Largest cities in the world (2026)

The 300 largest cities on Earth by city-proper population — the administrative city itself, not its wider metropolitan region. Shanghai leads with about 24,874,500 residents; 20 cities pass ten million on this measure.

Definitions matter more than data here. The same city can differ by a factor of five depending on where the line is drawn: Tokyo counts roughly 9.7 million within its 23 special wards but about 37 million across its metropolitan area, and Paris is 2.1 million as a commune against more than 11 million as a metro region. Rankings that put Tokyo first are measuring metro areas; this table measures cities. Both are correct — they answer different questions.

The full dataset covers 1,919 cities above 300 thousand people across 152 countries, together home to 2.18 billion people — 27% of humanity living in just these urban centres. China alone accounts for 358 of them.

The 300 largest cities in the world by city-proper population
#	City	Country	Population	Share of country
1	Shanghai	China	24,874,500	1.8%
2	Beijing	China	18,960,744	1.3%
3	Shenzhen	China	17,494,398	1.2%
4	Guangzhou	China	16,096,724	1.1%
5	Kinshasa	DR Congo	16,000,000	14.2%
6	Istanbul	Turkey	15,701,602	18.3%
7	Lagos	Nigeria	15,388,000	6.5%
8	Ho Chi Minh City	Vietnam	14,002,598	13.8%
9	Chengdu	China	13,568,357	1.0%
10	Lahore	Pakistan	13,004,135	5.1%
11	Mumbai	India	12,691,836	0.9%
12	São Paulo	Brazil	12,400,232	5.8%
13	Mexico City	Mexico	12,294,193	9.3%
14	Karachi	Pakistan	11,624,219	4.6%
15	Tianjin	China	11,090,314	0.8%
16	Delhi	India	11,034,555	0.8%
17	Wuhan	China	10,392,693	0.7%
18	Moscow	Russia	10,381,222	7.2%
19	Dhaka	Bangladesh	10,356,500	5.9%
20	Seoul	South Korea	10,349,312	20.0%
21	Tokyo	Japan	9,733,276	7.9%
22	Dongguan	China	9,644,871	0.7%
23	Cairo	Egypt	9,606,916	8.1%
24	Xi’an	China	9,600,000	0.7%
25	Johannesburg	South Africa	9,418,183	14.5%
26	Nanjing	China	9,314,685	0.7%
27	Hangzhou	China	9,236,032	0.7%
28	Foshan	China	9,042,509	0.6%
29	London	United Kingdom	8,961,989	12.9%
30	New York City	United States	8,804,190	2.6%
31	Jakarta	Indonesia	8,540,121	3.0%
32	Bengaluru	India	8,495,492	0.6%
33	Hanoi	Vietnam	8,053,663	7.9%
34	Taipei	Taiwan	7,871,900	33.9%
35	Lima	Peru	7,737,002	22.4%
36	Bogotá	Colombia	7,674,366	14.4%
37	Chongqing	China	7,457,599	0.5%
38	Hong Kong	Hong Kong	7,396,076	98.6%
39	Baghdad	Iraq	7,216,000	15.3%
40	Wuzhong	China	7,202,654	0.5%
41	Qingdao	China	7,172,451	0.5%
42	Tehran	Iran	7,153,309	7.7%
43	Shenyang	China	7,050,000	0.5%
44	Hyderabad	India	6,993,262	0.5%
45	Rio de Janeiro	Brazil	6,747,815	3.2%
46	Suzhou	China	6,715,559	0.5%
47	Ahmedabad	India	6,357,693	0.4%
48	Abidjan	Ivory Coast	6,321,017	19.3%
49	Pudong	China	5,681,512	0.4%
50	Sydney	Australia	5,638,830	20.4%
51	Singapore	Singapore	5,638,700	92.3%
52	Melbourne	Australia	5,435,590	19.7%
53	Dar es Salaam	Tanzania	5,383,728	7.6%
54	Saint Petersburg	Russia	5,351,935	3.7%
