List of urban areas by population

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This is a list of contiguous urban areas of the world ordered according to population as of 2008. The figures here have been compiled by Demographia.[1]

Contents

1 Definitions and issues 2 Urban areas ranked by 2008 projected population 3 References and notes 4 External links 5 See also

[edit] Definitions and issues

Demographia defines an urban area (urbanized area agglomeration or urban centre) as a continuously built up landmass of urban development containing a high population density, without regard for administrative boundaries (i.e. municipality, city or commune) or a labor maket (i.e. metropolitan area). Except in Australia, the authorities use a minimum urban density definition of 400 persons per square kilometer (or the nearly identical 1,000 per square mile in the United States). Demographia uses maps, satellite photographs to estimate continuous urbanization. Demographia also uses small area population data, where available, to match population estimates to urbanized land area. National census authority data are presented in Australia, Canada, France, the United Kingdom and the United States. Census of India urban agglomerations are not used because the geographical size of constituent units (municipalities) often includes large rural (non-urban) areas. Sources for population estimates and land area definitions are coded by "A", "C", "D", "E", "F", "G" or "H"; and "A", "B" or "H" in the Table below, respectively.

A: National census authority data.
B: Demographia land area estimate based upon map or satellite photograph analysis.
C: Demographia population "build up" from third, fourth or fifth order jurisdictions (NUTS-3, NUTS-4, NUTS-5 or equivalent).
D: Population estimate based upon United Nations agglomeration estimate.
E: Demographia population estimate from national census authority agglomeration data.
F: Other Demographia population estimate.
G: Estimate based upon projected growth rate from last census.
H: Combination of adjacent national census authority agglomerations.

The most reliable population estimates are "A" and "H." Population estimates "C" are generally reliable. Population estimates "D" and "E" are less reliable. Population estimates coded "F" and "G" are the least reliable.

The estimates are quite different from the list of World's largest urban agglomerations produced by the United Nations that reports inconsistently on urban geographic, despite its reference to agglomerations. This is evident, for example, in Manila, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Seoul and Moscow, where the UN data are for political jurisdictions, rather than urban areas. In other cases, metropolitan area data are shown, such as in Brazil.

Urban areas are confined to a single metropolitan area or labor market area. In some cases, urban areas have virtually grown together (e.g. BosWash in the United States and TaiheiyÅ Belt in Japan), yet are still considered separate urban areas.

Urban areas are confined to a single nation, unless there is freedom of movement (including labor) between the adjacent nations. Currently, this condition is met only between some continental nations of the European Union (e.g. Lille–Kortrijk in both France and Belgium).

[edit] Urban areas ranked by 2008 projected population

Rank City Country Population Area (km²) Pop. Growth

Rate (%/yr)

