World Cities#
Reference of major world cities by population, plus the operator-relevant detail (capital / commercial center, time zone, currency, IATA hub, dominant languages).
For per-country data see Countries. For airports see Airports & Seaports. For time zones see Time Zones.
Top urban agglomerations#
These are agglomeration / metropolitan-area populations (2024-2026 estimates from UN World Urbanization Prospects, World Population Review). City-proper figures are smaller.
City |
Country |
Population |
Time zone |
Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Tokyo |
Japan |
37 M |
JST |
HND + NRT. |
Delhi |
India |
33 M |
IST |
DEL. |
Shanghai |
China |
29 M |
CST |
PVG + SHA. |
Dhaka |
Bangladesh |
24 M |
BST |
DAC. |
São Paulo |
Brazil |
23 M |
BRT |
GRU. |
Cairo |
Egypt |
22 M |
EET |
CAI. |
Mexico City |
Mexico |
22 M |
CST |
MEX. |
Beijing |
China |
22 M |
CST |
PEK + PKX. |
Mumbai |
India |
21 M |
IST |
BOM. |
Osaka |
Japan |
19 M |
JST |
KIX. |
Karachi |
Pakistan |
17 M |
PKT |
KHI. |
Chongqing |
China |
17 M |
CST |
CKG. |
Istanbul |
Türkiye |
16 M |
TRT |
IST + SAW. |
Buenos Aires |
Argentina |
16 M |
ART |
EZE + AEP. |
Kolkata |
India |
15 M |
IST |
CCU. |
Kinshasa |
DR Congo |
15 M |
WAT |
FIH. |
Lagos |
Nigeria |
15 M |
WAT |
LOS. |
Manila |
Philippines |
14 M |
PST |
MNL. |
Tianjin |
China |
14 M |
CST |
TSN. |
Rio de Janeiro |
Brazil |
13 M |
BRT |
GIG. |
Guangzhou |
China |
13 M |
CST |
CAN. |
Lahore |
Pakistan |
13 M |
PKT |
LHE. |
Bangalore |
India |
13 M |
IST |
BLR. |
Shenzhen |
China |
12 M |
CST |
SZX. |
Moscow |
Russia |
12 M |
MSK |
SVO + DME + VKO. |
Chennai |
India |
11 M |
IST |
MAA. |
Bogotá |
Colombia |
11 M |
COT |
BOG. |
Jakarta |
Indonesia |
11 M |
WIB |
CGK. |
Lima |
Peru |
11 M |
PET |
LIM. |
Paris |
France |
11 M |
CET |
CDG + ORY. |
Bangkok |
Thailand |
11 M |
ICT |
BKK + DMK. |
Hyderabad |
India |
11 M |
IST |
HYD. |
London |
UK |
11 M |
GMT/BST |
LHR + LGW + STN + LCY + LTN. |
Tehran |
Iran |
10 M |
IRST |
IKA + THR. |
Chicago |
USA |
10 M |
CST |
ORD + MDW. |
Seoul |
|
10 M |
KST |
ICN + GMP. |
Ho Chi Minh City |
Vietnam |
10 M |
ICT |
SGN. |
Wuhan |
China |
10 M |
CST |
WUH. |
Hangzhou |
China |
10 M |
CST |
HGH. |
Hong Kong |
HKSAR |
8 M |
HKT |
HKG. |
New York |
USA |
20 M (metro) |
EST |
JFK + LGA + EWR. |
Los Angeles |
USA |
13 M (metro) |
PST |
LAX + BUR + LGB + SNA. |
Capitals (selection)#
Continent |
Capitals |
|---|---|
Europe |
London (UK), Paris (FR), Berlin (DE), Madrid (ES), Rome (IT), Lisbon (PT), Dublin (IE), Brussels (BE), Amsterdam (NL), Stockholm (SE), Oslo (NO), Helsinki (FI), Copenhagen (DK), Vienna (AT), Bern (CH), Warsaw (PL), Prague (CZ), Bratislava (SK), Budapest (HU), Bucharest (RO), Sofia (BG), Athens (GR), Ljubljana (SI), Zagreb (HR), Belgrade (RS), Sarajevo (BA), Skopje (MK), Tirana (AL), Pristina (XK), Podgorica (ME), Vilnius (LT), Riga (LV), Tallinn (EE), Reykjavik (IS), Kyiv (UA), Minsk (BY), Chisinau (MD), Moscow (RU). |
Middle East / |
Riyadh (SA), Doha (QA), Abu Dhabi (AE), Kuwait City (KW), |
West Asia |
Manama (BH), Muscat (OM), Tehran (IR), Baghdad (IQ), Damascus (SY), Beirut (LB), Amman (JO), Jerusalem (IL), Ankara (TR), Sanaa (YE), Tbilisi (GE), Yerevan (AM), Baku (AZ). |
South Asia |
New Delhi (IN), Islamabad (PK), Dhaka (BD), Colombo / Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (LK), Kathmandu (NP), Thimphu (BT), Malé (MV), Kabul (AF). |