55	Alexandria	Egypt	5,263,542	4.4%
56	Harbin	China	5,242,897	0.4%
57	Bangkok	Thailand	5,104,476	7.1%
58	Hefei	China	5,050,000	0.4%
59	Dalian	China	4,913,879	0.3%
60	Kano	Nigeria	4,910,000	2.1%
61	Santiago	Chile	4,837,295	24.4%
62	Cape Town	South Africa	4,772,846	7.4%
63	Peshawar	Pakistan	4,758,762	1.9%
64	Changchun	China	4,714,996	0.3%
65	Jeddah	Saudi Arabia	4,697,000	12.7%
66	Chennai	India	4,681,087	0.3%
67	Kolkata	India	4,631,392	0.3%
68	Xiamen	China	4,617,251	0.3%
69	Surat	India	4,591,246	0.3%
70	Yangon	Myanmar	4,477,638	8.2%
71	Bao'an	China	4,476,554	0.3%
72	Kabul	Afghanistan	4,434,550	10.1%
73	Nairobi	Kenya	4,397,073	7.6%
74	Wuxi	China	4,396,835	0.3%
75	Giza	Egypt	4,367,343	3.7%
76	Jinan	China	4,335,989	0.3%
77	Taiyuan	China	4,303,673	0.3%
78	Zhengzhou	China	4,253,913	0.3%
79	Bamako	Mali	4,227,569	16.8%
80	Riyadh	Saudi Arabia	4,205,961	11.4%
81	New Taipei City	Taiwan	4,004,367	17.2%
82	Shijiazhuang	China	3,938,513	0.3%
83	Chattogram	Bangladesh	3,920,222	2.2%
84	Addis Ababa	Ethiopia	3,860,000	2.8%
85	Kunming	China	3,855,346	0.3%
86	Zhongshan	China	3,841,873	0.3%
87	Nanning	China	3,839,800	0.3%
88	Shantou	China	3,838,900	0.3%
89	Los Angeles	United States	3,820,914	1.1%
90	Faisalabad	Pakistan	3,800,193	1.5%
91	Dubai	United Arab Emirates	3,790,000	32.9%
92	Yokohama	Japan	3,777,491	3.1%
93	Fuzhou	China	3,740,000	0.3%
94	Ningbo	China	3,731,203	0.3%
95	Casablanca	Morocco	3,665,954	9.5%
96	Ibadan	Nigeria	3,649,000	1.5%
97	Puyang	China	3,590,000	0.3%
98	Ankara	Turkey	3,517,182	4.1%
99	Shiyan	China	3,460,000	0.2%
100	Berlin	Germany	3,426,354	4.1%
101	Tangshan	China	3,372,102	0.2%
102	Rawalpindi	Pakistan	3,357,612	1.3%
103	Lüliang	China	3,346,500	0.2%
104	Durban	South Africa	3,338,026	5.2%
105	Changzhou	China	3,290,918	0.2%
106	Busan	South Korea	3,285,147	6.4%
107	Madrid	Spain	3,255,944	6.6%
108	Pyongyang	North Korea	3,222,000	12.1%
109	Zibo	China	3,129,228	0.2%
110	Pune	India	3,124,458	0.2%
111	Bursa	Turkey	3,101,833	3.6%
112	Changsha	China	3,093,980	0.2%
113	Quezon City	Philippines	3,084,270	2.6%
114	Jaipur	India	3,046,163	0.2%
115	Guiyang	China	3,037,159	0.2%
116	Ürümqi	China	3,029,372	0.2%
117	Surabaya	Indonesia	3,018,022	1.1%
118	Incheon	South Korea	3,015,482	5.8%
119	Lanzhou	China	3,000,000	0.2%
120	Caracas	Venezuela	3,000,000	10.5%
121	Kyiv	Ukraine	2,952,301	7.6%
122	İzmir	Turkey	2,938,292	3.4%
123	Huizhou	China	2,900,113	0.2%
124	Buenos Aires	Argentina	2,891,082	6.3%
125	Haikou	China	2,873,358	0.2%
126	Taichung	Taiwan	2,850,285	12.3%
127	Kanpur	India	2,823,249	0.2%
128	Toronto	Canada	2,794,356	6.7%
129	Quito	Ecuador	2,781,641	15.2%
130	Brisbane	Australia	2,780,063	10.1%
131	Luanda	Angola	2,776,168	7.1%
132	Osaka	Japan	2,753,862	2.2%
133	Linyi	China	2,743,843	0.2%
134	Baoding	China	2,739,887	0.2%
135	Kaohsiung	Taiwan	2,737,660	11.8%
136	Brooklyn	United States	2,736,074	0.8%
137	Guayaquil	Ecuador	2,723,665	14.9%
