq. km! Seoul is the largest city in South Korea and undoubtedly the economic, political and cultural center of the country.