In 2025, Moscow was the largest city in Europe with an estimated urban agglomeration of 12.74 million people. The French capital, Paris, was the second largest city in 2025 at 11.35 million, followed by the capitals of the United Kingdom and Spain, with London at 9.84 million and Madrid at 6.81 million people. Istanbul, which would otherwise be the largest city in Europe in 2025, is excluded as it is only partially in Europe, with a sizeable part of its population living in Asia. Europe’s population is almost 750 million Since 1950, the population of Europe has increased by approximately 200 million people, increasing from 550 million to 750 million in these seventy years. Before the turn of the millennium, Europe was the second-most populated continent, before it was overtaken by Africa, which saw its population increase from 228 million in 1950 to 817 million by 2000. Asia has consistently had the largest population of the world’s continents and was estimated to have a population of 4.6 billion. Europe’s largest countries Including its territory in Asia, Russia is by far the largest country in the world, with a territory of around 17 million square kilometers, almost double that of the next largest country, Canada. Within Europe, Russia also has the continent's largest population at 145 million, followed by Germany at 83 million and the United Kingdom at almost 68 million. By contrast, Europe is also home to various micro-states such as San Marino, which has a population of just 30 thousand.

It is estimated that the cities of Cordova (modern-day Córdoba) and Palermo were the largest cities in Europe in 1050, and had between fifteen and twenty times the population of most other entries in this graph, Despite this the cities of Cordova (the capital city of the Umayyad caliphate, who controlled much of the Iberian peninsula from the seventh to eleventh centuries), and Palermo (another Arab-controlled capital in Southern Europe) were still the only cities in Western Europe with a population over one hundred thousand people, closely followed by Seville. It is also noteworthy to point out that the five largest cities on this list were importing trading cities, in modern day Spain or Italy, although the largest cities become more northern and western European in later lists (1200, 1330, 1500, 1650 and 1800). In 1050, todays largest Western European cities, London and Paris, had just twenty-five and twenty thousand inhabitants respectively.

The period of European history (and much of world history) between 500 and 1500 is today known as the 'Dark Ages'. Although the term 'Dark Ages' was originally applied to the lack of literature and arts, it has since been applied to the lack or scarcity of recorded information from this time. Because of these limitations, much information about this time is still being debated today.

By 1800, London had grown to be the largest city in Western Europe with just under one million inhabitants. Paris was now the second largest city, with over half a million people, and Naples was the third largest city with 450 thousand people. The only other cities with over two hundred thousand inhabitants at this time were Vienna, Amsterdam and Dublin. Another noticeable development is the inclusion of many more northern cities from a wider variety of countries. The dominance of cities from France and Mediterranean countries was no longer the case, and the dispersal of European populations in 1800 was much closer to how it is today, more than two centuries later.

Population in the largest city (% of urban population) in European Union was reported at 15.91 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. European Union - Population in the largest city - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

In 1500, the largest city was Paris, with an estimated 225 thousand inhabitants, almost double the population of the second-largest city, Naples. As in 1330, Venice and Milan remain the third and fourth largest cities in Western Europe, however Genoa's population almost halved from 1330 until 1500, as it was struck heavily by the bubonic plague in the mid-1300s. In lists prior to this, the largest cities were generally in Spain and Italy, however, as time progressed, the largest populations could be found more often in Italy and France. The year 1500 is around the beginning of what we now consider modern history, a time that saw the birth of many European empires and inter-continental globalization.

ESA, in collaboration with European Space Imaging, has collected this WorldView-2 dataset covering the most populated areas in Europe at 40 cm resolution. The products have been acquired between July 2010 and July 2015. Spatial coverage: Check the spatial coverage of the collection on a map available on the Third Party Missions Dissemination Service.

It is estimated that the largest cities in Western Europe in 1330 were Paris and Granada. At this time, Paris was the seat of power in northern France, while Granada had become the largest multicultural city in southern Spain, controlled by the Muslim, Nasrid Kingdom during Spain's Reconquista period. The next three largest cities were Venice, Genoa and Milan, all in northern Italy, renowned as important trading cities during the middle ages. In October 1347, the first wave of the Black Death had arrived in Sicily and then began spreading throughout Europe, decimating the population.

