In 2024, approximately 11.9 million people lived in São Paulo, making it the largest municipality in Brazil and one of the most populous cities in the world. The homonymous state of São Paulo was also the most populous federal entity in the country. Brazil's cities Brazil is home to two large metropolises: São Paulo with close to 11.9 million inhabitants, and Rio de Janeiro with around 6.7 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. While smaller than some of the other cities, Brasília was chosen to be the capital because of its relatively central location. The city is also well-known for its modernist architecture and utopian city plan, which is quite controversial - criticized by many and praised by others. Sports venues capitals A number of Brazil’s medium-sized and large cities were chosen as venues for the 2014 World Cup, and the 2015 Summer Olympics also took place in Rio de Janeiro. Both of these events required large sums of money to support infrastructure and enhance mobility within a number of different cities across the country. Billions of dollars were spent on the 2014 World Cup, which went primarily to stadium construction and renovation but also to a number of different mobility projects. Other short-term spending on infrastructure for the World Cup and the Rio Olympic Games was estimated at 50 billion U.S. dollars. While these events have poured a lot of money into urban infrastructure, a number of social and economic problems within the country remain unsolved.

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.

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.

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 statistic shows the ten largest cities in Italy in 2025. In 2025, around 2.75 million people lived in Rome, making it the largest city in Italy. Population of Italy Italy has high population figures and a high population density in comparison to other European countries. A vast majority of Italians lives in urban areas and in the metropolises (as can be seen in this statistic), while other areas, such as the island Sardinia, are rather sparsely inhabited. After an increase a few years ago, Italy’s fertility rate, i.e. the average amount of children born to a woman of childbearing age, is now on a slow decline; however, it is still high enough to offset any significant effect the decrease might have on the country’s number of inhabitants. The median age of Italy’s population has been increasing rapidly over the past 50 years – which mirrors a lower mortality rate – and Italy is now among the countries with the highest life expectancy worldwide, only surpassed by two Asian countries, namely Japan and Hong Kong. Currently, the average life expectancy at birth in Italy is at about 83 years. Most of Italy’s population is of Roman Catholic faith. The country actually boasts one of the largest numbers of Catholics worldwide; other such countries include Brazil, Mexico and the United States. The central government of the Roman Catholic Church, the Holy See, is located in Vatican City in the heart of Italy’s capital and ruled by the Bishop of Rome, the Pope. Officially, Vatican City does not belong to Italy, but is a sovereign state with its own legislation and jurisdiction. It has about 600 inhabitants, who are almost exclusively members of the clergy or government officials.

Russia's capital, Moscow, was the largest city in the country with over **** million residents as of January 1, 2024. Less than a half of Moscow's population resided in Saint Petersburg, the second-most populous city in the country. The third-largest city, Novosibirsk, was located in the Siberian Federal District, being the highest-populated city in the Asian part of Russia. Why is Moscow so populated? The Russian capital is the center of political, industrial, business, and cultural life in Russia. Despite being one of the most expensive cities worldwide, it continues to attract people from Russia and abroad, with its resident population following a generally upward trend over the past decade. Wages in Moscow are higher than in Russia on average, and more opportunities for employment and investment are available in the capital. Furthermore, the number of people living in Moscow was forecast to continue rising, exceeding **** million by 2035. Urbanization in Russia In 2024, around *** million Russian residents lived in cities. That was approximately three-quarters of the country’s population. The urbanization rate increased steadily over the 20th century, leading to a decline in the rural population. Among the country’s regions, the Northwestern Federal District had the highest share of residents in urban areas, measured at ** percent. In the Central Federal District, the tendency was that more people moved to Moscow and cities in the Moscow Oblast.

Morocco MA: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data was reported at 16.511 % in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 16.738 % for 2016. Morocco MA: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data is updated yearly, averaging 22.689 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 27.486 % in 1971 and a record low of 16.511 % in 2017. Morocco MA: 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 Morocco – Table MA.World Bank.WDI: 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;

Cities ranking and mega citiesTokyo is the world’s largest city with an agglomeration of 37 million inhabitants, followed by New Delhi with 29 million, Shanghai with 26 million, and Mexico City and São Paulo, each with around 22 million inhabitants. Today, Cairo, Mumbai, Beijing and Dhaka all have close to 20 million inhabitants. By 2020, Tokyo’s population is projected to begin to decline, while Delhi is projected to continue growing and to become the most populous city in the world around 2028.By 2030, the world is projected to have 43 megacities with more than 10 million inhabitants, most of them in developing regions. However, some of the fastest-growing urban agglomerations are cities with fewer than 1 million inhabitants, many of them located in Asia and Africa. While one in eight people live in 33 megacities worldwide, close to half of the world’s urban dwellers reside in much smaller settlements with fewer than 500,000 inhabitants.About the dataThe 2018 Revision of the World Urbanization Prospects is published by the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA). It has been issued regularly since 1988 with revised estimates and projections of the urban and rural populations for all countries of the world, and of their major urban agglomerations. The data set and related materials are available at: https://esa.un.org/unpd/wup/

