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List of metropolitan areas by population

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Largest city redirects here. For a list of the most populous cities within administrative limits, see List of cities by population. For a list of urban areas, see List of urban areas by population. See also historical urban community sizes for historical data.

This page lists the 100 largest Metropolitan Areas of the world, ranked by population. This is a controversial issue rather difficult to quantify, as unlike national subdivisions, there are no consistently defined borders for such an area. Many of the figures for individual cities are highly controversial, and in some cases numbers which differ by millions are given by different sources. In some countries there are official definitions, but they are not consistent on a global basis, nor even necessarily within countries. In addition, the underlying structure of different metropolitan areas varies: comparing a highly centralised city with an agglomeration of smaller settlements may not be very meaningful. Commuting patterns and other aspects of urban behaviour which underlie the metro area concept differ greatly around the world. Thus, all population figures for specific metro areas should be treated as interpretations rather than hard facts, and rankings and comparisons of metros should be treated with great caution.

Three main definitions

Three main definitions for the extent of a city:

  • A morphological definition based on the urbanized area, which is usually defined as the continuous built-up area with the maximum allowable gap between structures of typically 200 m. This morphological definition is an efficient way of defining the visible city for inhabitants, especially from satellite or aerial view and because it is independent of political boundaries. For statistical convenience, such areas are sometimes adjusted to appropriate administrative limits, sometimes including rural areas within the adjusted boundaries. The urban area definition is what would traditionally be called "the city" with limits that can easily be delineated from the air and is not dependent on how a country is administratively subdivided.
  • A functional definition, which is the traditional concept of a Metropolitan Area. This definition is based on commuting from home to work. Commuter flow thresholds into the core urban area are established by the national census authority to determine which areas are included or not in the metropolitan area. This definition, however, often encompasses large periurban rural areas that are not usually considered as "cities".
  • An administrative definition, typically based on a municipality (city proper) or equivalent entity, or sometimes a group of municipalities under a regional government. While statistical data for administrative divisions are easy to collect, they often do not reflect the true extent of the city.

Definitions used here

Most of the data for this list were compiled from the 2005 urban agglomeration population figures from the United Nations 2005 World Urbanization Prospects Report.[1] These figures include a single urban/employment center and its immediately surrounding suburban areas. Figures with notations are from the indicated sources instead of the UN report.

Unless otherwise specified, figures are based on rough estimates for the year 2005 and rounded to the nearest 1,000. Despite the standing of the organisation behind the figures, the appropriateness and consistency of the boundaries used is controversial and the aforementioned warnings apply.

