All cities with a population > 1000 or seats of adm div (ca 80.000)Sources and ContributionsSources : GeoNames is aggregating over hundred different data sources. Ambassadors : GeoNames Ambassadors help in many countries. Wiki : A wiki allows to view the data and quickly fix error and add missing places. Donations and Sponsoring : Costs for running GeoNames are covered by donations and sponsoring.Enrichment:add country name

The graph shows the proportion of the population in cities worldwide from 1985 to 2050. **** percent of the world's population lived in cities in the year of 2015. This percentage is forecasted to grow to **** percent in the year 2050.

It is estimated that more than 8 billion people live on Earth and the population is likely to hit more than 9 billion by 2050. Approximately 55 percent of Earth’s human population currently live in areas classified as urban. That number is expected to grow by 2050 to 68 percent, according to the United Nations (UN).The largest cities in the world include Tōkyō, Japan; New Delhi, India; Shanghai, China; México City, Mexico; and São Paulo, Brazil. Each of these cities classifies as a megacity, a city with more than 10 million people. The UN estimates the world will have 43 megacities by 2030.Most cities' populations are growing as people move in for greater economic, educational, and healthcare opportunities. But not all cities are expanding. Those cities whose populations are declining may be experiencing declining fertility rates (the number of births is lower than the number of deaths), shrinking economies, emigration, or have experienced a natural disaster that resulted in fatalities or forced people to leave the region.This Global Cities map layer contains data published in 2018 by the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA). It shows urban agglomerations. The UN DESA defines an urban agglomeration as a continuous area where population is classified at urban levels (by the country in which the city resides) regardless of what local government systems manage the area. Since not all places record data the same way, some populations may be calculated using the city population as defined by its boundary and the metropolitan area. If a reliable estimate for the urban agglomeration was unable to be determined, the population of the city or metropolitan area is used.Data Citation: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. World Urbanization Prospects: The 2018 Revision. Statistical Papers - United Nations (ser. A), Population and Vital Statistics Report, 2019, https://doi.org/10.18356/b9e995fe-en.

Source

The data file is from https://simplemaps.com/data/world-cities.

As of 2025, Tokyo-Yokohama in Japan was the largest world urban agglomeration, with 37 million people living there. Delhi ranked second with more than 34 million, with Shanghai in third with more than 30 million inhabitants.

This world cities layer presents the locations of many cities of the world, both major cities and many provincial capitals.Population estimates are provided for those cities listed in open source data from the United Nations and US Census.

Population in the largest city (% of urban population) in World was reported at 16.05 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. World - Population in the largest city - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

Population in largest city in United States was reported at 19034018 in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. United States - Population in largest city - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

In 2025, approximately 23 million people lived in the São Paulo metropolitan area, making it the biggest in Latin America and the Caribbean and the sixth most populated in the world. The homonymous state of São Paulo was also the most populous federal entity in the country. The second place for the region was Mexico City with 22.75 million inhabitants. Brazil's cities Brazil is home to two large metropolises, only counting the population within the city limits, São Paulo had approximately 11.45 million inhabitants, and Rio de Janeiro around 6.21 million inhabitants. It also contains a number of smaller, but well known cities such as Brasília, Salvador, Belo Horizonte and many others, which report between 2 and 3 million inhabitants each. As a result, the country's population is primarily urban, with nearly 88 percent of inhabitants living in cities. Mexico City Mexico City's metropolitan area ranks sevenths in the ranking of most populated cities in the world. Founded over the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan in 1521 after the Spanish conquest as the capital of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, the city still stands as one of the most important in Latin America. Nevertheless, the preeminent economic, political, and cultural position of Mexico City has not prevented the metropolis from suffering the problems affecting the rest of the country, namely, inequality and violence. Only in 2023, the city registered a crime incidence of 52,723 reported cases for every 100,000 inhabitants and around 24 percent of the population lived under the poverty line.

Mogadishu in Somalia led the ranking of cities with the highest population density in 2023, with ****** residents per square kilometer. When it comes to countries, Monaco is the most densely populated state worldwide.

