List of the World’s Largest Cities by Population

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World map showing locations of the world's largest cities by population, marked with large orange dots mostly in Asia, plus buttons for viewing a table and footnotes.

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List of the World’s Largest Cities by Population

Q: Which is the world’s largest city?

As of 2026 Guangzhou , China, with an estimated 73,600,000 inhabitants, is the world’s largest urban area by population. Guangzhou’s urban area—defined as a densely populated and continuous urban settlement—includes the adjacent cities of Dongguan, Foshan , Huizhou, Jiangmen , Shenzhen , and Zhongshan . Between 2025 and 2026, Guangzhou’s population grew by an estimated 900,000 inhabitants.

Q: What are the 10 largest metropolitan areas in the world?

According to 2026 population estimates, the 10 largest metropolitan areas in the world are: Guangzhou , China; Shanghai , China; Tokyo , Japan; Delhi , India; Jakarta , Indonesia; Mumbai , India; Manila , Philippines; Mexico City , Mexico; Seoul , South Korea; and Dhaka , Bangladesh. These 10 cities have a combined population of over 353 million, representing over 4.4 percent of the global population.

Q: Which has a larger population: Mexico City or New York City?

The population of Mexico City is larger than that of New York City . With an estimated population of 25,600,000 in 2026, Mexico City is the largest metropolitan area by population in North America . Of the 100 largest urban areas in the world, 16 are located in North America: 3 are in Mexico (Mexico City, Monterrey , and Guadalajara ), 1 is in Canada ( Toronto ), and 12 are in the United States (New York City, Los Angeles , Chicago , Washington, D.C. , Dallas , Boston , San Francisco , Philadelphia , Houston , Miami , Atlanta , and Detroit ).

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Mindy Johnston

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Which is the world’s largest city?

What are the 10 largest metropolitan areas in the world?

Which has a larger population: Mexico City or New York City?

With more than 73 million inhabitants, Guangzhou, China, is far and away the world’s largest city. But, what defines a city? When you are comparing developments with tens of millions of people located in countries across the globe, a unified definition is tricky—one needs to consider a variety of population groupings, including urban populations, consolidated urban areas, agglomerations, and conglomerations. However, all these groupings have one thing in common: They feature a central city surrounded by contiguous settlements of people. The interactive map and table below detail the world’s 25 largest such groupings.

rank	central city	country	urban area type	urban area population (2026 est.)	details
¹Urban population: densely populated and continuous urban settlement.
²Agglomeration: large, densely and contiguously populated area consisting of a city and its suburbs.
³Conglomeration: grouping of two or more agglomerations.
⁴Consolidated urban area: combination of neighboring urban areas or populations.
Source: Thomas Brinkhoff: Major Agglomerations of the World (reference date January 1, 2026).
1	Guangzhou	China	urban population¹	73,600,000	Includes Dongguan, Foshan, Huizhou, Jiangmen, Shenzhen, and Zhongshan.
2	Shanghai	China	urban population¹	42,300,000	Includes Changshu, Changzhou, Suzhou, and Wuxi.
3	Tokyo	Japan	agglomeration²	41,300,000	Includes Chiba, Kawasaki, Maebashi, Sagamihara, Saitama, Utsunomiya, and Yokohama.
4	Delhi	India	conglomeration³	36,900,000	Includes Faridabad, Ghaziabad, and Gurugram.
5	Jakarta	Indonesia	agglomeration²	29,800,000	Includes Bekasi, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Tangerang Selatan.
6	Mumbai	India	conglomeration³	28,100,000	Includes Bhiwandi, Kalyan, Thane, Ulhasnagar, and Vasai-Virar.
7	Manila	Philippines	agglomeration²	27,100,000	Includes Caloocan and Quezon City.
8	Mexico City	Mexico	consolidated urban area⁴	25,600,000	Includes Nezahualcóyotl, Ecatepec, and Naucalpan.
9	Seoul	South Korea	consolidated urban area⁴	25,400,000	Includes Bucheon, Goyang, Incheon, Seongnam, and Suwon.
10	Dhaka	Bangladesh	agglomeration²	23,700,000
11	Cairo	Egypt	agglomeration²	23,200,000	Includes Giza and Shubrā al-Khaymah.
12	São Paulo	Brazil	consolidated urban area⁴	22,700,000	Includes Guarulhos.
13	New York City	U.S.	consolidated urban area⁴	22,600,000	Includes Bridgeport, Newark, and New Haven.
14	Bangkok	Thailand	agglomeration²	22,400,000
15	Lagos	Nigeria		21,900,000	Source notes low reliability.
16	Beijing	China	urban population¹	21,800,000
16	Karachi	Pakistan	consolidated urban area⁴	21,800,000
18	Moscow	Russia	agglomeration²	19,100,000
19	Chengdu	China	urban population¹	18,300,000
20	Kolkata	India	conglomeration³	18,100,000	Includes Howrah.
21	Ōsaka	Japan	agglomeration²	17,700,000	Includes Himeji, Kōbe, Kyōto, and Sakai.
22	Los Angeles	U.S.	consolidated urban area⁴	17,400,000	Includes Anaheim and Riverside.
23	Tehran	Iran	agglomeration²	17,200,000	Includes Karaj.
24	Buenos Aires	Argentina	consolidated urban area⁴	17,000,000	Includes San Justo and La Plata.
25	Kinshasa	Democratic Republic of the Congo	city	16,900,000	Source notes low reliability.

Views of some of the world’s largest cities

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Mindy Johnston

List of the World’s Largest Cities by Population

Which is the world’s largest city?

What are the 10 largest metropolitan areas in the world?

Which has a larger population: Mexico City or New York City?

Views of some of the world’s largest cities

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