List of cities proper by population

Shanghai

This is a list of the most populous cities of the world defined according to the concept of city proper (an urban locality without its suburbs). A city proper is a locality defined according to legal/political boundaries and an administratively recognized urban status that is usually characterized by some form of local government.[1][2][3] "World Urbanization Prospects", a United Nations publication, defines the population of a city proper as "the population living within the administrative boundaries of a city."[4] The book continues to say that "city proper as defined by administrative boundaries may not include suburban areas where an important proportion of the population working or studying in the city lives."

The administrative city proper may correspond to a single municipality or may consist of a well-defined assembly of several local government units. The populations listed are for the administratively-defined city and not for the urban area nor the metropolitan area.[5] Statistical definitions for each city, approximate surface area, and population density are also indicated. The term city can take on many meanings throughout the world. For the purposes of this list, the definition of a city as a primarily urban locality is used.[6] This list enumerates the population of some of the world's largest cities, the boundaries of which which may or may not correspond to those of municipalities.

Contents

Cities proper by population

Rank City Population Definition Area (km²) Population density (/km²) Country
1 Shanghai &000000001383190000000013,831,900 [7] Core districts + inner suburbs[8] &00000000000019280000001,928 &00000000000071740000007,174  China
2 Mumbai &000000001383088400000013,830,884[9] Municipal Corporation &0000000000000603000000603 &000000000002293700000022,937  India
3 Karachi &000000001299100000000012,991,000[10] City District &00000000000035270000003,527 &00000000000036830000003,683  Pakistan
4 Delhi &000000001256590100000012,565,901[9] Municipal Corporation &0000000000000431089999431.09[11] &000000000002914900000029,149  India
5 Istanbul &000000001251766400000012,517,664[12][13] Metropolitan Municipality &00000000000018310000001,831 &00000000000062110000006,211  Turkey
6 São Paulo &000000001103759300000011,037,593[14] Municipality &00000000000015230000001,523 &00000000000072470000007,247  Brazil
7 Moscow &000000001050897100000010,508,971[15] City proper (includes Zelenograd) &00000000000010810000001,081 &00000000000097220000009,722  Russia
8 Seoul &000000001046405100000010,464,051[16] Special City &0000000000000605250000605.25[17] &000000000001728800000017,288  South Korea
9 Beijing &000000001012300000000010,123,000[18] Core districts + inner suburbs[8] &00000000000013683199991,368.32 &00000000000074000000007,400  China
10 Tokyo &00000000088876080000008,887,608[19] 23 Special Wards[20] &0000000000000617179999617.18 &000000000001440000000014,400  Japan
11 Mexico City &00000000088419160000008,841,916[21] Federal District &00000000000014850000001,485 &00000000000059540000005,954  Mexico
12 Jakarta &00000000087920000000008,792,000[22] Special capital district &0000000000000664000000664 &000000000001273800000012,738  Indonesia
13 Kinshasa &00000000087540000000008,754,000[23] City-Province[24] &00000000000020160000002,016 &00000000000043420000004,342  Democratic Republic of the Congo
14 New York City &00000000083637100000008,363,710[25] City proper &0000000000000789399999789.4 &000000000001045200000010,452  United States
15 Lagos &00000000079379320000007,937,932[26] statistical area &0000000000000999600000999.6 &00000000000079380000007,938  Nigeria
16 Lima &00000000076057420000007,605,742[27] Province[28] &00000000000026704000002,670.4 &00000000000028480000002,848  Peru
17 London &00000000075569000000007,556,900[29] Greater London[30] &00000000000015800000001,580 &00000000000048630000004,863  United Kingdom
18 Bogotá &00000000072595970000007,259,597[31] Capital district &00000000000015900000001,590 &00000000000045660000004,566  Colombia
19 Tehran &00000000072410000000007,241,000[23] City proper &0000000000000760000000760 &000000000001035900000010,359  Iran
20 Ho Chi Minh City &00000000071628640000007,162,864[32] Province-level municipality &00000000000020950100002,095.01 &00000000000034190000003,419  Vietnam
21 Hong Kong &00000000070264000000007,026,400[33] Special Administrative Region &00000000000010920000001,092 &00000000000064340000006,434  Hong Kong
22 Bangkok &00000000070250000000007,025,000[34] Administrative area &00000000000015687400001,568.74 &00000000000044780000004,478  Thailand
23 Dhaka &00000000070009400000007,000,940[35] City Corporation &0000000000000360000000360[36] &000000000001944700000019,447  Bangladesh
24 Cairo &00000000067585810000006,758,581[37] Governorate &0000000000000214000000214 &000000000003158200000031,582  Egypt
25 Lahore &00000000063187450000006,318,745[38] City District &00000000000017720000001,772 &00000000000035660000003,566  Pakistan