Sources of

Pop. / Area

1 Tokyo–Yokohama[2]  Japan 34,400,000 7,835 0.15 C / B
2 Jakarta[3]  Indonesia 21,800,000 2,720 2.38 F / B
3 New York City[4]  United States 20,090,000 11,264 0.24 H / H
4 Seoul–Incheon[5]  South Korea 20,010,000 1,943 0.43 C / B
5 Manila[6]  Philippines 19,550,000 1,425 2.31 C / B
6 Mumbai (Bombay)[7]  India 19,530,000 777 2.00 C / B
7 São Paulo[8]  Brazil 19,140,000 2,590 0.78 C / B
8 Mexico City[9]  Mexico 18,430,000 2,137 0.60 C / B
9 Delhi[10]  India 18,000,000 1,425 2.40 C / B
10 Osaka–Kobe–Kyoto[11]  Japan 17,270,000 2,720 0.04 C / B
11 Cairo[12]  Egypt 16,750,000 1,269 1.53 E / B
12 Kolkata (Calcutta)  India 15,010,000 984 1.83 A / B
13 Los Angeles[13]  United States 14,730,000 5,812 0.79 H / H
14 Shanghai  People's Republic of China 14,460,000 2,396 1.54 C / B
15 Moscow[14]  Russia 13,260,000 4,533 0.20 C / B
16 Beijing (Peking)  People's Republic of China 12,770,000 2,616 1.60 C / B
17 Buenos Aires[15]  Argentina 12,390,000 2,590 0.46 A / B
18 Guangzhou (Canton)–Foshan[16]  People's Republic of China 11,810,000 2,590 1.48 E / B
19 Shenzhen[16]  People's Republic of China 11,710,000 1,295 2.10 F / B
20 Istanbul  Turkey 11,220,000 1,256 1.11 E / B
21 Rio de Janeiro  Brazil 11,160,000 1,580 0.79 C / B
22 Paris  France 10,430,000 3,043 0.09 E / B
23 Karachi[17]  Pakistan 9,380,000 881 2.54 G / B
24 Nagoya[18]  Japan 9,250,000 3,302 0.27 C / B
25 Chicago[19]  United States 9,030,000 5,952 0.54 H / H
26 Lagos[20]  Nigeria 8,860,000 971 2.99 C / B
27 London[21]  United Kingdom 8,320,000 1,623 0.07 A / A
28 Bangkok  Thailand 8,290,000 1,502 1.19 C / B
29 Kinshasa[22]  Democratic Republic of the Congo 8,190,000 622 4.38 D / B
30 Tehran[23]  Iran 8,000,000 635 1.27 E / B
31 Lima  Peru 7,750,000 648 1.08 C / B
32 Dongguan[16]  People's Republic of China 7,650,000 1,295 1.79 F / B
33 Bogotá  Colombia 7,440,000 414 1.34 E / B
34 Chennai (Madras)  India 7,320,000 414 1.88 A / B
35 Dhaka[24]  Bangladesh 7,310,000 311 2.86 C / B
36 Essen (Ruhr)–Düsseldorf[25]  Germany 7,250,000 2,642 0.00 C / B
37 Tianjin (Tientsin)[26]  People's Republic of China 7,200,000 1,295 1.28 C / B
38 Hong Kong[16]  Hong Kong, People's Republic of China 6,950,000 220 0.89 E / B
39 Taipei[27]  Republic of China (Taiwan) 6,820,000 440 1.20 D / B
40 Lahore  Pakistan 6,810,000 583 2.63 G / B
41 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)  Vietnam 6,710,000 609 2.40 E / B
42 Bangalore  India 6,660,000 648 2.25 A / B
43 Hyderabad  India 6,610,000 790 2.07 C / B
44 Johannesburg–East Rand[28]  South Africa 6,470,000 2,396 1.08 C / B
45 Baghdad  Iraq 6,000,000 596 1.77 D / B
46 Toronto–Hamilton[29]  Canada 5,790,000 2,279 1.03 H / H
47 Santiago  Chile 5,630,000 790 0.72 C / B
48 Kuala Lumpur[30]  Malaysia 5,470,000 2,137 2.35 E / B
49 San Francisco–San Jose[31]  United States 5,450,000 2,497 0.31 H / H
50 Philadelphia[4]  United States 5,270,000 4,661 0.30 A / A
51 Wuhan  People's Republic of China 5,240,000 712 1.36 E / B
52 Miami[32]  United States 5,220,000 2,891 0.76 A / A
53 Dallas–Fort Worth[33]  United States 5,160,000 3,959 1.89 H / H
54 Madrid  Spain 5,130,000 945 0.65 C / B
55 Ahmedabad  India 5,060,000 202 2.26 A / B
56 Boston[34]  United States 4,750,000 5,501 0.23 H / H
57 Belo Horizonte  Brazil 4,640,000 1,010 1.21 C / B
58 Khartoum  Sudan 4,600,000 583 2.83 D / B
59 Saint Petersburg (Leningrad)[35]  Russia 4,570,000 1,191 −0.13 D / B