Paris was Western Europe's largest city in 1650, with an estimated 400 thousand inhabitants, which is almost double it's population 150 years previously. In second place is London, with 350 thousand inhabitants, however it has grown by a substantially higher rate than Paris during this time, now seven times larger than it was in the year 1500. Naples remains in the top three largest cities, growing from 125 to 300 thousand inhabitants during this time. In the previous list, the Italian cities of Milan and Venice were the only other cities with more than one hundred thousand inhabitants, however in this list they have been joined by the trading centers of Lisbon and Amsterdam, the capital cities of the emerging Portuguese and Dutch maritime empires.

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.

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 largest Western European city in 1200 was Palermo, with 150 thousand inhabitants. This is a great decrease in the number 150 years previously, where the population was 350 thousand. The city of Cordova also decreased by almost 400 thousand in this time, possibly because of the declining Arabian control and influence in the area. Seville is the third largest city on this list, although it's overall population decreased by ten thousand since 1050. The largest cities are generally in Spain or Italy, although the second largest city on this list is Paris, with 110 thousand inhabitants. In the lists that follow, Paris remains at the top as either the largest (1500 and 1650) or second largest (1330 and 1800) city in Western Europe.

The city of Paris in France had an estimated gross domestic product of 757.6 billion Euros in 2021, the most of any European city. Paris was followed by the spanish capital, Madrid, which had a GDP of 237.5 billion Euros, and the Irish capital, Dublin at 230 billion Euros. Milan, in the prosperous north of Italy, had a GDP of 228.4 billion Euros, 65 billion euros larger than the Italian capital Rome, and was the largest non-capital city in terms of GDP in Europe. The engine of Europe Among European countries, Germany had by far the largest economy, with a gross domestic product of over 4.18 trillion Euros. The United Kingdom or France have been Europe's second largest economy since the 1980s, depending on the year, with forecasts suggesting France will overtake the UK going into the 2020s. Germany however, has been the biggest European economy for some time, with five cities (Munich, Berlin, Hamburg, Stuttgart and Frankfurt) among the 15 largest European cities by GDP. Europe's largest cities In 2023, Moscow was the largest european city, with a population of nearly 12.7 million. Paris was the largest city in western Europe, with a population of over 11 million, while London was Europe's third-largest city at 9.6 million inhabitants.

Database Name: population_cities

Description: The population_cities dataset provides information on the population of various cities worldwide. It includes key details such as the city's name, the country it is located in, the total population, and the continent it belongs to. This dataset is ideal for researchers, data analysts, and enthusiasts looking to explore global population trends, conduct regional comparisons, or analyze urban demographics across continents.

Columns:
1. City: Name of the city.
2. Country: Name of the country where the city is located.
3. Population: Total population of the city.
4. Continent: The continent where the city is situated (e.g., Asia, Europe, Africa, etc.).

Potential Uses: - Comparative analysis of city populations across continents.
- Visualization of population density in specific regions.
- Studies on urbanization trends and growth patterns.
- Development of machine learning models for population prediction or clustering analysis.

Feel free to explore and share insights from this dataset!

In this paper, the authors construct a unique data set of Internet offer prices for flats in 48 large European cities from 24 countries. The data are collected between January and May 2012 from 33 websites, where the advertisements of flats for sale are placed. Using the resulting sample of 750,000 announcements the authors compute the average city-specific house prices. Based on this information they investigate the determinants of the apartment prices. Four factors are found to be relevant for the flats’ price level: income per capita, population density, unemployment rate, and income inequality. The results are robust both to excluding variables and to applying two alternative estimation techniques: OLS and quantile regression. Based on their estimation results the authors are able to identify the cities, where the prices are overvalued. This is a useful indication of a build-up of house price bubbles.

Between 1500 and 1800, London grew to be the largest city in Western Europe, with its population growing almost 22 times larger in this period. London would eventually overtake Constantinople as Europe's largest in the 1700s, before becoming the largest city in the world (ahead of Beijing) in the early-1800s.

The most populous cities in this period were the capitals of European empires, with Paris, Amsterdam, and Vienna growing to become the largest cities, alongside the likes of Lisbon and Madrid in Iberia, and Naples or Venice in Italy. Many of northwestern Europe's largest cities in 1500 would eventually be overtaken by others not shown here, such as the port cities of Hamburg, Marseilles or Rotterdam, or more industrial cities such as Berlin, Birmingham, and Munich.

This dataset contains the data displayed in the figures or the article "High-resolution projections of ambient heat for major European cities using different heat metrics".

