With approximately **** million inhabitants, Tokyo was Japan's most populous city as of 2023, followed by Yokohama, which, in the same year, counted about **** million inhabitants. In total, there were twelve cities with a population of over one million people in Japan.

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.

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• It is perhaps unsurprising that the majority of the most populous cities in the world are in the two most populated countries in the world, China and India. Among these are Shanghai and Beijing, with populations of 25 and 22 million respectively, Delhi (27 million), and Mumbai (over 21.5 million).

• Tokyo is the largest city in the world if the entire Tokyo metro area is included, with a total of more than 38 million residents. Another Japanese city, Osaka, also has a very large population of almost 20.5 million. There are also a number of non-Asian cities with high populations, including Mexico City (over 21 million), Cairo (almost 19.5 million), and Buenos Aires (almost 15.5 million).

• European cities, Istanbul is the most populous, with more than 14.5 million residents. This is followed by Moscow (over 12 million) and Paris (11 million including the Paris metro area). These cities are of course also culturally significant and between them welcome millions of tourists each year.

• There are quite a number of popular and culturally rich cities that have smaller populations, often making for higher living standards for their residents. Barcelona, Sydney, Berlin and Vancouver all have fewer than five million residents, but are very popular choices for city living. There are also some comparatively very small cities with big cultural, historical or political reputations, such as Sarajevo (314,000), Edinburgh (502,000), and Venice (631,000), demonstrating that small cities can be highly significant regardless of the size of their population.

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.

The below dataset shows the top 800 biggest cities in the world and their populations in the year 2024. It also tells us which country and continent each city is in, and their rank based on population size. Here are the top ten cities:

• Tokyo, Japan - in Asia, with 37,115,035 people.
• Delhi, India - in Asia, with 33,807,403 people.
• Shanghai, China - in Asia, with 29,867,918 people.
• Dhaka, Bangladesh - in Asia, with 23,935,652 people.
• Sao Paulo, Brazil - in South America, with 22,806,704 people.
• Cairo, Egypt - in Africa, with 22,623,874 people.
• Mexico City, Mexico - in North America, with 22,505,315 people.
• Beijing, China - in Asia, with 22,189,082 people.
• Mumbai, India - in Asia, with 21,673,149 people.
• Osaka, Japan - in Asia, with 18,967,459 people.

With a total score of *****, the Tokyo Area offered the best business environment for startups in Japan in 2025. Osaka followed with a score of ***. The Tokyo Area ranked 13th in the global ranking of startup cities.

Saga Prefecture is located on the island of Kyushu in western Japan. With a population of 839,458, it is one of the least populated prefectures in Japan. Every year, Saga City holds the “Saga International Balloon Festival”. Many people who live in Saga Prefecture attend the event, along with visitors from all over Japan and the world, with attendance typically in the millions. Saga City is considered to be a part of the Fukuoka-Kitakyushu metropolitan area. Agriculture and forestry dominate the economy of Saga Prefecture; it is the largest producer of mandarin oranges and mochigome in Japan. Saga Prefecture is also famous for its porcelain production.

With approximately ** million inhabitants, Tokyo Prefecture was the largest prefecture based on population size in Japan as of 2023. The smallest prefecture in this regard was Tottori Prefecture, which in the same year counted about ******* residents. Rural depopulation Like many industrial economies, Japan is facing the problem of depopulating rural areas. While the birth rate continues to decline, many young people decide to migrate from small towns and villages to large cities like Tokyo or Osaka for higher education and employment. The population of Tokyo Prefecture has shown substantial growth over the past decades and consists largely of working age citizens. Smaller communities are trying to counteract the depopulation process with initiatives meant to invite younger workers and tourists back. Migration to Japan Japan is often described as a very homogenous society, with a low share of foreign residents. Despite the declining birthrate and many businesses experiencing a labor shortage, companies have been hesitant to employ foreign workers, in part due to the strict immigration laws. The Japanese Government has tried to ease immigration restrictions and encourage foreigners to work in Japan. The largest share of foreign workers in Japan, however, is residing in the county with a permanent residence or as the family member of a Japanese national.

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.