60 Shenyang[36]  People's Republic of China 4,560,000 777 1.17 E / B
61 Houston[37]  United States 4,550,000 3,463 1.90 H / H
62 Pune  India 4,470,000 220 2.51 A / B
63 Riyadh  Saudi Arabia 4,460,000 1,321 2.04 E / B
64 Singapore[38]  Singapore 4,320,000 479 0.96 D / B
65 Washington, D.C.[39]  United States 4,260,000 2,996 1.00 A / A
66 Yangon (Rangoon)  Myanmar 4,220,000 350 2.02 D / B
67 Milan[40]  Italy 4,190,000 2,370 −0.02 C / B
68 Atlanta[41]  United States 4,160,000 5,083 2.19 A / A
69 Alexandria  Egypt 4,150,000 293 1.82 E / B
69 Nanjing (Nanking)  People's Republic of China 4,150,000 686 1.27 E / B
69 Chongqing (Chungking)[42]  People's Republic of China 4,150,000 570 1.27 E / B
72 Guadalajara  Mexico 4,090,000 712 1.19 E / B
73 Barcelona  Spain 4,040,000 803 0.51 C / B
74 Detroit[43]  United States 3,860,000 3,267 −0.13 A / A
74 Chengdu (Chengtu)  People's Republic of China 3,860,000 570 1.22 E / B
76 Ankara  Turkey 3,810,000 583 1.48 E / B
77 Abidjan  Côte d'Ivoire 3,790,000 298 2.79 D / B
78 Athens  Greece 3,730,000 684 0.18 C / B
79 Berlin  Germany 3,690,000 984 0.06 C / B
80 Sydney[44]  Australia 3,680,000 1,788 0.60 C / B
81 Monterrey  Mexico 3,650,000 712 1.21 C / B
82 Phoenix–Mesa[45]  United States 3,540,000 2,069 2.51 A / A
83 Busan  South Korea 3,510,000 259 −0.33 E / B
84 Recife  Brazil 3,490,000 414 1.20 C / B
85 Bandung  Indonesia 3,470,000 401 1.84 E / B
86 Porto Alegre  Brazil 3,440,000 777 1.12 C / B
87 Melbourne[46]  Australia 3,420,000 2,152 0.70 C / B
88 Hangzhou (Hangchow)  People's Republic of China 3,410,000 712 1.61 E / B
88 Luanda  Angola 3,410,000 363 4.35 D / B
90 Algiers[47]  Algeria 3,390,000 453 1.98 D / B
91 Hanoi  Vietnam 3,370,000 194 2.38 E / B
92 Montreal[48]  Canada 3,360,000 1,676 0.68 A / A
93 Xi'an (Sian)  People's Republic of China 3,340,000 531 1.37 E / B
94 Qingdao (Tsingtao)  People's Republic of China 3,330,000 440 1.32 E / B
94 Pyongyang  North Korea 3,330,000 207 0.61 E / B
96 Surat  India 3,210,000 109 1.91 A / B
97 Fortaleza  Brazil 3,160,000 725 1.21 C / B
98 Medellín  Colombia 3,080,000 189 1.40 C / B
99 Durban (eThekwini)  South Africa 3,070,000 829 1.17 C / B
100 Kanpur  India 3,030,000 142 1.70 A / B
101 Jeddah  Saudi Arabia 3,020,000 842 1.93 E / B
101 Nairobi  Kenya 3,020,000 479 3.80 E / B
101 Addis Ababa  Ethiopia 3,020,000 228 3.83 D / B
104 Naples  Italy 3,010,000 777 0.04 C / B
105 Kabul  Afghanistan 3,000,000 259 4.47 E / B
106 Salvador  Brazil 2,980,000 389 0.95 C / B
106 Harbin[49]  People's Republic of China 2,980,000 570 1.00 E / B
108 Kano  Nigeria 2,950,000 199 2.61 C / B
109 Casablanca  Morocco 2,930,000 220 1.16 E / B
110 Curitiba  Brazil 2,900,000 842 1.74 C / B
110 Cape Town  South Africa 2,900,000 686 1.02 C / B
112 Surabaya  Indonesia 2,850,000 376 1.84 D / B
113 San Diego[50]  United States 2,790,000 2,026 0.52 A / A
113 Seattle[51]  United States 2,790,000 2,470 0.35 A / A
115 Rome[52]  Italy 2,740,000 855 −0.07 C / B
116 Taichung  Republic of China (Taiwan) 2,700,000 492 1.93 E / B
116 Dar es Salaam  Tanzania 2,700,000 324 3.84 C / B
118 Jaipur  India 2,690,000 168 2.26 A / B
119 Caracas  Venezuela 2,670,000 272 0.94 C / B
120 Dakar  Senegal 2,650,000 181 2.98 E / B
121 Kaohsiung  Republic of China (Taiwan) 2,630,000 363 1.30 E / B
122 Minneapolis–Saint Paul[53]  United States 2,570,000 2,316 0.91 A / A
123 Lucknow  India 2,560,000 130 1.73 A / B
124 Tel Aviv  Israel 2,530,000 453 1.22 D / B
124 Guayaquil[54]