Rank Metropolitan area name Country Definition Area Population estimate Population density
km2 mi2 per km2 per mi2
1 Tokyo (Greater Tokyo Area)  Japan Official metropolitan area (Keihinyo MMA) 13,500 5,210 35,197,000 2,610 6,760
2 Seoul (Seoul National Capital Area)  South Korea Official Metropolitan Area (Special City) 11,790 4,550 22,770,000[2] 1,996 5,170
3 Mexico City (Greater Mexico City)  Mexico Official metropolitan area (ZMVM) 7,815[3] 3,015 19,411,000 2,484 6,433
4 New York City (New York metropolitan area)  United States Metropolitan Statistical Area 17,405 6,720 18,747,320[4] 1,077 2,790
5 Osaka–Kobe (Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto) Commonly referred to as Keihanshin.  Japan Urban area (administrative boundaries) (excludes Kyoto) 2,070 800 18,644,000(A formal source of Japanese Government
    • ttp://www.stat.go.jp/data/kokusei/2000/final/zuhyou/092.xls)
 5,452 14,121
6 Sao Paulo (Greater Sao Paulo Area)  Brazil Official Metropolitan Area (Grande Sao Paulo ) 8,050 3,110 18,333,000 2,277 5,897
7 Mumbai (Bombay) (Mumbai Metropolitan Area)  India Administrative Area (MMRDA) 4,360 1,680 18,196,000 4,206 10,893
8 Delhi (National Capital Territory of Delhi)  India Administrative area (NCT) 1,480 570 15,048,000 10,360 26,832
9 Shanghai  People's Republic of China Municipality (excluding counties in 2000) 3,920 1,514 14,503,000 3,700 9,583
10 Kolkata (Calcutta) (Kolkata Metropolitan Area)  India Administrative Area (KMD) 1,780 690 14,277,000 8,033 20,805
11 Moscow  Russia Urban Area 2,150 830 13,400,000[5] 6,232 16,141
12 Jakarta (Jabotabek Metropolitan Area)  Indonesia Urban area 1,360 530 13,215,000 9,701 25,125
13 Los Angeles (Greater Los Angeles Area)  United States Metropolitan Statistical Area 12,562 4,850 12,923,547[4] 1,028 2,663
14 Buenos Aires (Aglomerado Gran Buenos Aires)  Argentina Metropolitan Area 3,680 1,420 12,550,000 3,627 9,394
15 Dhaka  Bangladesh Official Metropolitan Area (Dhaka Megacity) 1,600 620 12,430,000 7,850 20,331
16 London (London commuter belt)  United Kingdom Larger Urban Zone[6] 8,920 3,444 11,624,807
(2001) 		1,303 3,375
17 Karachi  Pakistan City District 3,530 1,360 11,608,000 3,348 8,671
18 Paris (Ile-de-France)  France Larger Urban Zone[7] 12,012 4,637 11,491,000[8]
(1.1.2006 est.) 		957 2,478
19 Rio de Janeiro  Brazil Official Metropolitan Area 5,000 1,930 11,469,000 2,294 5,941
20 Istanbul  Turkey Istanbul Province 5,315 2,050 11,332,000[9] 2,132 5,528
21 Cairo (Greater Cairo)  Egypt Metropolitan Area 1,310 510 11,128,000[citation needed] 8,508 22,036
22 Lagos  Nigeria Urban Area 640 250 10,886,000 17,398 45,061
23 Beijing  People's Republic of China Municipality (excluding counties in 2000) 7,860 3,034 10,717,000 1,363 3,530
24 Manila (Metro Manila)  Philippines Administrative area (Metro Manila) 640 250 10,686,000 16,683 43,209
25 Chukyo Metropolitan Area (Nagoya Metropolitan Area)  Japan Metropolitan statistical area 6,990 2,692 9,480,000(A formal source of Japanese Government
    • ttp://www.stat.go.jp/data/kokusei/2000/final/zuhyou/092.xls)
 1,253 3,247
26 Chicago (Chicagoland)  United States Metropolitan Statistical Area 18,679 7,212 9,443,356[4] 506 1,311
27 Guangzhou  People's Republic of China Prefecture-level city
(excluding county-level cities') 		7,260 2,803 8,425,000
28 Lima–Callao (Lima Metropolitan Area)  Peru Lima Metropolitana Region 2,819 1,088 8,187,398[10]
29 Bogota–Soacha  Colombia Metropolitan Area 1,980 760 7,881,556[11]
30 Tehran  Iran City proper 660 1,709 7,314,000 11,082 28,702
31 Shenzhen  People's Republic of China Prefecture-level city 1,950 5,050 7,233,000
32 Wuhan  People's Republic of China Prefecture-level city (excluding counties) 8,490 3,280 7,093,000
33 Hong Kong  People's Republic of China Special Administrative area 1,100 420 7,041,000 6,529 16,910
34 Tianjin  People's Republic of China Municipality (excluding counties) 7,130[citation needed] 18,467 7,040,000
35 Chennai (Madras)  India Administrative area (Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority) 1,180 460 6,916,000 5,860 15,177
36 Taipei (Taipei-Keelung metropolitan area)  Republic of China Taiwan Metropolitan Area (Consists of Taipei City, Taipei County, and Keelung City) 2,457 948 6,646,503[12]
(2000) 		2,748 6,970
37 Bangkok (Bangkok Metropolitan Area)  Thailand Official Metropolitan Area 1,570 610 6,593,000 4,206 10,893
38 Bangalore  India Administrative area (BMRDA) 1,280 490 6,462,000 5,103 13,217
39 Chongqing  People's Republic of China Municipality
(excluding counties and county-level cities) 		7,490 6,363,000
40 Lahore  Pakistan City district 1,770 680 6,289,000
41 Johannesburg (Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan Area)  South Africa Metropolitan area (Composed of Johannesburg, Ekurhuleni, and West Rand District) 6,239,745[13]
(2001)
42 Hyderabad  India Administrative area (HUDA) 1,860 720 6,115,000 3,288 8,493