The different files contain:

Data_Fig1_DeltaTXx_EURO-CORDEX_1981-2010_to_3K-European-warming_RCP85.nc: Change of yearly maximum temperature in Europe between 1981-2010 and 3 °C European warming relative to 1981-2010.

Data_Fig2_timeseries-GSAT-ESAT_EURO-CORDEX_CMIP5_CMIP6_1971-2100_RCP85_SSP585.xlsx: Time series of global mean surface air temperature (GSAT) for CMIP5 and CMIP6 models, and for European mean surface air temperature (ESAT) for EURO-CORDEX, CMIP5, and CMIP6 models for the period 1971-2100.

Data_Fig3_TX-distribution_distance-from-city-centre_E-OBS_1981-2010.xlsx: Distribution of average daily maximum temperature in summer (June, July, August) in 1981-2010 for E-OBS for all investigated cities. Temperature data are indicated as a function of the distance to the city centre.

Data_Fig3_TX-distribution_distance-from-city-centre_ERA5-Land_1981-2010.xlsx: Distribution of average daily maximum temperature in summer (June, July, August) in 1981-2010 for ERA5-Land for all investigated cities. Temperature data are indicated as a function of the distance to the city centre.

Data_Fig3_TX-distribution_distance-from-city-centre_EURO-CORDEX_1981-2010.xlsx: Distribution of average daily maximum temperature in summer (June, July, August) in 1981-2010 for the EURO-CORDEX models for all investigated cities. Temperature data are indicated as a function of the distance to the city centre.

Data_Fig3_TX-distribution_distance-from-city-centre_weather-stations_1981-2010.xlsx: Distribution of average daily maximum temperature in summer (June, July, August) in 1981-2010 for GSOD and ECA&D stations for all investigated cities. Temperature data are indicated as a function of the distance to the city centre.

Data_Fig4_TX-ambient-heat_EURO-CORDEX_3K-European-warming.xlsx: Daytime heat metrics for the investigated cities: HWMId-TX at 3 °C European warming relative to 1981-2010, TX exceedances above 30 °C at 3 °C European warming relative to 1981-2010, and TXx change between 1981-2010 and 3 °C European warming relative to 1981-2010 for EURO-CORDEX models.

Data_Fig5_Contribution-of-explanatory-variables-to-total-explained-variance.xlsx: Contribution of different explanatory variables (climate and location factors) to the total explained variance of spatial patterns of heat metrics.

Data_Fig6_TN-ambient-heat_EURO-CORDEX_3K-European-warming.xlsx: Nighttime heat metrics for the investigated cities: HWMId-TN at 3 °C European warming relative to 1981-2010, TN exceedances above 20 °C at 3 °C European warming relative to 1981-2010, and TNx change between 1981-2010 and 3 °C European warming relative to 1981-2010 for EURO-CORDEX models.

Data_Fig7_TX-ambient-heat_CMIP5_3K-European-warming.xlsx: Daytime heat metrics for the investigated cities: HWMId-TX at 3 °C European warming relative to 1981-2010, TX exceedances above 30 °C at 3 °C European warming relative to 1981-2010, and TXx change between 1981-2010 and 3 °C European warming relative to 1981-2010 for CMIP5 models.

Data_Fig7_TX-ambient-heat_CMIP6_3K-European-warming.xlsx: Daytime heat metrics for the investigated cities: HWMId-TX at 3 °C European warming relative to 1981-2010, TX exceedances above 30 °C at 3 °C European warming relative to 1981-2010, and TXx change between 1981-2010 and 3 °C European warming relative to 1981-2010 for CMIP6 models.

Data_Fig8_GCM-RCM-matrix_ambient-heat_3K-European-warming.xlsx: GCM-RCM matrices for the three heat metrics.

Russia is the largest country in Europe, and also the largest in the world, its total size amounting to 17 million square kilometers (km2). It should be noted, however, that over three quarters of Russia is located in Asia, and the Ural mountains are often viewed as the meeting point of the two continents in Russia; nonetheless, European Russia is still significantly larger than any other European country. Ukraine, the second largest country on the continent, is only 603,000 km2, making it about 28 times smaller than its eastern neighbor, or seven times smaller than the European part of Russia. France is the third largest country in Europe, but the largest in the European Union. The Vatican City, often referred to as the Holy Sea, is both the smallest country in Europe and in the world, at just one km2. Population Russia is also the most populous country in Europe. It has around 144 million inhabitants across the country; in this case, around three quarters of the population live in the European part, which still gives it the largest population in Europe. Despite having the largest population, Russia is a very sparsely populated country due to its size and the harsh winters. Germany is the second most populous country in Europe, with 83 million inhabitants, while the Vatican has the smallest population. Worldwide, India and China are the most populous countries, with approximately 1.4 billion inhabitants each. Cities Moscow in Russia is ranked as the most populous city in Europe with around 13 million inhabitants, although figures vary, due to differences in the methodologies used by countries and sources. Some statistics include Istanbul in Turkey* as the largest city in Europe with its 15 million inhabitants, bit it has been excluded here as most of the country and parts of the city is located in Asia. Worldwide, Tokyo is the most populous city, with Jakarta the second largest and Delhi the third.

