Largest Cities in the World 2026: Top 300 by Population

Top 300 cities by population

City proper · GeoNames · latest official figures

#	City	Country	Population
1	Shanghai	China	24,874,500
2	Chongqing	China	22,000,000
3	Chengdu	China	20,937,757
4	BeijingCapital	China	18,960,744
5	Guangzhou	China	18,676,605
6	Shenzhen	China	17,494,398
7	KinshasaCapital	DR Congo	16,000,000
8	Istanbul	Turkey	15,701,602
9	Lagos	Nigeria	15,388,000
10	Ho Chi Minh City	Vietnam	14,002,598
11	Tianjin	China	13,866,009
12	Wuhan	China	13,739,000
13	Lahore	Pakistan	13,004,135
14	Xi’an	China	12,952,907
15	Mumbai	India	12,691,836
16	São Paulo	Brazil	12,400,232
17	Mexico CityCapital	Mexico	12,294,193
18	Hangzhou	China	11,936,010
19	Karachi	Pakistan	11,624,219
20	Delhi	India	11,034,555
21	MoscowCapital	Russia	10,381,222
22	DhakaCapital	Bangladesh	10,356,500
23	SeoulCapital	South Korea	10,349,312
24	Harbin	China	10,009,854
25	TokyoCapital	Japan	9,733,276
26	Dongguan	China	9,644,871
27	CairoCapital	Egypt	9,606,916
28	Hefei	China	9,465,881
29	Johannesburg	South Africa	9,418,183
30	Weifang	China	9,386,705
31	Nanjing	China	9,314,685
32	Shenyang	China	9,070,093
33	Foshan	China	9,042,509
34	LondonCapital	United Kingdom	8,961,989
35	New York City	United States	8,804,190
36	JakartaCapital	Indonesia	8,540,121
37	Bengaluru	India	8,495,492
38	Jinan	China	8,352,574
39	HanoiCapital	Vietnam	8,053,663
40	TaipeiCapital	Taiwan	7,871,900
41	LimaCapital	Peru	7,737,002
42	BogotáCapital	Colombia	7,674,366
43	Dalian	China	7,450,785
44	Hong KongCapital	Hong Kong	7,396,076
45	BaghdadCapital	Iraq	7,216,000
46	Wuzhong	China	7,202,654
47	Qingdao	China	7,172,451
48	TehranCapital	Iran	7,153,309
49	Yantai	China	7,102,100
50	Hyderabad	India	6,993,262
51	Rio de Janeiro	Brazil	6,747,815
52	Suzhou	China	6,715,559
53	Zhengzhou	China	6,650,532
54	Ahmedabad	India	6,357,693
55	Abidjan	Ivory Coast	6,321,017
56	Nanning	China	5,977,185
57	Kunming	China	5,950,578
58	Shijiazhuang	China	5,758,403
59	Changchun	China	5,691,024
60	Sydney	Australia	5,638,830
61	SingaporeCapital	Singapore	5,638,700
62	Melbourne	Australia	5,435,590
63	Dar es Salaam	Tanzania	5,383,728
64	Saint Petersburg	Russia	5,351,935
65	Taiyuan	China	5,305,061
66	Alexandria	Egypt	5,263,542
67	BangkokCapital	Thailand	5,104,476
68	Kano	Nigeria	4,910,000
69	SantiagoCapital	Chile	4,837,295
70	Cape Town	South Africa	4,772,846
71	Peshawar	Pakistan	4,758,762
72	Zibo	China	4,704,138
73	Jeddah	Saudi Arabia	4,697,000
74	Chennai	India	4,681,087
75	Kolkata	India	4,631,392
76	Xiamen	China	4,617,251
77	Surat	India	4,591,246
78	Yangzhou	China	4,559,797
79	Huai'an	China	4,556,230
80	Guiyang	China	4,506,134
81	Yangon	Myanmar	4,477,638
82	Bao'an	China	4,476,554
83	KabulCapital	Afghanistan	4,434,550
84	NairobiCapital	Kenya	4,397,073
85	Wuxi	China	4,396,835
86	Giza	Egypt	4,367,343
87	Lanzhou	China	4,359,446
88	BamakoCapital	Mali	4,227,569
89	RiyadhCapital	Saudi Arabia	4,205,961
90	Fuzhou	China	4,094,491
91	Ürümqi	China	4,054,000
92	New Taipei City	Taiwan	4,004,367
93	Chattogram	Bangladesh	3,920,222
94	Addis AbabaCapital	Ethiopia	3,860,000
95	Zaozhuang	China	3,855,601
96	Zhongshan	China	3,841,873
97	Shantou	China	3,838,900
98	Los Angeles	United States	3,820,914
99	Faisalabad	Pakistan	3,800,193