43 Kinshasa  Democratic Republic of the Congo Province-level city (urban population) 9,960 3,850 6,049,000
44 Madrid (Madrid metropolitan area)  Spain Larger Urban Zone[14] 8,023 6,008,183
(2006 INE estimate)
45 Baghdad  Iraq Governorate (province) 730 280 5,904,000 8,096 20,969
46 Toronto (Greater Toronto Area)  Canada Official Metropolitan Area (GTA) 7,100 2,741 5,857,550[15]
(2006) 		825 2,137
47 Philadelphia (Delaware Valley)  United States Metropolitan Statistical Area 11,991 5,823,233[4] 486 1,259
48 Dallas (Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex)  United States Metropolitan Statistical Area 23,283 60,303 5,819,475[4] 250 647
49 Santiago  Chile Metropolitan area (Gran Santiago) 2,350 9110 5,683,000 2,418 6,262
50 Miami (South Florida)  United States Metropolitan statistical area 13,275 34,382 5,422,200[4] 408 1,057
51 Ruhr Area  Germany Larger Urban Zone[16] 4,434 11,484 5,359,228
(2001)
52 Saint Petersburg  Russia Administrative Area (Gorod) 1,150 440 5,312,000 4,619 12,073
53 Barcelona  Spain Larger Urban Zone[17] 7,755 20,085 5,309,404
(2006 INE estimate)
54 Belo Horizonte  Brazil Official Metropolitan Area 9,190 3,550 5,304,000
55 Houston (Greater Houston)  United States Metropolitan Statistical Area 23,124 59,891 5,280,077[4] 228 591
56 Washington, D.C. (Washington Metropolitan Area)  United States Metropolitan Statistical Area 5,214,666[4]
57 Ahmedabad  India Administrative area (AUDA) 1,300 500 5,120,000
58 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)  Vietnam Municipality (urban population) 2,090 810 5,065,000
59 Fukuoka-Kitakyushu Metropolitan Area  Japan Metropolitan statistical area 4,990,000(A formal source of Japanese Government
    • ttp://www.stat.go.jp/data/kokusei/2000/final/zuhyou/092.xls)
60 Berlin  Germany Larger Urban Zone[18] 17,405 45,079 4,935,524
(2001) 		284 736
61 Atlanta (Atlanta Metropolitan Area)  United States Metropolitan statistical area 4,917,717[4]
62 Shenyang  People's Republic of China Prefecture-level city (excluding counties) 3,460 8,961 4,720,000
63 Khartoum–Khartoum North–Omdurman  Sudan Urban area (administrative boundaries) 4,518,000
64 Detroit (Metro Detroit)  United States Metropolitan Statistical Area 4,488,335[4]
65 Boston (Greater Boston)  United States Metropolitan Statistical Area 4,411,835[4]
66 Pune  India Urban area 700 270 4,409,000 6,407 16,594
67 Kuala Lumpur (Klang Valley)  Malaysia Urban area 4,400,000[5]
68 Sydney  Australia Metropolitan Area (Statistical Division) 12,140 4,690 4,331,000
69 Singapore  Singapore City proper 690 270 4,326,000 6,336 16,410
70 Dongguan  People's Republic of China Prefecture-level city 2,460 6,371 4,320,000
71 Riyadh  Saudi Arabia City proper 1,550 600 4,193,000
72 Hanoi  Vietnam Metropolitan Area 2,150 830 4,164,000
73 San Francisco (San Francisco Bay Area)  United States Metropolitan Statistical Area 4,152,688[4][19]
74 Bandung  Indonesia Urban area 220 80 4,126,000 18,273 47,327
75 Chittagong  Bangladesh Official Metropolitan Area (census definition) 990 380 4,114,000 4,213 10,912
76 Yangon (Rangoon)  Myanmar Urban area 350 140 4,107,000 11,663 30,207
77 Chengdu  People's Republic of China Prefecture-level city (excluding counties) 2,130 4,065,000
78 Guadalajara  Mexico Official Metropolitan Area 2,730 1,050 3,968,000
79 Xi'an  People's Republic of China Prefecture-level city (excluding counties) 3,550 3,926,000
80 Milan  Italy Larger Urban Zone[20] 2,767 7,166 3,904,882
(2001)
81 Athens  Greece Larger Urban Zone[21] 3,807 9,860 3,894,573
(2001)
82 Phoenix (Valley of the Sun)  United States Metropolitan Statistical Area 3,865,077[4]
83 [Porto Alegre]]  Brazil Metropolitan Area 9,890 3,820 3,795,000 384 993
84 Alexandria  Egypt Governorate 2,970 1,150 3,770,000
85 Rome  Italy Larger Urban Zone[22] 5,352 13,862 3,700,424
(2001)
86 Harbin  People's Republic of China Prefecture-level city
(excluding counties and county-level cities) 		4,280 11,085 3,695,000
87 Montreal (Greater Montreal Area)  Canada Census metropolitan area 4,050 1,560 3,640,000 899 2,333
88 Melbourne  Australia Metropolitan area (Statistical Division) 8,694[citation needed] 3,626,000
89 Nanjing  People's Republic of China Prefecture-level city (excluding counties) 6,600 17,094 3,621,000
90 Monterrey  Mexico Official Metropolitan Area 4,010 1,550 3,596,000
91 Abidjan  Ivory Coast City proper 550 210 3,577,000 6,393 16,558
92 Ankara  Turkey Metropolitan Municipality 2,500 970 3,573,000
93 Surat  India Urban area 200 80 3,557,000 18,355 47,539
94 Busan (Pusan) Template:SKO City proper (Busan City) 760 290 3,554,000 4,641 12,020
95 Recife  Brazil Metropolitan Area 2,770 1,070 3,527,000
96 Guiyang  People's Republic of China Prefecture-level city (urban population) 3,447,000
97 Pyongyang Template:NKO City proper 2,110 810 3,351,000
98 Brasilia  Brazil Metropolitan Area (RIDE) 14,400 5,560 3,341,000
99 Salvador  Brazil Metropolitan Area 2,340 900 3,331,000
100 Medellin  Colombia Metropolitan Area 3,312,165[11]

