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.

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 October of 2025.

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.

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 September of 2025.

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.

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 October of 2025.

Mexico MX: Population in Largest City data was reported at 21,500,251.000 Person in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 21,419,976.000 Person for 2016. Mexico MX: Population in Largest City data is updated yearly, averaging 15,225,498.500 Person from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 21,500,251.000 Person in 2017 and a record low of 5,479,184.000 Person in 1960. Mexico MX: Population in Largest City data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Mexico – Table MX.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.; ;

Population in largest city in Sweden was reported at 1719604 in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Sweden - Population in largest city - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on October of 2025.

This statistic shows a forecast of the top ten most populous megacities in 2030. By 2030, Tokyo will be the most populous city in the world, with a projected 37 million inhabitants.

Sweden SE: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data was reported at 17.703 % in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 17.683 % for 2016. Sweden SE: Population in Largest City: as % of Urban Population data is updated yearly, averaging 15.683 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 17.703 % in 2017 and a record low of 14.346 % in 1981. Sweden SE: 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 Sweden – Table SE.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;

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.

A dataset listing Florida cities by population for 2024.

Population in the largest city (% of urban population) in Norway was reported at 23.43 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Norway - Population in the largest city - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on October of 2025.

Brazil BR: Population in Largest City data was reported at 22,806,704.000 Person in 2024. This records an increase from the previous number of 22,619,736.000 Person for 2023. Brazil BR: Population in Largest City data is updated yearly, averaging 15,288,036.000 Person from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2024, with 65 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 22,806,704.000 Person in 2024 and a record low of 4,493,182.000 Person in 1960. Brazil BR: Population in Largest City data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Brazil – Table BR.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.;;

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.

Norway NO: Population in Largest City data was reported at 997,451.000 Person in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 982,894.000 Person for 2016. Norway NO: Population in Largest City data is updated yearly, averaging 677,489.500 Person from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 997,451.000 Person in 2017 and a record low of 578,044.000 Person in 1960. Norway NO: Population in Largest City data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Norway – Table NO.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.; ;

This statistic shows the top 25 cities in the United States with the highest resident population as of July 1, 2022. There were about 8.34 million people living in New York City as of July 2022.

Large cities in different countries, ranked by population.

Japan’s largest city, greater Tokyo, had a staggering ***** 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 ** million inhabitants. Contrastingly, approximately *** 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 "Major Cities" layer is derived from the "World Cities" dataset provided by ArcGIS Data and Maps group as part of the global data layers made available for public use. "Major cities" layer specifically contains National and Provincial capitals that have the highest population within their respective country. Cities were filtered based on the STATUS (“National capital”, “National and provincial capital”, “Provincial capital”, “National capital and provincial capital enclave”, and “Other”). Majority of these cities within larger countries have been filtered at the highest levels of POP_CLASS (“5,000,000 and greater” and “1,000,000 to 4,999,999”). However, China for example, was filtered with cities over 11 million people due to many highly populated cities. Population approximations are sourced from US Census and UN Data. Credits: ESRI, CIA World Factbook, GMI, NIMA, UN Data, UN Habitat, US Census Bureau Disclaimer: The designations employed and the presentation of material at this site do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries.