Some 640 million people live
in the world’s 300 largest cities
By Tann vom Hove, Editor

THE LARGEST CITIES IN THE WORLD AND THEIR MAYORS 2010
Introduction
Cities by size: 1 to 150 | 151 to 300 | 301 to 450 | 451 to 550 |
Cities in alphabetical order: A to D | E to L | M to R | S to Z |
Cities by countries: A to D | E to L | M to R | S to Z |

LARGEST CITIES
Cities ranked 1 to 100 | Cities ranked 101 to 200 | Cities ranked 201 to 300
| Ranking of urban areas | Urban slums | Capital cities | Europe's 500 largest cities |

LARGEST CITIES RANKED BY LAND AREA, POPULATION AND DENSITY
Introduction & methodology
Land area: Cities ranked 1 to 125 | Cities ranked 126 to 250 |
Population: Cities ranked 1 to 125 | Cities ranked 126 to 250 |
Population density: Cities ranked 1 to 125 | Cities ranked 126 to 250 |

LARGEST URBAN AREAS:
Introduction
In 2006: Urban areas ranked 1 to 100 | Urban areas ranked 101 to 200 | Urban areas ranked 201 to 300 | Urban areas ranked 301 to 400 |
In 2020: Urban areas ranked 1 to 100 | Urban areas ranked 101 to 200 | Urban areas ranked 201 to 300 | Urban areas ranked 301 to 400 |

FASTEST GROWING URBAN AREAS:
Urban areas ranked 1 to 100 | Urban areas ranked 101 to 200 | Urban areas ranked 201 to 300 |

ALPHABETICAL INDEX OF URBAN AREAS:
Urban areas A to D | Urban areas E to L | Urban areas M to R | Urban areas S to Z |

RICHEST CITIES BY GDP
Introduction | 150 richest cities in 2005 | 150 richest cities in 2020 | Europe's richest cities |

RICHEST CITIES BY PERSONAL EARNINGS
70 richest cities

Two of the world’s cities, Seoul and Sao Paulo, have offiicial populations of more than ten million people. But probably there are two or three more cities that can claim to have reached the 10 million mark in 2003. Bombay, Jakarta and Karachi, all had populations well in excess of nine million at the end of the 20th century. (Please note: Our city rankings provide population figures for cities with legally defined boundaries, with recognised urban status and with its own local government. The figures do not take into account suburban settlements or other heavily populated areas outside city boundaries. We describe and rank greater urban areas on separate pages.)

These findings emerge from research carried out by City Mayors during June and July 2003. The aim of the research was to establish a ranking of all world cities with populations of more than one million, ‘Millionenstädte’, as they are called in Germany. City Mayors' researchers identified almost 300 cities that are home to more than one million citizens. In total, more than 640 million people live in the world’s 300 largest cities. They represent slightly more than ten per cent of the world’s population of 6.3 billion.

While the large majority of data is based on censuses carried out since 1995, there are instances where population figures are based on counts carried out in the 1980s. In addition, some of the figures do not take into account mass movements of people due to recent upheavals in the Middle East, Africa and parts of South-East Asia as well as inter-European emigration following the conflicts in former Yugoslavia.

With a population of more than 10.2 million, Seoul, the capital of South Korea, is the world’s largest city in terms of population. Sao Paulo (Brazil), the world’s second-largest city, has a population of just over ten million. Three other cities, Bombay (India), Jakarta (Indonesia) and Karachi (Pakistan), have grown to more than nine million people.

Moscow, the Russian capital, is, according to City Mayors, the largest European city. London is in second place. In The Americas, Sao Paulo and Mexico City are ranked above New York City and Bogota (Colombia). Cairo (Egypt), with a population of 6.8 million, is Africa’s largest city.

Almost 100 Chinese cities each house more than one million people. Other countries with a significant number of ‘Millionenstädte’ include India (18), Indonesia (16), Japan (12), the US (9), Brazil (13) and Russia (12).

Some 36 European cities have populations of more than one million people. Most are the countries’ capital cities such as Moscow (8.3 million), London (7.1 million), Berlin (3.4 million) and Paris (2.2 million).

In The Americas, 45 cities can claim Millionenstadt status. Here, the top ranking cities are Sao Paulo (10 million), Mexico City (8.2 million), New York City (8.0 million), Bogota (6.4 million), Lima (5.7 million), Rio de Janeiro (5.6 million), Santiago di Chile (4.8 million) and Los Angeles (3.7 million). Toronto is Canada's largest city with a population of 2.5 million.

More than half of Asia’s ‘Millionenstädte’ are in China. Out of 194 Asian cities with populations of more than one million, some 98 are on the Chinese mainland and on Taiwan. Asia’s ten largest cities are Seoul (10.2 million), Bombay (9.9 million), Jakarta (9.4 million), Karachi (9.3 million), Shanghai (8.2 million), Tokyo (8.1 million), Bangkok (7.5 million), Beijing (7.4 million), Delhi (7.2 million) and Hong Kong (6.8 million).

Africa has 19 cities with more than one million people in each. Cairo, the Egyptian capital, is, with 6.8 million inhabitants by far the largest. African cities with more than two million residents include Alexandria (Egypt) Kinshasa (Congo), Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Casablanca (Morocco) and Giza (Egypt). (Please note, some of the population figures for African cities are more than 15 years old. For example, the population figure for Kinshasa does not take into account the fall of the Mobutu regime and the subsequent civil upheaval in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, formerly Zaire.)