138	Belo Horizonte	Brazil	2,721,564	1.3%
139	Minhang	China	2,716,600	0.2%
140	Bazhong	China	2,712,894	0.2%
141	Salvador	Brazil	2,711,840	1.3%
142	Abuja	Nigeria	2,690,000	1.1%
143	Gazipur	Bangladesh	2,674,697	1.5%
144	Chicago	United States	2,664,452	0.8%
145	Wenzhou	China	2,650,000	0.2%
146	Bekasi	Indonesia	2,648,272	0.9%
147	Dakar	Senegal	2,646,503	14.0%
148	Haiphong	Vietnam	2,625,200	2.6%
149	Yunfu	China	2,612,800	0.2%
150	Mogadishu	Somalia	2,587,183	13.2%
151	Kumasi	Ghana	2,544,530	7.3%
152	Bandung	Indonesia	2,528,163	0.9%
153	Gujranwala	Pakistan	2,511,118	1.0%
154	Huai'an	China	2,494,013	0.2%
155	Medan	Indonesia	2,486,283	0.9%
156	Lucknow	India	2,472,011	0.2%
157	Ouagadougou	Burkina Faso	2,415,266	10.0%
158	Nagpur	India	2,405,665	0.2%
159	Fortaleza	Brazil	2,400,000	1.1%
160	Cali	Colombia	2,392,877	4.5%
161	Perth	Australia	2,384,371	8.6%
162	Daegu	South Korea	2,365,523	4.6%
163	Algiers	Algeria	2,364,230	5.0%
164	Nanchang	China	2,357,839	0.2%
165	Baku	Azerbaijan	2,351,300	22.9%
166	Hohhot	China	2,350,000	0.2%
167	Nagoya	Japan	2,332,176	1.9%
168	Rome	Italy	2,318,895	3.9%
169	Queens	United States	2,316,841	0.7%
170	Houston	United States	2,314,157	0.7%
171	Mashhad	Iran	2,307,177	2.5%
172	Shaoxing	China	2,300,000	0.2%
173	Nantong	China	2,273,326	0.2%
174	Baoshan	China	2,265,900	0.2%
175	Yantai	China	2,227,733	0.2%
176	Gaziantep	Turkey	2,222,415	2.6%
177	Lubumbashi	DR Congo	2,221,925	2.0%
178	Manaus	Brazil	2,219,580	1.0%
179	Lusaka	Zambia	2,212,301	10.1%
180	Brasília	Brazil	2,207,718	1.0%
181	Zhuhai	China	2,207,090	0.2%
182	Santo Domingo	Dominican Republic	2,201,941	19.1%
183	Lomé	Togo	2,188,376	25.5%
184	Multan	Pakistan	2,169,915	0.9%
185	Havana	Cuba	2,163,824	19.8%
186	Depok	Indonesia	2,163,635	0.8%
187	Baotou	China	2,150,000	0.2%
188	Paris	France	2,138,551	3.1%
189	Coimbatore	India	2,136,916	0.1%
190	Qingyang	China	2,125,400	0.2%
191	Port Harcourt	Nigeria	2,120,000	0.9%
192	Pretoria	South Africa	2,112,693	3.3%
193	Córdoba	Argentina	2,106,734	4.6%
194	Mbuji-Mayi	DR Congo	2,101,332	1.9%
195	Aleppo	Syria	2,098,210	8.2%
196	Kunshan	China	2,092,496	0.1%
197	Weifang	China	2,044,028	0.1%
198	Zunyi	China	2,037,775	0.1%
199	La Paz	Bolivia	2,004,652	15.9%
200	Lianyungang	China	2,001,009	0.1%
201	Medellín	Colombia	1,999,979	3.7%
202	Indore	India	1,994,397	0.1%
203	Brazzaville	Republic of the Congo	1,982,000	30.6%
204	Tashkent	Uzbekistan	1,978,028	5.3%
205	Ganzhou	China	1,977,253	0.1%
206	Almaty	Kazakhstan	1,977,011	9.5%
207	Khartoum	Sudan	1,974,647	3.8%
208	Hamburg	Germany	1,973,896	2.4%
209	Sapporo	Japan	1,973,832	1.6%
210	Songjiang	China	1,973,500	0.1%
211	Accra	Ghana	1,963,264	5.6%
212	Curitiba	Brazil	1,948,626	0.9%
213	Ordos	China	1,940,653	0.1%
214	Sanaa	Yemen	1,937,451	4.6%
215	Conakry	Guinea	1,928,389	12.8%
216	Tangerang	Indonesia	1,927,815	0.7%
217	Tijuana	Mexico	1,922,523	1.5%
218	Hyderabad	Pakistan	1,921,275	0.8%
219	Beirut	Lebanon	1,916,100	32.8%