26 Rio de Janeiro &00000000061867100000006,186,710[14] Municipality &00000000000011820000001,182 &00000000000052340000005,234  Brazil
27 Chongqing &00000000059548000000005,954,800[39] Core districts[8] &00000000000054670000005,467 &00000000000010890000001,089  China
28 Bangalore &00000000058401550000005,840,155[40] Municipal Corporation &0000000000000709500000709.5[40] &00000000000082310000008,231  India
29 Tianjin &00000000058000000000005,800,000[41] Core districts + inner suburbs[8] &00000000000020570000002,057 &00000000000028200000002,820  China
30 Baghdad &00000000054024860000005,402,486[9] City proper &00000000000011340000001,134 &00000000000040640000004,064  Iraq
31 Kolkata &00000000051382080000005,138,208[9] Municipal Corporation &0000000000000185000000185 &000000000002777400000027,774  India
32 Santiago &00000000050129730000005,012,973[42] Province[43] &00000000000020300000002,030 &00000000000024690000002,469  Chile
33 Singapore &00000000049876000000004,987,600[44] Country/City &0000000000000710200000710.2 &00000000000068140000006,814  Singapore
34 Riyadh &00000000048480000000004,848,000[23] City proper &0000000000000800000000800 &00000000000055810000005,581  Saudi Arabia
35 Chennai &00000000046166390000004,616,639[9] Municipal Corporation &0000000000000187000000187 &000000000002468800000024,688  India
36 Saint Petersburg &00000000045818540000004,581,854[15] City proper &00000000000014390000001,439 [45] &00000000000031840000003,184  Russia
37 Surat &00000000045230220000004,523,022[46] Municipal Corporation &0000000000000326514999326.515[47] &000000000001385200000013,852  India
38 Yangon &00000000043500000000004,350,000[23] City proper &0000000000000598750000598.75[48] &00000000000068280000006,828  Myanmar
39 Guangzhou &00000000042618000000004,261,800[49] Core districts[8] &0000000000000280000000280[49] &000000000001522000000015,220  China
40 Alexandria &00000000041100150000004,110,015[37] Governorate &00000000000026800000002,680 &00000000000016110000001,611  Egypt
41 Shenyang &00000000041011970000004,101,197[50] (2006-12-31) Core districts &00000000000034950000003,495 &00000000000011730000001,173  China
42 Hyderabad &00000000040686110000004,068,611[9] Municipal Corporation &0000000000000621480000621.48[51] &00000000000065460000006,546  India
43 Ahmedabad &00000000039594320000003,959,432[9] Municipal Corporation &0000000000000204000000204 &000000000001994400000019,944  India
44 Ankara &00000000039012010000003,901,201[12] Metropolitan Municipality &00000000000025160000002,516 &00000000000015510000001,551  Turkey
45 Johannesburg &00000000038881800000003,888,180[52] Metropolitan Municipality (South Africa) &00000000000016449600001,644.96 &00000000000023640000002,364  South Africa
46 Los Angeles &00000000038493780000003,849,378[53] City proper &00000000000012900000001,290 &00000000000029800000002,980  United States
47 Wuhan &00000000038079500000003,807,950[54] Core districts[8] &0000000000000379399999379.4 &000000000001003600000010,036  China
48 Yokohama &00000000036802670000003,680,267[55] City proper &0000000000000437379999437.38 &00000000000084140000008,414  Japan
49 Abidjan &00000000036606820000003,660,682[56] Department/District &00000000000021190000002,119 &00000000000017280000001,728  Côte d'Ivoire
50 Busan &00000000035743400000003,574,340[57] Metropolitan City &0000000000000766120000766.12[57] &00000000000046660000004,666  South Korea
51 Cape Town &00000000034970970000003,497,097[52] Metropolitan Municipality (South Africa) &00000000000024547199992,454.72 &00000000000014240000001,424  South Africa
52 Durban &00000000034680860000003,468,086[52] Metropolitan Municipality (South Africa) &00000000000022918899992,291.89 &00000000000015130000001,513  South Africa
53 Pune &00000000034463300000003,446,330[9] Municipal Corporation &0000000000000450689999450.69 &00000000000076470000007,647  India
54 Berlin &00000000034263540000003,426,354[58] City state &0000000000000892000000892 &00000000000038420000003,842  Germany
55 Pyongyang &00000000032553880000003,255,388[59] Direct-controlled municipality &00000000000031940000003,194 &00000000000010190000001,019  North Korea
56 Jeddah &00000000032340000000003,234,000[23] City proper &00000000000012300000001,230 &00000000000024250000002,425  Saudi Arabia
57 Kanpur &00000000032214350000003,221,435[9] Municipal Corporation &0000000000000267000000267 &000000000001206500000012,065  India
58 Madrid &00000000032132710000003,213,271[60] Municipality &0000000000000698000000698 &00000000000046040000004,604  Spain
59 Jaipur &00000000032105700000003,210,570[9] Municipal Corporation &0000000000000485000000485 &00000000000066200000006,620  India
60 Buenos Aires &00000000030507280000003,050,728[61] Autonomous city &0000000000000203000000203 &000000000001502800000015,028  Argentina
61 Nairobi &00000000030385530000003,038,553[62] Province &0000000000000696000000696 &00000000000043660000004,366  Kenya

See also

Notes and references

  1. ↑ "World Urbanization Prospects: The 2007 Revision Population Database". Esa.un.org. http://esa.un.org/unup/index.asp?panel=6. Retrieved 2010-07-26. 
  2. ↑ "United Nations Statistics Division - Demographic and Social Statistics". Millenniumindicators.un.org. http://millenniumindicators.un.org/unsd/demographic/sconcerns/densurb/densurbanNotes.htm. Retrieved 2010-07-26. 
  3. ↑ Demographic Yearbook 2005, Volume 57. United Nations. 2008. p. 756. ISBN 9210510992. http://books.google.com/books?id=OwfGJtkpCbwC&pg=PA241&lpg=PA241&. Retrieved 2010-07-19. 
  4. ↑ World Urbanization Prospects. United Nations. 2004. p. 105. ISBN 9211413860. http://books.google.com/books?id=oxOAckK2stYC&pg=PA105. Retrieved 2010-07-19. 
  5. ↑ For cities in China, because administrative boundaries encompass large amounts of rural territory, the urban agglomeration concept is used instead, with fully urban districts as component local government units. Chinese urban agglomerations are based on the National Bureau of Statistics definition of urban for the 2000 census. Fully urban districts are those whose population density is greater than 1,500 per km².
  6. ↑ Some administrative divisions that are known as "cities" contain extensive rural territory. Only the urban parts of these administrative divisions are included in this list.
  7. ↑ Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Statistics, Shanghai Statistical Yearbook 2009, Total of permanent population (including "floating population"). Retrieved on 2009-07-17. Total population as of 2008-12-31 of the following districts (core city + inner suburbs): Pudong New Area, Huangpu, Luwan, Xuhui, Changning, Jing'an, Putuo, Zhabei, Hongkou, Yangpu, Baoshan, Minhang, and Jiading.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 Refers to fully urban districts, that is districts with a population density of over 1,500 per km².
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 9.5 9.6 9.7 9.8 9.9 "World: largest cities and towns and statistics of their population". World Gazetteer. http://world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=&men=gcis&lng=en&des=wg&srt=npan&col=abcdefghinoq&msz=1500&pt=c&va=&srt=pnan. Retrieved 30 March 2010. 
  10. ↑ Sindh Bureau of Statistics, Selected Tables of District Development Indicators, 2008; Population (Total) of 1998 Census and 2008 (Projected) (pdf-file) Retrieved on 2008-08-05. Including three rural towns (Gadap Town, Bin Qasim Town, and Kiamari Town, as well as six cantonments (Clifton Cantonment, Faisal Cantonment, Karachi Cantonment, Korangi Creek Cantonment, Malir Cantonment and Manora Cantonment) under military jurisdiction.
  11. ↑ "CHAPTER IV Area and Density – Metropolitan Cities". Ministry of Urban Development. Government of India. http://urbanindia.nic.in/theministry/subordinateoff/tcpo/AREA_POP/CHAPTER-4.PDF. Retrieved 2009-11-08. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 TUIK. "Address-based population registration system: Inside-Outside District Centers Population By Province And Sex And Population Density 2007". TUIK. http://report.tuik.gov.tr/reports/rwservlet?adnksdb2=&report=turkiye_ilce_koy_sehir.RDF&p_il1=34&p_kod=1&p_yil=2009&p_dil=1&desformat=pdf&ENVID=adnksdb2Env. Retrieved 2010-07-22. 
  13. ↑ Total population of the districts that officially form Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (all districts excluding the independent district municipalities of Büyükçekmece, Çatalca, Silivri and Şile).
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística, Estimativas de População, Estimativas para 1º de julho de 2009 Retrieved on 2009-08-16. Population estimate for 2009-07-01.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Tim Bespyatov, Population Statistics for Eastern Europe Population as of 2009-01-01. Retrieved on 2009-08-05.
  16. ↑ "Seoul Statistics (Population)". Seoul Metropolitan Government. http://stat.seoul.go.kr/Seoul_System5.jsp?stc_cd=418. Retrieved 24 March 2010. 
  17. ↑ "Seoul Statistics (Land Area)". Seoul Metropolitan Government. http://stat.seoul.go.kr/Seoul_System5.jsp?stc_cd=412. Retrieved 24 March 2010. 
