This is a list of the largest cities in the European Union by population within city limits which have more than 300,000 inhabitants.[1] It deals exclusively with the areas within city administrative boundaries as opposed to urban areas or metropolitan areas, which are generally larger in terms of population than the main city.
As some cities have very narrow city limits and others very wide, the list may not give an accurate view of the comparative magnitude of different places, and the figures in the list should be treated with caution. For example, the populations of Greater London and Greater Paris constitute the largest urban areas in the EU, but the strict definition of the limits of the respective cities results in a far lower population shown in the table below.
Note: Cities in bold are capital cities of their respective countries. The cities should be sorted by the column labelled Official population.
Rank | City | Country | Eurostat population (2004)[2] | Official population | Date of census/estimate | References | Image |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | London[3] | United Kingdom | 7,429,200 | 7,825,300 | 30 June 2010 | [4] | |
2 | Berlin | Germany | 3,387,828 | 3,440,441 | 31 March 2010 | [5] | |
3 | Madrid | Spain | 3,228,319 | 3,284,110 | 1 January 2011 | [6] | |
4 | Rome | Italy | 2,553,873 | 2,774,625 | 31 July 2011 | [7] | |
5 | Paris | France | 2,181,374 | 2,203,817 | 1 January 2007 | [8] | |
6 | Bucharest | Romania | 1,927,448 | 1,944,367 | 1 January 2010 | [9] | |
7 | Hamburg[10] | Germany | 1,734,830 | 1,773,218 | 28 February 2008 | [11] | |
8 | Budapest | Hungary | 1,695,814 | 1,733,685 | 1 January 2011 | [12] | |
9 | Vienna | Austria | 1,598,626 | 1,723,945 | 30 September 2011 | [13] | |
10 | Warsaw | Poland | 1,692,854 | 1,720,398 | 10 August 2011 | [14] | |
11 | Barcelona | Spain | 1,621,537 | 1,621,537 | 1 January 2009 | [6] | |
12 | Munich | Germany | 1,249,176 | 1,353,186 | 31 December 2010 | [15] | |
13 | Milan | Italy | 1,299,439 | 1,336,879 | 31 July 2011 | [7] | |
14 | Prague | Czech Republic | 1,290,846 | 1,290,846 | 17 June 2011 | [16] | |
15 | Sofia | Bulgaria | 1,313,806 | 1,270,284 | February 2011 | [17] | |
16 | Lyon | France | 1,226,249 | 472,304 | 2006 | [18] | |
17 | Valencia | Spain | 1,175,732 | 814,208 | 1 January 2009 | [6] | |
18 | Marseille | France | 1,023,973 | 839,043 | 2006 | [19] | |
19 | Brussels[20] | Belgium | 999,899 | 1,048,491 | 1 January 2008 | [21] | |
20 | Naples | Italy | 995,171 | 957,465 | 31 July 2011 | [7] | |
21 | Birmingham | United Kingdom | 992,400 | 1,016,800 | 27 August 2008 | [4] | |
22 | Cologne | Germany | 969,709 | 1,000,298 | 31 May 2009 | [22] | |
23 | Turin | Italy | 902,255 | 908,016 | 31 July 2011 | [7] | |
24 | Athens | Greece | 796,442 | 745,514 | 1 January 2001 | [23] | |
25 | Amsterdam | Netherlands | 767,849 | 752,911 | 1 January 2010 | [24] | |
26 | Stockholm | Sweden | 761,721 | 829,417 | 31 December 2009 | [25] | |
27 | Kraków | Poland | 757,430 | 756,666 | 30 June 2007 | [14] | |
28 | Łódź | Poland | 744,541 | 750,125 | 1 January 2009 | [14] | |
29 | Riga | Latvia | 735,241 | 713,000 | 1 January 2009 | [26] | |
30 | Leeds | United Kingdom | 443,247 | 770,800 | 27 August 2008 | [4] | |
31 | Sevilla | Spain | 704,203 | 703,206 | 1 January 2009 | [27] | |
32 | Palermo | Italy | 675,277 | 655,409 | 31 July 2011 | [7] | |
33 | Toulouse | France | 651,586 | 437,715 | 2006 | [28] | |
34 | Frankfurt | Germany | 646,889 | 667,598 | 30 September 2007 | [29] | |
35 | Zaragoza | Spain | 638,799 | 674,317 | 1 January 2009 | [6] | |
36 | Wrocław | Poland | 636,268 | 633,950 | 30 June 2007 | [14] | |
37 | Glasgow | United Kingdom | 629,501 | 581,900 | 30 June 2007 | [4] | |
38 | Genoa | Italy | 605,084 | 608,458 | 31 July 2011 | [7] | |
39 | Rotterdam | Netherlands | 598,923 | 584,058 | 1 January 2007 | [24] | |
40 | Stuttgart | Germany | 590,657 | 595,452 | 28 February 2007 | [30] | |
41 | Dortmund | Germany | 588,680 | 580,444 | 31 December 2010 | [24] | |
42 | Essen | Germany | 588,084 | 574,635 | 31 December 2010 | [31] | |
43 | Düsseldorf | Germany | 572,663 | 588,735 | 31 December 2010 | [32] | |
44 | Poznań | Poland | 570,778 | 564,035 | 30 June 2007 | [14] | |
45 | Helsinki | Finland | 559,716 | 600,551 | 30 April 2011 | [33] | |