In 2023, the average size per dwelling in Japan was ***** square meters. When broken down by prefecture, ****** stood out as the prefecture with the largest average floor area per housing unit, while ***** had the smallest average floor area in the same year. Real estate in Japan The real estate industry is an important pillar of the Japanese economy and ranked as the third-largest industry in Japan in terms of value added in 2022. Despite this, the number of unoccupied dwellings in Japan has been steadily increasing for over thirty years. Many unoccupied homes are empty and abandoned. This trend can be attributed to two primary factors: the aging of the population and the challenges faced by empty house owners in managing and utilizing properties, as most of these homes are either managed by older individuals or family inheritance. Housing in Tokyo The monthly residential property price index in Tokyo Prefecture has experienced a significant upward trend in the past years. Tokyo holds the largest population in Japan, with approximately ** million inhabitants, making it the world’s largest urban agglomeration. The city’s appeal lies in its many renowned universities and corporate headquarters, which draws migrants from other prefectures, particularly young individuals. However, Japan is currently experiencing an investment boom in real estate, fueled by overseas investment. This has resulted in central Tokyo apartments becoming less affordable for many people.

In 2023, the annual mean air temperature in Japan's third largest city Osaka amounted to around ** degrees Celsius. Figures indicated an upward trend throughout the past decades, compared to **** degrees Celsius in 1900.

Tokyo Prefecture ranked first among Japanese prefectures in 2024 in terms of visiting rates by international tourists, with a visiting rate of **** percent. The second most visited prefecture was Osaka, followed by Chiba, which is neighboring Tokyo Prefecture. Tourism in Japan Inbound tourism strongly increased in the past decade, as the Japanese government actively engaged in projects to boost inbound tourism, setting high goals for the near future. However, the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted everything. Nevertheless, the newest inbound annual figures indicate that inbound tourism fully recovered from the pandemic, continuing its upward trend. Sightseeing in TokyoThe Japanese capital, Tokyo, is the largest city in Japan in terms of population. It consists of ** wards, of which many have a unique appeal for tourists. The most popular destinations in Tokyo for foreign visitors include districts such as Shinjuku, where the headquarters of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government are located, the shopping-district Ginza, and the electronic town Akihabara, which attracts overseas fans of Japanese popular culture. One-day trips to places outside of Tokyo, such as Kamakura, Nikko, or Yokohama, are also a possibility and add to the appeal the city has as a destination for inbound tourists.

In the past decade, Japan’s degree of urbanization has leveled off at around 92.04 percent. This means that less than 10 percent of Japan’s population of 126 million inhabitants do not live in an urban setting. Japan is well above the degree of urbanization worldwide, which is 55 percent. Japan is also known for its high population density: In 2017, it amounted to an eye-watering 347.78 inhabitants per square kilometer - however, it is not even among the top twenty countries with the highest population density worldwide. That ranking is lead by Monaco, followed by China, and Singapore. Japan’s aging population The main demographic challenge that Japan currently faces is an aging population, as the number of inhabitants over 65 years old is an increasing percentage of the population. As of 2018, Japan is the country with the largest percentage of total population over 65 years, and life expectancy at birth there is about 84 years. Simultaneously, the birth rate in Japan is declining, resulting in negative population growth in recent years. One method Japan is using to address these demographic shifts is by investing in automated work processes; it's one of the top countries interested in collaborative robots.

Until 2007, the share of the global population living in urban areas was always smaller than the rural population, but in 2021, the world's level of urbanization has risen to around 56 percent, and by 2050, it is estimated that two thirds of the world will live in urban areas. Urbanization on such a large scale is a relatively new phenomenon, and has a strong correlation with the industrial maturity of a society. For most of pre-industrial times, fewer than five percent of the total population lived in urban centers, which were generally trading and administrative centers. The main reason for this was the agricultural demands of the time, where subsistence farming was the primary method of food production for the general population. Compared to Japan and China, a larger share of Western Europe lived in urban centers in the 16th century, due to higher levels of trade along the Mediterranean and between northern states, but around 94 percent of the population still lived in a rural setting. Effect of industrialization With the onset of the first industrial revolution in the 19th century, the mechanization of agriculture and development of manufacturing industries saw a shift in labor demands in Western Europe. People began migrating to cities on a large scale, and migration to the U.S. also increased due to industrialization in the northeastern states. Urban populations then became more prosperous, although mortality rates were initially higher due to the more rapid spread of disease and poor sanitation infrastructure. This mortality also disproportionately affected children and more recent arrivals. Global trends Waves of industrialization in Europe saw further urbanization throughout the 1800s, and roughly a third of the population had urbanized by the end of the 19th century. Globally, it would take until the 1960s before one third of the population had urbanized, and it was not until the late 1990s where China's urbanization rate had reached this level. However, China's urbanization rate has grown rapidly since the 1980s, and is now around 80 percent of the EU's level, whereas it was closer to 50 percent just two decades previously. Japan's urbanization rate was comparable to Europe's for most of the 20th century, but increased further throughout the 2010s; today it has one of the highest rates among more developed nations, although this has presented some challenges for Japanese society.