East Asia |
Beijing (CN), Tokyo (JP), Seoul (KR), Pyongyang (KP), Taipei (TW), Ulaanbaatar (MN). |
SE Asia |
Bangkok (TH), Hanoi (VN), Phnom Penh (KH), Vientiane (LA), Jakarta (ID), Manila (PH), Kuala Lumpur (MY), Bandar Seri Begawan (BN), Naypyidaw (MM), Singapore (SG), Dili (TL). |
Central Asia |
Astana (KZ), Tashkent (UZ), Bishkek (KG), Dushanbe (TJ), Ashgabat (TM). |
Africa |
Cairo (EG), Algiers (DZ), Tunis (TN), Tripoli (LY), Rabat (MA), Khartoum (SD), Juba (SS), Addis Ababa (ET), Asmara (ER), Mogadishu (SO), Djibouti (DJ), Nairobi (KE), Dar es Salaam / Dodoma (TZ), Kampala (UG), Kigali (RW), Bujumbura / Gitega (BI), Kinshasa (CD), Brazzaville (CG), Luanda (AO), Lusaka (ZM), Lilongwe (MW), Maputo (MZ), Harare (ZW), Pretoria / Cape Town / Bloemfontein (ZA), Maseru (LS), Mbabane / Lobamba (SZ), Gaborone (BW), Windhoek (NA), Antananarivo (MG), Port Louis (MU), Victoria (SC), Moroni (KM), Praia (CV), Lagos / Abuja (NG), Accra (GH), Lomé (TG), Cotonou / Porto-Novo (BJ), Ouagadougou (BF), Bamako (ML), Niamey (NE), Dakar (SN), Banjul (GM), Bissau (GW), Conakry (GN), Freetown (SL), Monrovia (LR), Yamoussoukro / Abidjan (CI). |
Americas |
Washington DC (US), Ottawa (CA), Mexico City (MX), Guatemala City (GT), Belmopan (BZ), San Salvador (SV), Tegucigalpa (HN), Managua (NI), San José (CR), Panama City (PA), Havana (CU), Kingston (JM), Port-au-Prince (HT), Santo Domingo (DO), Bogotá (CO), Caracas (VE), Quito (EC), Lima (PE), La Paz / Sucre (BO), Brasília (BR), Asunción (PY), Buenos Aires (AR), Santiago (CL), Montevideo (UY). |
Oceania |
Canberra (AU), Wellington (NZ), Port Moresby (PG), Suva (FJ), Apia (WS), Honiara (SB), Port Vila (VU), Tarawa (KI), Funafuti (TV), Yaren (NR), Palikir (FM), Majuro (MH), Ngerulmud (PW). |
Mega-cities (>10M) by continent#
Continent |
Cities |
|---|---|
Asia |
Tokyo, Delhi, Shanghai, Dhaka, Beijing, Mumbai, Osaka, Karachi, Chongqing, Istanbul, Kolkata, Manila, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Lahore, Bangalore, Shenzhen, Chennai, Jakarta, Bangkok, Hyderabad, Tehran, Seoul, Ho Chi Minh City, Wuhan, Hangzhou. |
Latin America |
São Paulo, Mexico City, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, Bogotá, Lima. |
Africa |
Cairo, Kinshasa, Lagos. |
Europe |
Moscow, Paris, London (Istanbul straddles Europe / Asia). |
North America |
New York, Los Angeles (metro), Chicago. |
Oceania |
none yet (Sydney + Melbourne ~5-6 M). |
Operator notes#
Definition matters, “city proper” (administrative boundary) vs “urban area” (continuously built-up) vs “metropolitan area” (commuter shed) can differ 2-3x.
Capital city != largest city, many countries diverge: Brasília < São Paulo, Canberra < Sydney / Melbourne, Abuja < Lagos, Ottawa < Toronto / Montreal, Bern < Zurich / Geneva, La Paz / Sucre < Santa Cruz.
Multiple capitals, South Africa (executive Pretoria, legislative Cape Town, judicial Bloemfontein); Bolivia (constitutional Sucre, executive La Paz); Netherlands (constitutional Amsterdam, government The Hague); Sri Lanka (Colombo commercial, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte legis.).
Time zones, some cities span / sit on the boundary (Istanbul, Anchorage). See Time Zones.
Diaspora population, some “cities” of >5M Indian diaspora exist outside India (London, Toronto, Dubai, Singapore, NYC).