220	Jieyang	China	1,899,394	0.1%
221	Jilin	China	1,895,865	0.1%
222	Jiading	China	1,886,100	0.1%
223	Bucharest	Romania	1,877,155	9.9%
224	Camayenne	Guinea	1,871,242	12.4%
225	Kakamega	Kenya	1,867,579	3.2%
226	Shangqiu	China	1,859,723	0.1%
227	Nanchong	China	1,858,875	0.1%
228	Tainan	Taiwan	1,856,642	8.0%
229	Datong	China	1,850,000	0.1%
230	Kaduna	Nigeria	1,850,000	0.8%
231	Omdurman	Sudan	1,849,659	3.6%
232	Davao	Philippines	1,848,947	1.6%
233	Thāne	India	1,841,488	0.1%
234	Iztapalapa	Mexico	1,835,486	1.4%
235	Diyarbakır	Turkey	1,833,684	2.1%
236	Santa Cruz de la Sierra	Bolivia	1,831,434	14.6%
237	Vadodara	India	1,822,221	0.1%
238	Adana	Turkey	1,816,750	2.1%
239	Nanyang	China	1,811,812	0.1%
240	Abu Dhabi	United Arab Emirates	1,807,000	15.7%
241	Palembang	Indonesia	1,801,367	0.6%
242	Sharjah	United Arab Emirates	1,800,000	15.6%
243	Bhopal	India	1,798,218	0.1%
244	Jiangmen	China	1,795,459	0.1%
245	Benin City	Nigeria	1,782,000	0.8%
246	Jiangyin	China	1,779,515	0.1%
247	Fuyang	China	1,768,947	0.1%
248	Montréal	Canada	1,762,949	4.2%
249	Bayan Nur	China	1,760,000	0.1%
250	Maracaibo	Venezuela	1,752,602	6.1%
251	Chaozhou	China	1,750,945	0.1%
252	Minsk	Belarus	1,742,124	19.2%
253	Budapest	Hungary	1,741,041	18.3%
254	Qingyuan	China	1,738,424	0.1%
255	Tai’an	China	1,735,425	0.1%
256	Rasapūdipalem	India	1,728,128	0.1%
257	Pimpri-Chinchwad	India	1,727,692	0.1%
258	Caloocan	Philippines	1,712,945	1.5%
259	Warsaw	Poland	1,702,139	4.7%
260	Soweto	South Africa	1,695,047	2.6%
261	Semarang	Indonesia	1,694,740	0.6%
262	Puebla	Mexico	1,692,181	1.3%
263	Vienna	Austria	1,691,468	18.4%
264	Barcelona	Spain	1,686,208	3.4%
265	Patna	India	1,684,297	0.1%
266	Mosul	Iraq	1,683,000	3.6%
267	Kallakurichi	India	1,682,687	0.1%
268	Kampala	Uganda	1,680,600	3.3%
269	Xining	China	1,677,177	0.1%
270	Changshu	China	1,677,050	0.1%
271	Huainan	China	1,666,826	0.1%
272	Rabat	Morocco	1,655,753	4.3%
273	Recife	Brazil	1,653,461	0.8%
274	Phoenix	United States	1,650,070	0.5%
275	Suzhou	China	1,647,642	0.1%
276	Ecatepec de Morelos	Mexico	1,645,352	1.2%
277	Lu’an	China	1,644,344	0.1%
278	Valencia	Venezuela	1,619,470	5.7%
279	Ludhiana	India	1,618,879	0.1%
280	Yancheng	China	1,615,717	0.1%
281	Novosibirsk	Russia	1,612,833	1.1%
282	Erbil	Iraq	1,612,700	3.4%
283	Fukuoka	Japan	1,612,392	1.3%
284	Taizhou	China	1,607,108	0.1%
285	Daqing	China	1,604,027	0.1%
286	Manila	Philippines	1,600,000	1.4%
287	Wuhu	China	1,598,165	0.1%
288	Santiago de Querétaro	Mexico	1,594,212	1.2%
289	Dazhou	China	1,589,435	0.1%
290	Yangzhou	China	1,584,237	0.1%
291	León de los Aldama	Mexico	1,579,803	1.2%
292	Makkah	Saudi Arabia	1,578,722	4.3%
293	Philadelphia	United States	1,573,916	0.5%
294	Phnom Penh	Cambodia	1,573,544	8.8%
295	Guilin	China	1,572,300	0.1%
296	Damascus	Syria	1,569,394	6.1%
297	Quetta	Pakistan	1,565,546	0.6%
298	Zhaoqing	China	1,553,109	0.1%
299	Onitsha	Nigeria	1,553,000	0.7%
300	Mianyang	China	1,550,000	0.1%

