Foshan Population 2026 — China

Quick facts

GeoNames · UN WPP

Population

9,042,509

city proper · GeoNames

Rank in China

#17 of 644

largest cities tracked

World rank

#33

of 5,279 cities ≥ 100k

Region

Guangdong

first-level division

Status

District seat

Elevation

5 m

above sea level

Time zone

UTC+8

Asia/Shanghai

Coordinates

23.03°N 113.13°E

Share of country

0.6%

of 1.41B people

Foshan overview

Updated October 2026

Foshan (orange) and the other large cities of China

Foshan lies in Guangdong in China at 23.03°N, 113.13°E, about 5 m above sea level. The local time zone is Asia/Shanghai (UTC+8); GeoNames classifies it as a district seat.

It is smaller than Shenyang (9,070,093) and larger than Jinan (8,352,574). The largest city in China is Shanghai with 24,874,500 people; the capital, Beijing, has 18,960,744.

The national capital, Beijing, is about 1,902 km away; the nearest large city is Guangzhou, 16 km from Foshan.

China as a whole has a live population of 1,411,968,572 (-0.2% a year) and ranks #2 of 238 countries — see the China population page for the full statistics and the China atlas for provinces, terrain and society maps.

Cities near Foshan

Within 200 km · straight-line distance

City	Distance	Population
Guangzhou Guangdong	16 km	18,676,605
Daliang Guangdong	24 km	210,411
Shiqiao Guangdong	25 km	135,308
Sanshui Guangdong	28 km	153,714
Dasha Guangdong	33 km	116,307
Shaping Guangdong	34 km	107,589
Nantou Guangdong	38 km	130,370
Jiangmen Guangdong	50 km	1,795,459

Largest cities in China

Top 10 · all 644 →

#	City	Region	Population
1	Shanghai	Shanghai	24,874,500
2	Chongqing	Chongqing	22,000,000
3	Chengdu	Sichuan	20,937,757
4	BeijingCapital	Beijing	18,960,744
5	Guangzhou	Guangdong	18,676,605
6	Shenzhen	Guangdong	17,494,398
7	Tianjin	Tianjin	13,866,009
8	Wuhan	Hubei	13,739,000
9	Xi’an	Shaanxi	12,952,907
10	Hangzhou	Zhejiang	11,936,010

Frequently asked questions

What is the population of Foshan?

Foshan has about 9,042,509 inhabitants according to the latest official census or estimate compiled by GeoNames. This is the city proper; the metropolitan area is larger.

Is Foshan the capital of China?

No. The capital of China is Beijing (18,960,744 people), about 1,902 km away. Foshan is the 17th largest city of the country and a district seat.

How big is Foshan compared with the rest of China?

Its 9,042,509 residents are 0.6% of the 1,411,968,572 people living in China today. Shanghai is larger with 24,874,500 people.

Where is Foshan?

In Guangdong, China, at latitude 23.03 and longitude 113.13, 5 m above sea level. Nearby large cities include Guangzhou (16 km), Daliang (24 km), Shiqiao (25 km).

Explore more

📊 China population & statistics 🗺️ China atlas 🏙️ All cities in China 🌍 Largest cities in the world

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APA

Glostats. (2026). Foshan Population 2026 — China. Retrieved October 20, 2026, from https://glostats.com/cities/china/foshan/

HTML<a href="https://glostats.com/cities/china/foshan/">Foshan Population 2026 — China</a> — Glostats

Figures on this page may be quoted, charted or republished as long as the page is credited with a link. Terms · Download the data as CSV · Embed a live counter.

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. Distances are great-circle distances between city centres. Page generated 2026-10-20. More about our data.