100	Dubai	United Arab Emirates	3,790,000
101	Yokohama	Japan	3,777,491
102	Ningbo	China	3,731,203
103	Casablanca	Morocco	3,665,954
104	Ibadan	Nigeria	3,649,000
105	Puyang	China	3,590,000
106	AnkaraCapital	Turkey	3,517,182
107	Shiyan	China	3,460,000
108	Hohhot	China	3,446,100
109	BerlinCapital	Germany	3,426,354
110	Tangshan	China	3,372,102
111	Rawalpindi	Pakistan	3,357,612
112	Lüliang	China	3,346,500
113	Durban	South Africa	3,338,026
114	Anshan	China	3,325,372
115	Changzhou	China	3,290,918
116	Busan	South Korea	3,285,147
117	MadridCapital	Spain	3,255,944
118	PyongyangCapital	North Korea	3,222,000
119	Pune	India	3,124,458
120	Datong	China	3,105,591
121	Bursa	Turkey	3,101,833
122	Changsha	China	3,093,980
123	Quezon City	Philippines	3,084,270
124	Jaipur	India	3,046,163
125	Huainan	China	3,033,528
126	Surabaya	Indonesia	3,018,022
127	Incheon	South Korea	3,015,482
128	Haikou	China	3,001,600
129	CaracasCapital	Venezuela	3,000,000
130	KyivCapital	Ukraine	2,952,301
131	İzmir	Turkey	2,938,292
132	Huizhou	China	2,900,113
133	Buenos AiresCapital	Argentina	2,891,082
134	Yinchuan	China	2,859,074
135	Taichung	Taiwan	2,850,285
136	Kanpur	India	2,823,249
137	Toronto	Canada	2,794,356
138	QuitoCapital	Ecuador	2,781,641
139	Brisbane	Australia	2,780,063
140	LuandaCapital	Angola	2,776,168
141	Baotou	China	2,761,700
142	Osaka	Japan	2,753,862
143	Linyi	China	2,743,843
144	Baoding	China	2,739,887
145	Kaohsiung	Taiwan	2,737,660
146	Guayaquil	Ecuador	2,723,665
147	Belo Horizonte	Brazil	2,721,564
148	Bazhong	China	2,712,894
149	Salvador	Brazil	2,711,840
150	AbujaCapital	Nigeria	2,690,000
151	Gazipur	Bangladesh	2,674,697
152	Chicago	United States	2,664,452
153	Wenzhou	China	2,650,000
154	Bekasi	Indonesia	2,648,272
155	DakarCapital	Senegal	2,646,503
156	Haiphong	Vietnam	2,625,200
157	Yunfu	China	2,612,800
158	MogadishuCapital	Somalia	2,587,183
159	Kumasi	Ghana	2,544,530
160	Bandung	Indonesia	2,528,163
161	Gujranwala	Pakistan	2,511,118
162	Medan	Indonesia	2,486,283
163	Lucknow	India	2,472,011
164	Xining	China	2,467,965
165	OuagadougouCapital	Burkina Faso	2,415,266
166	Nagpur	India	2,405,665
167	Fortaleza	Brazil	2,400,000
168	Cali	Colombia	2,392,877
169	Perth	Australia	2,384,371
170	Daegu	South Korea	2,365,523
171	AlgiersCapital	Algeria	2,364,230
172	Nanchang	China	2,357,839
173	BakuCapital	Azerbaijan	2,351,300
174	Nagoya	Japan	2,332,176
175	RomeCapital	Italy	2,318,895
176	Houston	United States	2,314,157
177	Mashhad	Iran	2,307,177
178	Shaoxing	China	2,300,000
179	Nantong	China	2,273,326
180	Gaziantep	Turkey	2,222,415
181	Lubumbashi	DR Congo	2,221,925
182	Manaus	Brazil	2,219,580
183	LusakaCapital	Zambia	2,212,301
184	BrasíliaCapital	Brazil	2,207,718
185	Zhuhai	China	2,207,090
186	Santo DomingoCapital	Dominican Republic	2,201,941
187	LoméCapital	Togo	2,188,376
188	Multan	Pakistan	2,169,915
189	HavanaCapital	Cuba	2,163,824
190	Depok	Indonesia	2,163,635
191	Ordos	China	2,153,638
192	ParisCapital	France	2,138,551
193	Coimbatore	India	2,136,916
194	Qingyang	China	2,125,400
195	Port Harcourt	Nigeria	2,120,000
196	PretoriaCapital	South Africa	2,112,693
197	Córdoba	Argentina	2,106,734
198	Mbuji-Mayi	DR Congo	2,101,332
199	Aleppo	Syria	2,098,210
200	Kunshan	China	2,092,496