  18. ↑ Beijing Municipal Bureau of Statistics, Beijing Statistical Yearbook 2008, Total number of permanent population (including "floating population") Retrieved on 2009-03-14. Total population on 2007-12-31 (1% sample census) of the two functional areas of 1) Core Districts of Capital Function and 2) Urban Function Extended Districts, including eight fully urban districts. The data is for so-called 'permanent population'; registered population was 7,323,000 the same year.
  19. ↑ Official monthly estimated de jure population by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (in Japanese). Population estimate on 2010-06-01.
  20. ↑ Corresponds to the former City of Tokyo merged into the Tokyo Metropolis on July 1, 1943. The whole of 23 wards is now a special local public entity which provides limited public service, and is sometimes statistically treated as the city proper of Tokyo (e.g. Statistical Bureau of Japan, The Population of capital cities and cities of 100 000 or more inhabitants. United Nations Statistics Division).
  21. ↑ National Population Council. "Mexico City Population". Government of the State of Mexico. http://www.edomex.gob.mx/poblacion/docs/2009/PDF/ZMVM.pdf. Retrieved 20 December 2009. 
  22. ↑ Penduduk Provinsi DKI Jakarta: Penduduk Provinsi DKI Jakarta Januari 2008 (Demographics and Civil Records Service: Population of the Province of Jakarta January 2008) Retrieved on 2008-10-25.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 23.4 UN world Urbanization Prospects estimate for 2010. While the UN list is nominally a list of urban agglomerations, this particular city is listed as using the "city proper" statistical concept in the sources section of the UN report.
  24. ↑ Excluding the rural commune of Maluku
  25. ↑ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places Over 100,000, Ranked by July 1, 2008 Population: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2008". US Census Bureau. http://www.census.gov/popest/cities/tables/SUB-EST2008-01.csv. Retrieved 2009-09-30. 
  26. ↑ Summing the 16 LGAs making up Metropolitan Lagos (Agege, Ajeromi-Ifelodun, Alimosho, Amuwo-Odofin, Apapa, Eti-Osa, Ifako-Ijaiye, Ikeja, Kosofe, Lagos Island, Lagos Mainland, Mushin, Ojo, Oshodi-Isolo, Shomolu, Surulere) as per:
    Federal Republic of Nigeria Official Gazette (15 May 2007). "Legal Notice on Publication of the Details of the Breakdown of the National and State Provisional Totals 2006 Census" (PDF). http://www.nigerianstat.gov.ng/Connections/Pop2006.pdf. Retrieved 2007-06-29. 
  27. ↑ INEI 2007 Census Results
  28. ↑ Composed of 43 independent districts
  29. ↑ UK Office of National Statistics -- mid-2007 population estimate for London region
  30. ↑ Composed of 32 London boroughs
  31. ↑ Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística. Proyecciones de población municipales por área, 2005-2009, a junio 30. (excel-file) Retrieved on 2009-08-05. Projected population on 2009-06-30.
  32. ↑ "General Statistics Office Of Vietnam". Gso.gov.vn. http://www.gso.gov.vn/default_en.aspx?tabid=462&idmid=2&idmid=2&ItemID=9789. Retrieved 2010-07-26. 
  33. ↑ Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong; Population and Vital Events Retrieved on 2009-08-05. Estimated population on 2008-12-31. Including 'usual' and 'mobile' residents, but excluding temporary visitors.
  34. ↑ National Statistical Office Thailand, Key Statistics of Thailand 2007; Chapter 1.9, Population Projections (1 July) by Region and Sex (embedded in huge 121MB zipped file!) Retrieved on 2009-08-05. Projected de facto population as of 2009. The registered (de jure) population was 5,695,956 in 2006.
  35. ↑ Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Statistical Pocket Book, 2008 (pdf-file) 2008 Population Estimate. Retrieved 2009-08-05.
  36. ↑ "Dhaka Area". Dhaka City Corporation. http://www.dhakacity.org/Page/About_us/About/Category/2/About_us_info. Retrieved 6 February 2010. 
  37. ↑ 37.0 37.1 Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics, Population and Housing Census 2006, Governorate level, Population distribution by sex (excel-file) For Cairo, figure is an adjusted census result, as Helwan governorate was created on the 17th of April 2008 from a.o. parts of the Cairo governorate.