Our Europe Zip Code Database offers comprehensive postal code data for spatial analysis, including postal and administrative areas for numerous European countries. This dataset contains accurate and up-to-date information on all administrative divisions, cities, and zip codes, making it an invaluable resource for various applications such as address capture and validation, map and visualization, reporting and business intelligence (BI), master data management, logistics and supply chain management, and sales and marketing. Our location data packages are available in various formats, including CSV, optimized for seamless integration with popular systems like Esri ArcGIS, Snowflake, QGIS, and more. Product features include fully and accurately geocoded data, multi-language support with address names in local and foreign languages, comprehensive city definitions, and the option to combine map data with UNLOCODE and IATA codes, time zones, and daylight saving times. Companies choose our location databases for their enterprise-grade service, reduction in integration time and cost by 30%, and weekly updates to ensure the highest quality.

As of December, 2024, there were over ** thousand listings for room and apartment rentals in London on the Airbnb website, the highest of any other major European city. Airbnb listings were also high in Paris, Rome and Madrid. Paris accounted for around ** thousand listings, while Rome and Madrid had over ** and ** thousand, respectively. Controversy of Airbnb in Europe Airbnb has become an increasingly popular option for tourists looking for local accommodation. Visitors are attracted to using Airbnb properties instead of hotels and other traditional travel accommodation mainly due to cheaper prices, but also for the location, and to gain an authentic experience. However, the site is facing ongoing legal problems, with some destinations moving to ban or restrict rentals from the site because they worsen housing problems and undermining hotel regulations. Many European cities, including Amsterdam and Paris, have placed limits on the length of rentals, and others such as Barcelona have introduced strict regulations for hosts. The rise of Airbnb Airbnb is one of the most successful companies in the global sharing economy. The company was founded in San Francisco, California in 2008, after being conceived by two entrepreneurs looking for a way to offset their high rental costs. Airbnb was developed as an online platform for hosts to rent out their properties on a short-term basis. It now competes with other online travel booking websites, including Booking.com and Expedia.

Dataset for the article: Cortinovis C., Geneletti D., Haase D. (2022). Higher immigration and lower land take rates are driving a new densification wave in European cities. npj Urban Sustainability 2, 19. doi:10.1038/s42949-022-00062-0

The dataset includes three excel workbooks. The main workbook "EU_cities_data.xlsx" calculates residential density in 2006, 2012 and 2018 and its trends in the two periods 2006-2012 and 2012-2018 for 331 European cities and greater cities. The worksheet "CITIES_GREATER_sel" is the basis to reproduce the analyses and figures presented in the paper and related Supplementary Material, using the code R code "EU_cities_plot" available at doi:10.6084/m9.figshare.19773151.

The main workbook is linked to two datasets containing demographic data for the selected cities and greater cities: - EU_cities_population.xlsx: total population at the 1st of January of the three reference years; - EU_cities_demo_balance.xlsx: data on births and deaths in each city during the analysed period, and calculation of net migration figures.

Population data are based on the Eurostat Urban Audit (https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/cities/data/database) and on datasets from national statistical offices. The numerous corrections to the original Urban Audit database and the final source of each value are indicated in the two datasets (see worksheet "sources and legend").

Residential area and land take for residential use are based on the Copernicus Urban Atlas (https://land.copernicus.eu/local/urban-atlas) version 021 for the reference year 2012, version 012 for the reference year 2018, and the consolidated “Revised” version available in 2021 for the reference year 2006.

Cities’ and greater cities’ boundaries were retrieved from the GISCO Eurostat spatial database linked to the Urban Audit, version 2018 ( https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/gisco/geodata/reference-data/administrative-units-statistical-units/urban-audit).