Showing the top 300 of 1,919 cities above 300 thousand people. City populations from GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). City proper (administrative city) population compiled by GeoNames from national censuses and official estimates; metropolitan-area populations are larger and defined differently. National populations from World Bank Open Data. Click a column header to sort.

Largest cities FAQ

What is the largest city in the world?

By city-proper population, Shanghai in China is the largest, with about 24,874,500 residents. Rankings differ by definition: by metropolitan area, Tokyo's roughly 37 million usually takes first place.

How many cities have more than 10 million people?

20 cities in this dataset have a city-proper population of 10 million or more. Counting metropolitan areas instead, the number of such "megacities" is higher — around 30 to 40 depending on the boundary definition used.

Why do city population figures differ between sources?

Because "city" means different things. City proper counts only the administrative city; the urban agglomeration counts the continuous built-up area; the metropolitan area adds commuter regions. Paris is about 2.1 million as a city proper but over 11 million as a metro area. This table uses city-proper figures consistently.

Which country has the most large cities?

China, with 358 cities above 300 thousand people in this dataset, followed by India with 163. Across all 152 countries represented, 1919 cities pass that threshold.

Cite or link to this page

Free to quote and republish with attribution. Copy a ready-made citation:

Text citation

PopulationTracker. "Largest Cities in the World 2026." city-proper populations, GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Accessed 2026. https://populationtracker.io/largest-cities-in-the-world

HTML link

<a href="https://populationtracker.io/largest-cities-in-the-world">Largest Cities in the World 2026</a> — PopulationTracker (city-proper populations, GeoNames (CC BY 4.0))