201	Zunyi	China	2,037,775
202	La Paz	Bolivia	2,004,652
203	Lianyungang	China	2,001,009
204	Medellín	Colombia	1,999,979
205	Puning	China	1,998,619
206	Indore	India	1,994,397
207	BrazzavilleCapital	Republic of the Congo	1,982,000
208	TashkentCapital	Uzbekistan	1,978,028
209	Ganzhou	China	1,977,253
210	Almaty	Kazakhstan	1,977,011
211	KhartoumCapital	Sudan	1,974,647
212	Hamburg	Germany	1,973,896
213	Sapporo	Japan	1,973,832
214	AccraCapital	Ghana	1,963,264
215	Curitiba	Brazil	1,948,626
216	SanaaCapital	Yemen	1,937,451
217	ConakryCapital	Guinea	1,928,389
218	Tangerang	Indonesia	1,927,815
219	Tijuana	Mexico	1,922,523
220	Hyderabad	Pakistan	1,921,275
221	BeirutCapital	Lebanon	1,916,100
222	Jieyang	China	1,899,394
223	Jilin	China	1,895,865
224	BucharestCapital	Romania	1,877,155
225	Kakamega	Kenya	1,867,579
226	Shangqiu	China	1,859,723
227	Nanchong	China	1,858,875
228	Tainan	Taiwan	1,856,642
229	Kaduna	Nigeria	1,850,000
230	Davao	Philippines	1,848,947
231	Thāne	India	1,841,488
232	Diyarbakır	Turkey	1,833,684
233	Santa Cruz de la Sierra	Bolivia	1,831,434
234	Vadodara	India	1,822,221
235	Adana	Turkey	1,816,750
236	Nanyang	China	1,811,812
237	Abu DhabiCapital	United Arab Emirates	1,807,000
238	Palembang	Indonesia	1,801,367
239	Sharjah	United Arab Emirates	1,800,000
240	Bhopal	India	1,798,218
241	Jiangmen	China	1,795,459
242	Benin City	Nigeria	1,782,000
243	Jiangyin	China	1,779,515
244	Fuyang	China	1,768,947
245	Montréal	Canada	1,762,949
246	Bayan Nur	China	1,760,000
247	Chengtangcun	China	1,756,300
248	Maracaibo	Venezuela	1,752,602
249	Chaozhou	China	1,750,945
250	MinskCapital	Belarus	1,742,124
251	BudapestCapital	Hungary	1,741,041
252	Qingyuan	China	1,738,424
253	Tai’an	China	1,735,425
254	Rasapūdipalem	India	1,728,128
255	Pimpri-Chinchwad	India	1,727,692
256	Caloocan	Philippines	1,712,945
257	WarsawCapital	Poland	1,702,139
258	Soweto	South Africa	1,695,047
259	Semarang	Indonesia	1,694,740
260	Puebla	Mexico	1,692,181
261	ViennaCapital	Austria	1,691,468
262	Barcelona	Spain	1,686,208
263	Patna	India	1,684,297
264	Mosul	Iraq	1,683,000
265	Kallakurichi	India	1,682,687
266	KampalaCapital	Uganda	1,680,600
267	Changshu	China	1,677,050
268	RabatCapital	Morocco	1,655,753
269	Recife	Brazil	1,653,461
270	Phoenix	United States	1,650,070
271	Suzhou	China	1,647,642
272	Ecatepec de Morelos	Mexico	1,645,352
273	Lu’an	China	1,644,344
274	Valencia	Venezuela	1,619,470
275	Ludhiana	India	1,618,879
276	Yancheng	China	1,615,717
277	Novosibirsk	Russia	1,612,833
278	Erbil	Iraq	1,612,700
279	Fukuoka	Japan	1,612,392
280	Taizhou	China	1,607,108
281	Daqing	China	1,604,027
282	Kisangani	DR Congo	1,602,144
283	ManilaCapital	Philippines	1,600,000
284	Wuhu	China	1,598,165
285	Santiago de Querétaro	Mexico	1,594,212
286	Dazhou	China	1,589,435
287	León de los Aldama	Mexico	1,579,803
288	Makkah	Saudi Arabia	1,578,722
289	Philadelphia	United States	1,573,916
290	Phnom PenhCapital	Cambodia	1,573,544
291	Guilin	China	1,572,300
292	DamascusCapital	Syria	1,569,394
293	Quetta	Pakistan	1,565,546
294	Zhaoqing	China	1,553,109
295	Onitsha	Nigeria	1,553,000
296	Mianyang	China	1,550,000
297	Auckland	New Zealand	1,547,200
298	Isfahan	Iran	1,547,164
299	Wanzhou	China	1,545,900
300	AstanaCapital	Kazakhstan	1,544,142