Nigeria is the African country with the largest population, counting over 230 million people. As of 2024, the largest city in Nigeria was Lagos, which is also the largest city in sub-Saharan Africa in terms of population size. The city counts more than nine million inhabitants, whereas Kano, the second most populous city, registers around 3.6 million inhabitants. Lagos is the main financial, cultural, and educational center in the country. Where Africa’s urban population is booming The metropolitan area of Lagos is also among the largest urban agglomerations in the world. Besides Lagos, another most populated citiy in Africa is Cairo, in Egypt. However, Africa’s urban population is booming in other relatively smaller cities. For instance, the population of Bujumbura, in Burundi, could grow by 123 percent between 2020 and 2035, making it the fastest growing city in Africa and likely in the world. Similarly, Zinder, in Niger, could reach over one million inhabitants by 2035, the second fastest growing city. Demographic urban shift More than half of the world’s population lives in urban areas. In the next decades, this will increase, especially in Africa and Asia. In 2020, over 80 percent of the population in Northern America was living in urban areas, the highest share in the world. In Africa, the degree of urbanization was about 40 percent, the lowest among all continents. Meeting the needs of a fast-growing population can be a challenge, especially in low-income countries. Therefore, there will be a growing necessity to implement policies to sustainably improve people’s lives in rural and urban areas.

Japan’s largest city, greater Tokyo, had a staggering 37.19 million inhabitants in 2023, making it the most populous city across the Asia-Pacific region. India had the second largest city after Japan with a population consisting of approximately 33 million inhabitants. Contrastingly, approximately 410 thousand inhabitants populated Papua New Guinea's largest city in 2023. A megacity regionNot only did Japan and India have the largest cities throughout the Asia-Pacific region but they were among the three most populated cities worldwide in 2023. Interestingly, over half on the world’s megacities were situated in the Asia-Pacific region. However, being home to more than half of the world’s population, it does not seem surprising that by 2025 it is expected that more than two thirds of the megacities across the globe will be located in the Asia Pacific region. Other megacities are also expected to emerge within the Asia-Pacific region throughout the next decade. There have even been suggestions that Indonesia’s Jakarta and its conurbation will overtake Greater Tokyo in terms of population size by 2030. Increasing populationsIncreased populations in megacities can be down to increased economic activity. As more countries across the Asia-Pacific region have made the transition from agriculture to industry, the population has adjusted accordingly. Thus, more regions have experienced higher shares of urban populations. However, as many cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Seoul have an aging population, this may have an impact on their future population sizes, with these Asian regions estimated to have significant shares of the population being over 65 years old by 2035.

The highest city in the world with a population of more than one million is La Paz. The Capital of Bolivia sits ***** meters above sea level, and is more than 1,000 meters higher than the second-ranked city, Quito. La Paz is also higher than Mt. Fuji in Japan, which has a height of 3,776 meters. Many of the world's largest cities are located in South America. The only city in North America that makes the top 20 list is Denver, Colorado, which has an altitude of ***** meters.

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.

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.

London was by far the largest urban agglomeration in the United Kingdom in 2023, with an estimated population of 9.65 million people, more than three times as large as Manchester, the UK’s second-biggest urban agglomeration. The agglomerations of Birmingham and Leeds / Bradford had the third and fourth-largest populations respectively, while the biggest city in Scotland, Glasgow, was the fifth largest. Largest cities in Europe Two cities in Europe had larger urban areas than London, with the Russian capital Moscow having a population of almost 12.7 million. The city of Paris, located just over 200 miles away from London, was the second-largest city in Europe, with a population of more than 11.2 million people. Paris was followed by London in terms of population-size, and then by the Spanish cities of Madrid and Barcelona, at 6.75 million and 5.68 million people respectively. Russia's second-biggest city; St. Petersburg had a population of 5.56 million, followed by Rome at 4.3 million, and Berlin at 3.5 million. London’s population growth Throughout the 1980s, the population of London fluctuated from a high of 6.81 million people in 1981 to a low of 6.73 million inhabitants in 1988. During the 1990s, the population of London increased once again, growing from 6.8 million at the start of the decade to 7.15 million by 1999. London's population has continued to grow since the turn of the century, reaching a peak of 8.96 million people in 2019, and is forecast to reach 9.8 million by 2043.