  38. ↑ GeoHive, Pakistan - The Punjab - Administrative units 1998 Census result for Lahore District. Accessed on 2008-09-28. The UN estimated the population of Lahore to be 6,577,000 in 2007. However, that estimate is based on now obsolete administrative boundaries for the Lahore Metropolitan Corporation. The administrative boundaries for Lahore was changed in 2001, when it was transformed from Metropolitan Corporation into a City District. The City District includes the old Metropolitan Corporation as well as the surrounding district. The District of Lahore had a total of 6,318,745 inhabitants in 1998, compared to 5,143,495 for the Metropolitan Corporation. Current, but vague, estimates puts the population of the district at somewhere between 7.5 and 10 millions.
  39. ↑ Chongqing Statistical Yearbook. Refers to the statistical area known as the Metropolitan Advanced Economic Sphere (都市发达经济圈) consisting of nine districts. Population figure as of 2008-12-31.
  40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 "BBMP Delimitation 2009". Government of Karnataka. http://www.bbmpwards.org/bbmporg/Composition_of_BBMP.aspx. Retrieved 2009-11-09. 
  41. ↑ Tianjin Statistical Information Net. Retrieved on 2009-01-29. Total population as of 2005-11-01 of the following districts (core city + inner suburbs): Heping, Hedong, Hexi, Nankai, Hebei, Hongqiao, Dongli, Xiqing, Jinnan, and Beichen. Excludes the separate urban area of Binhai.
  42. ↑ Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Chile; Proyecciones de población al 30 de Junio 1990-2020, Region Metropolitana de Santiago; Provincias (excel-file) Retrieved on 2009-08-05. Projected population on 2009-06-30.
  43. ↑ Composed of 32 independent municipalities
  44. ↑ Statistics Singapore, Population (Mid-Year Estimates) Retrieved on 2009. Estimated population on Mid-2009, including Singapore residents plus non-residents. Population of Singapore citizens and residents was 3,642,700 on 2008-06-30.
  45. ↑ City of Saint Petersburg Official Portal, Statistics
  46. ↑ Surat Municipal Corporation; Mid-Year Population Estimates Retrieved on 2009-08-05. Projected population as of 2009, including areas within the new and extended city boundaries.
  47. ↑ Demographics: Surat Municipal Corporation
  48. ↑ Third Regional EST Forum, Presentation of Myanmar. Retrieved 6 June 2009.
  49. ↑ 49.0 49.1 Statistics Bureau of Guangzhou. Sum of the population of the following districts: Yuexiu, Liwan, Haizhu, and Tianhe. Population as of the end of 2008.
  50. ↑ City and region database of Statistics Finland
  51. ↑ "Greater Hyderabad Municipal corporation 2010". GHMC. http://www.ghmc.gov.in/greaterhyd.asp. Retrieved 12-04-2010. 
  52. ↑ 52.0 52.1 52.2 Statistics South Africa, Community Survey, 2007, Basic Results Municipalities (pdf-file) Retrieved on 2008-03-23.
  53. ↑ U.S. Census Bureau estimates for 2006
  54. ↑ Wuhan Statistical Yearbook 2009. Retrieved on 2010-04-27. Total population as of 2008-12-31 of the following districts: Jiang'an, Jianghan, Qiaokou, Hanyang, Wuchang, and Qingshan
  55. ↑ Official monthly estimated de jure population by the Kanagawa Prefectural Government (in Japanese). Population estimate on 2010-06-01.
  56. ↑ Abidjan District estimate for 2003
  57. ↑ 57.0 57.1 "Busan: Population and area of Administrative units". Busan Metropolitan City. http://english.busan.go.kr/01_about/03_02.jsp. Retrieved 24 March 2010. 
  58. ↑ "Bevölkerungsstand im Land Berlin". Amt für Statistik Berlin-Brandenburg. http://www.statistik-berlin-brandenburg.de/Publikationen/Otab/2008/ot_a01-01-00_124_200807_be.pdf. Retrieved 2008-07-31. 
  59. ↑ United Nations Statistics Division; Preliminary results of the 2008 Census of Population of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea conducted on 1-15 October 2008 (pdf-file) Retrieved on 2009-03-01.
  60. ↑ INE (2008)
  61. ↑ Population projections (pdf-file)
  62. ↑ UN OCHA, Estimate for mid-2008

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