46 | Vilnius | Lithuania | 552,800 | 553,553 | 1 January 2006 | [34] | |
47 | Málaga | Spain | 547,731 | 568,305 | 1 January 2009 | [6] | |
48 | Bremen | Germany | 545,932 | 548,477 | 11 November 2006 | [35] | |
49 | Lisbon | Portugal | 529,485 | 499,700 | 31 December 2007 | [36] | |
50 | Sheffield | United Kingdom | 516,100 | 534,500 | 27 August 2008 | [4] | |
51 | Hannover | Germany | 515,841 | 517,251 | 30 September 2007 | [37] | |
52 | Copenhagen | Denmark | 501,664 | 520,659 | 1 April 2009 | [38] | |
53 | Leipzig | Germany | 498,491 | 510,512 | 31 December 2007 | [39] | |
54 | Duisburg | Germany | N/A | 496,665 | 31 December 2007 | [40] | |
55 | Nuremberg | Germany | 495,302 | 500,967 | 28 February 2007 | [41] | |
56 | Dresden | Germany | 487,421 | 517,052 | 31 December 2009 | [39] | |
57 | Bradford | United Kingdom | 481,100 | 501,700 | 27 August 2008 | [4] | |
58 | Nice | France | [42] | 478,850347,060 | 2006 | [43] | |
59 | Dublin | Ireland | 471,841 | 525,383 | 10 April 2011 | [44] | |
60 | The Hague | Netherlands | 469,059 | 473,941 | 1 January 2007 | [24] | |
61 | Gothenburg | Sweden | [45] | 466,990507,330 | 31 December 2009 | [25] | |
62 | Gdańsk | Poland | 459,072 | 456,103 | 30 June 2007 | [14] | |
63 | Antwerp | Belgium | 455,148 | 472,071 | 1 January 2008 | [21] | |
64 | Edinburgh | United Kingdom | 453,700 | 477,660 | 30 June 2009 | [4] [46] | |
65 | Liverpool | United Kingdom | 444,500 | 434,900 | 27 August 2008 | [4] | |
66 | Manchester | United Kingdom | 437,000 | 464,200 | 27 August 2008 | [4] | |
67 | Bratislava | Slovakia | 425,155 | 431,061 | 31 December 2009 | [47] | |
68 | Szczecin | Poland | 411,900 | 408,583 | 30 June 2007 | [14] | |
69 | Murcia | Spain | 398,815 | 436,870 | 1 January 2009 | [6] | |
70 | Bristol | United Kingdom | 393,900 | 421,300 | 27 August 2008 | [4] | |
71 | Tallinn | Estonia | 392,306 | 396,193 | 1 January 2006 | [48] | |
72 | Bochum | Germany | 388,179 | 382,195 | 30 June 2007 | [49] | |
73 | Thessaloniki | Greece | 386,627 | 363,987 | 18 March 2001 | [50] | |
74 | Las Palmas de Gran Canaria | Spain | 376,953 | 381,847 | 1 January 2009 | [6] | |
75 | Bologna | Italy | 374,425 | 382,825 | 31 July 2011 | [7] | |
76 | Palma | Spain | 368,974 | 401,270 | 1 January 2009 | [6] | |
77 | Kaunas | Lithuania | 368,913 | 360,630 | 1 January 2006 | [34] | |
78 | Bydgoszcz | Poland | 368,235 | 362,397 | 30 June 2007 | [14] | |
79 | Florence | Italy | 368,059 | 373,750 | 31 July 2011 | [7] | |
80 | Brno | Czech Republic | 367,729 | 403,407 | 17 June 2011 | [51] | |
81 | Wuppertal | Germany | 361,077 | 358,746 | 30 June 2006 | [52] | |
82 | Lublin | Poland | 355,998 | 352,786 | 30 June 2007 | [14] | |
83 | Bilbao | Spain | 352,317 | 354,860 | 1 January 2009 | [6] | |
84 | Cardiff | United Kingdom | 341,054 | 321,000 | 30 June 2007 | [4] | |
85 | Plovdiv | Bulgaria | N/A | 331,796 | February 2011 | [17] | |
86 | Varna | Bulgaria | N/A | 330,486 | February 2011 | [17] | |
87 | Bari | Italy | 328,458 | 319,860 | 31 July 2011 | [7] | |
88 | Bielefeld | Germany | 328,012 | 326,268 | 30 June 2006 | [53] | |
89 | Wakefield | United Kingdom | N/A | 322,300 | 27 August 2008 | [4] | |
90 | Valladolid | Spain | 321,713 | 318,461 | 1 January 2008 | [54] | |
91 | Katowice | Poland | 319,904 | 317,864 | 1 January 2009 | [14] | |
92 | Iaşi | Romania | N/A | 315,649 | 1 January 2010 | [9] | |
93 | Córdoba | Spain | 314,178 | 328,428 | 1 January 2009 | [54] | |
94 | Wirral | United Kingdom | 313,100 | 309,500 | 27 August 2008 | [4] | |
95 | Cluj-Napoca | Romania | 311,528 | 306,009 | 1 January 2010 | [9] | |
96 | Ostrava | Czech Republic | 311,402 | 310,397 | 17 June 2011 | [55] | |
97 | Alicante | Spain | 310,330 | 334,757 | 1 January 2008 | [54] | |
98 | Aarhus | Denmark | N/A | 310,653 | 1 April 2010 | .[56] | |
99 | Catania | Italy | 305,773 | 292,269 | 31 July 2011 | [7] | |
100 | Coventry | United Kingdom | 304,200 | 309,800 | 27 August 2008 | [4] | |
101 | Timişoara | Romania | 303,908 | 312,113 | 1 January 2010 | [9] | |
102 | Constanţa | Romania | N/A | 302,140 | 1 January 2010 | [9] | |
103 | Mannheim | Germany | N/A | 300,793 | 31 December 2009 | [57] | |
104 | Utrecht | Netherlands | 270,244 | 300,030 | 12 January 2009 | [58] |
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