Lagos, in Nigeria, ranked as the most populated city in Africa as of 2024, with an estimated population of roughly nine million inhabitants living in the city proper. Kinshasa, in Congo, and Cairo, in Egypt, followed with some 7.8 million and 7.7 million dwellers. Among the 15 largest cities in the continent, another two, Kano, and Ibadan, were located in Nigeria, the most populated country in Africa. Population density trends in Africa As of 2022, Africa exhibited a population density of 48.3 individuals per square kilometer. At the beginning of 2000, the population density across the continent has experienced a consistent annual increment. Projections indicated that the average population residing within each square kilometer would rise to approximately 54 by the year 2027. Moreover, Mauritius stood out as the African nation with the most elevated population density, exceeding 640 individuals per square kilometre. Mauritius possesses one of the most compact territories on the continent, a factor that significantly influences its high population density. Urbanization dynamics in Africa The urbanization rate in Africa was anticipated to reach close to 44 percent in 2021. Urbanization across the continent has consistently risen since 2000, with urban areas accommodating 35 percent of the total population. This trajectory is projected to continue its ascent in the years ahead. Nevertheless, the distribution between rural and urban populations shows remarkable diversity throughout the continent. In 2021, Gabon and Libya stood out as Africa’s most urbanized nations, each surpassing 80 percent urbanization. In 2023, Africa's population was estimated to expand by 2.35 percent compared to the preceding year. Since 2000, the population growth rate across the continent has consistently exceeded 2.45 percent, reaching its pinnacle at 2.59 percent between 2012 and 2013. Although the growth rate has experienced a deceleration, Africa's population will persistently grow significantly in the forthcoming years.

Nigeria has the largest population in Africa. As of 2025, the country counted over 237.5 million individuals, whereas Ethiopia, which ranked second, has around 135.5 million inhabitants. Egypt registered the largest population in North Africa, reaching nearly 118.4 million people. In terms of inhabitants per square kilometer, Nigeria only ranked seventh, while Mauritius had the highest population density on the whole African continent in 2023. The fastest-growing world region Africa is the second most populous continent in the world, after Asia. Nevertheless, Africa records the highest growth rate worldwide, with figures rising by over two percent every year. In some countries, such as Niger, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Chad, the population increase peaks at over three percent. With so many births, Africa is also the youngest continent in the world. However, this coincides with a low life expectancy. African cities on the rise The last decades have seen high urbanization rates in Asia, mainly in China and India. However, African cities are currently growing at larger rates. Indeed, most of the fastest-growing cities in the world are located in Sub-Saharan Africa. Gwagwalada, in Nigeria, and Kabinda, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, ranked first worldwide. By 2035, instead, Africa's fastest-growing cities are forecast to be Bujumbura, in Burundi, and Zinder, Nigeria.

Monaco led the ranking for countries with the highest population density in 2024, with nearly 26,000 residents per square kilometer. The Special Administrative Region of Macao came in second, followed by Singapore. The world’s second smallest country Monaco is the world’s second-smallest country, with an area of about two square kilometers and a population of only around 40,000. It is a constitutional monarchy located by the Mediterranean Sea, and while Monaco is not part of the European Union, it does participate in some EU policies. The country is perhaps most famous for the Monte Carlo casino and for hosting the Monaco Grand Prix, the world's most prestigious Formula One race. The global population Globally, the population density per square kilometer is about 60 inhabitants, and Asia is the most densely populated region in the world. The global population is increasing rapidly, so population density is only expected to increase. In 1950, for example, the global population stood at about 2.54 billion people, and it reached over eight billion during 2023.

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.

The statistic depicts the ten largest cities in Mexico in 2020. In 2020, Mexico City had around 8.84 million residents which made it the largest city in Mexico.

Population of Mexico

Mexico is a federal republic located in North America, sharing borders with the United States to the north, and to the southeast with Guatemala and Belize. With a total area of over 1.9 million square kilometers, it is the fourteenth largest nation in the world and the fifth largest in the Americas.

In 2014, Mexico’s total population amounted to approximately 120 million people. A little under two thirds of Mexico’s total population is of Mestizo ethnicity. The total population has steadily grown over the past decade, despite being the source to the largest migration flow between countries in the world; in 2010, around 11.6 million immigrants from Mexico lived in the United States. The migration flow between the United States and Mexico has however, decreased over the past ten years: Between 1995 and 2000, over 2.9 million migrants emigrated from Mexico to the United States. This was more than the double of migrants who emigrated from Mexico to the United States between 2005 and 2010. Each year, Mexico's population grows by about 1.24 percent compared to the previous year. Mexico City, the country’s capital and largest city, is home to approximately 8.6 million people.

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.