In 2024, the average annual amount spent on coffee shop visits per household in the Tokai region of Japan amounted to roughly ***** thousand Japanese yen. This was significantly more than in other regions of Japan. The Tokai region is situated in the center of Japan's main island. The densely populated area has Nagoya as its largest city.

As of March 17, 2022, the highest number of approximately 1.2 million patients with coronavirus (COVID-19) were confirmed in Tokyo Prefecture in Japan, followed by Osaka Prefecture with about 747.9 thousand people. On that day, all prefectures out of 47 reported new infection cases.

 Tokyo and Kanagawa  The first coronavirus case in Japan was confirmed on January 16, 2020, in Kanagawa prefecture. Part of the Greater Tokyo Area, Kanagawa is the country’s second-most populous prefecture with more than nine million inhabitants. A few days after the first case in Kanagawa, Japan’s second case was reported in Tokyo. Kanagawa and Tokyo, along with Osaka, and four other prefectures, were the first to be placed under a state of emergency by then prime minister Shinzo Abe in April 2020. From the outbreak of COVID-19 until March 2022, the state of emergency was announced four times for Tokyo and three times for Kanagawa Prefecture.

 Osaka Osaka prefecture reported its first case of COVID-19 on January 29, 2020. The prefecture is the center of Japan’s second-most populated urban region, the Keihanshin metropolitan area, which includes Kyoto and Hyogo prefectures. The virus continued to spread in Osaka with the acceleration of new infection cases per day recorded in January, April to May, July to September in 2021, and January and onwards in 2022.

For further information about the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, please visit our dedicated facts and figure page. 

In 1800, the population of Japan was just over 30 million, a figure which would grow by just two million in the first half of the 19th century. However, with the fall of the Tokugawa shogunate and the restoration of the emperor in the Meiji Restoration of 1868, Japan would begin transforming from an isolated feudal island, to a modernized empire built on Western models. The Meiji period would see a rapid rise in the population of Japan, as industrialization and advancements in healthcare lead to a significant reduction in child mortality rates, while the creation overseas colonies would lead to a strong economic boom. However, this growth would slow beginning in 1937, as Japan entered a prolonged war with the Republic of China, which later grew into a major theater of the Second World War. The war was eventually brought to Japan's home front, with the escalation of Allied air raids on Japanese urban centers from 1944 onwards (Tokyo was the most-bombed city of the Second World War). By the war's end in 1945 and the subsequent occupation of the island by the Allied military, Japan had suffered over two and a half million military fatalities, and over one million civilian deaths.

The population figures of Japan were quick to recover, as the post-war “economic miracle” would see an unprecedented expansion of the Japanese economy, and would lead to the country becoming one of the first fully industrialized nations in East Asia. As living standards rose, the population of Japan would increase from 77 million in 1945, to over 127 million by the end of the century. However, growth would begin to slow in the late 1980s, as birth rates and migration rates fell, and Japan eventually grew to have one of the oldest populations in the world. The population would peak in 2008 at just over 128 million, but has consistently fallen each year since then, as the fertility rate of the country remains below replacement level (despite government initiatives to counter this) and the country's immigrant population remains relatively stable. The population of Japan is expected to continue its decline in the coming years, and in 2020, it is estimated that approximately 126 million people inhabit the island country.

Tokyo was the city with the most Michelin-starred restaurants in the world as of June 2025, with 194 of the Japanese capital's eateries boasting at least one of the coveted stars. Japanese restaurants dominated the top five, with Kyoto coming in third place and Osaka in fourth place.

In the fiscal year 2021, the Tokyo region had the highest demand for electricity in Japan, with approximately ****** thousand gigawatt hours. The Kansai region followed, with an electricity demand of almost ****** thousand gigawatt hours.  Manufacturing had the highest energy demand The capital Tokyo was the region with the highest electricity demand on the archipelago. Likely because it is one of the world’s most populated cities and the largest industrial region in Japan. As one of the global leaders in the manufacturing industry, Japan has a high energy demand for its production. Consequently, manufacturing was by far the leading industry to consume energy. Energy mix in Japan In Japan, fossil fuels such as natural gas and coal continued to represent the leading sources of electricity production. However, the country relies on imports of fossil fuels. Therefore, Japan’s current energy policy aims to diversify its energy mix to secure a stable energy supply, reduce electric power costs, and decrease greenhouse gas emissions.In recent years, the share of renewables in electricity production increased to over ** percent, with solar and hydropower representing the largest renewable energy sources.