Largest cities by continent

Top 10 each

Asia

Shanghai (China) 24.87M
Chongqing (China) 22M
Chengdu (China) 20.94M
Beijing (China) 18.96M
Guangzhou (China) 18.68M
Shenzhen (China) 17.49M
Istanbul (Turkey) 15.7M
Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam) 14M
Tianjin (China) 13.87M
Wuhan (China) 13.74M

Africa

Kinshasa (DR Congo) 16M
Lagos (Nigeria) 15.39M
Cairo (Egypt) 9.61M
Johannesburg (South Africa) 9.42M
Abidjan (Ivory Coast) 6.32M
Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) 5.38M
Alexandria (Egypt) 5.26M
Kano (Nigeria) 4.91M
Cape Town (South Africa) 4.77M
Nairobi (Kenya) 4.4M

Europe

Moscow (Russia) 10.38M
London (United Kingdom) 8.96M
Saint Petersburg (Russia) 5.35M
Berlin (Germany) 3.43M
Madrid (Spain) 3.26M
Kyiv (Ukraine) 2.95M
Rome (Italy) 2.32M
Paris (France) 2.14M
Hamburg (Germany) 1.97M
Bucharest (Romania) 1.88M

North America

Mexico City (Mexico) 12.29M
New York City (United States) 8.8M
Los Angeles (United States) 3.82M
Toronto (Canada) 2.79M
Chicago (United States) 2.66M
Houston (United States) 2.31M
Santo Domingo (Dominican Republic) 2.2M
Havana (Cuba) 2.16M
Tijuana (Mexico) 1.92M
Montréal (Canada) 1.76M

South America

São Paulo (Brazil) 12.4M
Lima (Peru) 7.74M
Bogotá (Colombia) 7.67M
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) 6.75M
Santiago (Chile) 4.84M
Caracas (Venezuela) 3M
Buenos Aires (Argentina) 2.89M
Quito (Ecuador) 2.78M
Guayaquil (Ecuador) 2.72M
Belo Horizonte (Brazil) 2.72M

Oceania

Sydney (Australia) 5.64M
Melbourne (Australia) 5.44M
Brisbane (Australia) 2.78M
Perth (Australia) 2.38M
Auckland (New Zealand) 1.55M
Adelaide (Australia) 1.47M
Gold Coast (Australia) 640.8K
Newcastle (Australia) 508.4K
Christchurch (New Zealand) 419.2K
Sunshine Coast (Australia) 398.8K

Cities by country

235 countries · largest cities of each

Republic of the Congo

Central African Republic

Bosnia and Herzegovina

São Tomé and Príncipe

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Turks and Caicos Islands

Saint Kitts and Nevis

American Samoa

Sint Maarten

Northern Mariana Islands

Gibraltar

Liechtenstein

British Virgin Islands

Monaco

Marshall Islands

San Marino

Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba

Saint Pierre and Miquelon

What the numbers say

Updated October 2026

The world's largest city proper is Shanghai in China with 24,874,500 people, ahead of Chongqing (22,000,000) and Chengdu (20,937,757). The countries with the most million-plus cities are China (173), India (53), Indonesia (16), Brazil (14), Russia (14).

Rankings of cities depend heavily on definitions. City proper counts the people inside the administrative boundary; Chinese municipalities such as Chongqing and Shanghai cover huge areas, which lifts them to the top. Urban agglomeration or metro area figures (Tokyo ≈ 37 million, Delhi ≈ 33 million) count the continuous built-up area regardless of borders and give a different order. Glostats shows city-proper figures consistently for every country, from GeoNames' compilation of the latest censuses and official estimates.

Figures are the latest available per country and therefore refer to different years (most between 2015 and 2025). Fast-growing African and Asian cities may already be larger than listed.

Frequently asked questions

What is the largest city in the world?

By city-proper population, Shanghai (24,874,500). By metropolitan area, Tokyo is usually counted as the largest urban agglomeration, followed by Delhi, Shanghai and Dhaka.

How many megacities are there?

24 cities proper have more than 10 million inhabitants in this ranking; counted by metropolitan area the United Nations lists around 35 megacities.

How many cities have over one million people?

537 cities proper, in 105 countries. China alone has 173.

Where do the figures come from?

From GeoNames (CC BY 4.0), which compiles the latest census or official estimate for every populated place; Glostats keeps every city of 100,000 or more plus the 30 largest places of each country, and links every city of 300,000 or more to its own page.

City populations are GeoNames figures (CC BY 4.0): the latest official census or estimate for the city proper — the municipality, not the wider metropolitan area — so they can differ from "metro area" numbers you see elsewhere. Country populations are live Glostats estimates from the UN World Population Prospects. Generated 2026-10-20. More about our data.