Distribution by country

Country Number of top 100 metropolitan areas Combined population
 People's Republic of China 15 96,209,000
 United States 14 93,712,840
 India 9 80,100,000
 Japan 4 68,311,000
 Brazil 8 52,337,000
 Mexico 3 26,975,000
 South Korea 2 26,324,000
 Russia 2 19,062,000
 Pakistan 2 17,897,000
 Indonesia 2 17,341,000
 Bangladesh 2 16,544,000
 Turkey 2 14,905,000
 Egypt 2 14,898,000
 Argentina 1 12,550,000
 United Kingdom 1 11,624,807
 France 1 11,491,000
 Spain 2 11,317,587
 Colombia 2 11,193,721
 Nigeria 1 10,886,000
 Philippines 1 10,686,000
 Germany 2 10,294,752
 Vietnam 2 9,229,000
 Canada 2 8,952,000
 Peru 1 8,187,398
 Australia 2 7,957,000
 Italy 2 7,605,306
 Iran 1 7,314,000
 Republic of China 1 6,646,503
 Thailand 1 6,593,000
 South Africa 1 6,239,745
 Democratic Republic of the Congo 1 6,049,000
 Iraq 1 5,904,000
 Chile 1 5,683,000
 Sudan 1 4,518,000
 Singapore 1 4,326,000
 Malaysia 1 4,300,000
 Saudi Arabia 1 4,193,000
 Myanmar 1 4,107,000
 Greece 1 3,894,573
 Ivory Coast 1 3,577,000
Template:NKO 1 3,351,000


Notes and references

  1. ^ United Nations World Urbanization Prospects: 2005 Revision
  2. ^ Data refers to Seoul, Incheon, and the province of Gyeonggi. This area includes a sizeable rural fringe. Figure from Korean National Statistics Office.
  3. ^ Mexico - INEGI: Definitions of metropolitan areas
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m US Census Bureau 2005 MSA estimates
  5. ^ a b citypopulation.de 2006-11-22 revision
  6. ^ Urban Audit II - Larger Urban Zone for London (based on commuting and employment) is composed of Greater London and 42 surrounding districts. See also Urban Audit page at statistics.gov.uk.
  7. ^ Urban Audit II - Larger Urban Zone for Paris is defined as the Ile de France region.
  8. ^ INSEE - Enquetes annuelles de recensement de 2004 a 2006
  9. ^ Turkstat
  10. ^ Composed of Lima province and Callao province. Figure from INEI - Poblacion proyectada, segun Lima Metropolitana (2005).
  11. ^ a b DANE 2005 Census Summary
  12. ^ Taiwan National Statistics - Table 2
  13. ^ Municipality data from Statistics South Africa
  14. ^ Urban Audit II - Larger Urban Zone for Madrid is defined as Madrid (province). Go to INE and download "Poblacion de provincias" table.
  15. ^ "Ontario Population Projections, 2004-2031 (updated April 2006)". Ontario Ministry of Finance.
  16. ^ Urban Audit II - Larger Urban Zone corresponds to the Ruhr Area.
  17. ^ Urban Audit II - Larger Urban Zone for Barcelona is defined as Barcelona (province). Go to INE and download "Poblacion de provincias" table.
  18. ^ Urban Audit II - Larger Urban Zone consists of the state of Berlin and immediately surrounding kreise.
  19. ^ San Francisco is also considered to be part of a combined metropolitan area with the city of San Jose. This metropolitan area is called the "San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland Combined Statistical Area", or the "San Francisco Bay Area". The total population of the combined statistical area is 7,168,176 (2005 estimate).
  20. ^ Urban Audit II - Larger Urban Zone for Milan is defined as the Province of Milan plus surrounding communes within the contiguous urban area (290 communes total).
  21. ^ Urban Audit II - Larger Urban Zone for Athens includes the city of Athens and its surrounding nomoi.
  22. ^ Urban Audit II - Larger Urban Zone for Rome is defined as the Province of Rome.

See also

By Region

Cities

Metropolitan Areas

Other lists of Metropolitan Areas

Further reading

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