41.9million people · Jakarta
Short answer: according to the United Nations, Jakarta in Indonesia is the largest city in the world, with about 41.9 million people in its urban area. Dhaka is second, and Tokyo, number one for decades, is third.
Which city is largest depends on how you measure. In its World Urbanization Prospects 2025 report, the UN looks at the entire continuous urban area rather than official city limits. Measured that way, the top 10 looks like this, as reported by Al Jazeera:
The 10 largest cities in the world
- Jakarta (Indonesia): 41.9 million
- Dhaka (Bangladesh): 36.6 million
- Tokyo (Japan): 33.4 million
- Cairo (Egypt): 32 million
- New Delhi (India): 30.2 million
- Shanghai (China): 29.6 million
- Guangzhou (China): 27.6 million
- Manila (Philippines): 24.7 million
- Kolkata (India): 22.5 million
- Seoul (South Korea): 22.5 million
Why is Tokyo no longer first?
Tokyo was considered the largest city in the world for decades. Japan’s population is shrinking and ageing, while cities such as Jakarta and Dhaka are growing fast. The UN also now uses a new method that defines urban areas in the same way everywhere, which reshuffled the ranking.
Largest city or most densely populated city?
The largest city is not the same as the most densely populated one. Read where people live closest together in our article on the most densely populated city in the world: that is Manila.
The largest cities in Europe
Istanbul, Moscow, London and Paris are among Europe’s largest urban areas. Istanbul lies on two continents, on both sides of the Bosphorus.
Final edit: Jan Willem Beumer, editor-in-chief of Mindbogglingmedia