The World Cities Culture Forum, established in 2012, is a leading global network of civic leaders from over 40 creative cities across six continents, representing a combined population of over 245 million. The forum fosters collaborations to place culture at the core of urban development, addressing 21st-century challenges such as climate change, affordable workspaces, cultural tourism, and diversity in public spaces. Through its Global Summit, partnerships, and programs like the Leadership Exchange Programme and Digital Dialogue Masterclasses, the forum promotes cultural integration in city planning. The World Cities Culture Report 2022 provides comprehensive open-source data on culture, including over 60 datasets from 40 cities. Contextual Data: Includes demographics such as characteristics of the overall and working-age populations (including percent who were foreign born) and of the geographical area, such as the percentage of national population living in the city and the percentage of the area devoted to parks and other public green spaces. Cultural Infrastructure: Provides counts (and rates) of various facilities and venues, including art galleries, artists' studios, rehearsal spaces, bars, bookshops, cinemas, community centers, concert halls, museums, nightclubs, libraries, video game arcades, and theatres. Participation and Tourism: Focuses on cultural participation metrics, such as cinema and theatre admissions, festival attendance, museum visits, average daily attendance at the top five art exhibits, and international tourist numbers. Creative Economy: Encompasses data on book publishing, creative industries employment, film festivals, restaurant ratings, and performances. Education: Includes statistics on public library book loans, higher education levels, international student enrollment, and specialist institutes in art and design education. The source for each number is identified within the dataset. Data users can freely download selected datasets as .csv files.

Population in the largest city (% of urban population) in United States was reported at 6.7011 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. United States - Population in the largest city - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

Hong Kong HK: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data was reported at 99.637 % in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 99.540 % for 2016. Hong Kong HK: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data is updated yearly, averaging 99.382 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 100.000 % in 2010 and a record low of 94.548 % in 1974. Hong Kong HK: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Hong Kong – Table HK.World Bank: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Population in largest city is the percentage of a country's urban population living in that country's largest metropolitan area.; ; United Nations, World Urbanization Prospects.; Weighted average;

Based on a collection of estimates, over the past 9,000 years, there have been at least 48 cities with a claim to the title of "the world's most populous city". While these can be found on four separate continents, the majority are concentrated in three major regions; 12 of these cities were in present-day Iraq or Syria (then-Mesopotamia), nine were in China, and seven in Egypt. Additionally, many of these cities were found across the Mediterranean, not only during Antiquity (Alexandria, Carthage, and Rome), but also during the Middle Ages (Constantinople, Cordova, and Fez), highlighting the economic significance of this region throughout history.

Many of the older entries in this list are now just archeological sites, although several have been continuously inhabited for millennia, such as Luoyang and Xi'an in China, which both have populations of several million in 2022. It may also be possible that the first entry, Jericho, is the world's oldest, continuously inhabited settlement, although this is a topic of debate.

Laos LA: Population in Largest City data was reported at 657,108.000 Person in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 649,550.000 Person for 2016. Laos LA: Population in Largest City data is updated yearly, averaging 268,948.000 Person from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 657,108.000 Person in 2017 and a record low of 75,908.000 Person in 1960. Laos LA: Population in Largest City data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Laos – Table LA.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Population in largest city is the urban population living in the country's largest metropolitan area.; ; United Nations, World Urbanization Prospects.; ;

World Cities provides a base map layer of the cities for the world. The cities include national capitals, provincial capitals, major population centers, and landmark cities.

Large cities in different countries, ranked by population.

A listing of all the cities in the world

Population in largest city in Ecuador was reported at 3193267 in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Ecuador - Population in largest city - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

Kazakhstan KZ: Population in Largest City data was reported at 1,547,257.000 Person in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 1,534,894.000 Person for 2016. Kazakhstan KZ: Population in Largest City data is updated yearly, averaging 1,069,962.000 Person from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 1,547,257.000 Person in 2017 and a record low of 528,653.000 Person in 1960. Kazakhstan KZ: Population in Largest City data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Kazakhstan – Table KZ.World Bank: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Population in largest city is the urban population living in the country's largest metropolitan area.; ; United Nations, World Urbanization Prospects.; ;