The largest city by population using the metropolitan area.
What is the city proper? A city proper is the geographical area contained within city limits. The United Nations defines the term as "the single political jurisdiction which contains the historical city centre. City proper is one of the three basic concepts used to define urban areas and populations. The other two are urban agglomeration, and the metropolitan area.
| Rank | City | Country | Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tokyo | Japan | 37,274,000 |
| 2 | Delhi | India | 32,066,000 |
| 3 | Shanghai | China | 28,517,000 |
| 4 | Dhaka | Bangladesh | 22,478,000 |
| 5 | Sao Paulo | Brazil | 22,430,000 |
| 6 | Mexico City | Mexico | 22,085,000 |
| 7 | Cairo | Egypt | 21,750,000 |
| 8 | Beijing | China | 21,333,000 |
| 9 | Mumbai | India | 20,961,000 |
| 10 | Osaka | Japan | 19,060,000 |
| 11 | New York City | United States | 18,867,000 |
| 12 | Chongqing | China | 16,875,000 |
| 13 | Karachi | Pakistan | 16,840,000 |
| 14 | Istanbul | Turkey | 15,636,000 |
| 15 | Kinshasa | Republic of Congo | 15,628,000 |
| 16 | Lagos | Nigeria | 15,388,000 |
| 17 | Buenos Aires | Argentina | 15,370,000 |
| 18 | Calcutta | India | 15,134,000 |
| 19 | Manila | Philippines | 14,406,000 |
| 20 | Tianjin | China | 14,012,000 |
| 21 | Guangzhou, Guangdong | China | 13,965,000 |
| 22 | Rio de Janeiro | Brazil | 13,634,000 |
| 23 | Lahore | Pakistan | 13,542,000 |
| 24 | Bangalore | India | 13,193,000 |
| 25 | Shenzhen | China | 12,831,000 |
| 26 | Moscow | Russia | 12,641,000 |
| 27 | Los Angeles | United States | 12,488,000 |
| 28 | Madras | India | 11,503,000 |
| 29 | Bogota | Colombia | 11,344,000 |
| 30 | Paris | France | 11,142,000 |
| 31 | Jakarta | Indonesia | 11,075,000 |
| 32 | Lima | Peru | 11,045,000 |
| 33 | Bangkok | Thailand | 10,900,000 |
| 34 | Hyderabad | India | 10,534,000 |
| 35 | Seoul | South Korea | 9,976,000 |
| 36 | Nagoya | Japan | 9,572,000 |
| 37 | Chengdu | China | 9,479,000 |
| 38 | Nanjing, Jiangsu | China | 9,429,000 |
| 39 | Tehran | Iran | 9,382,000 |
| 40 | Ho Chi Minh City | Vietnam | 9,077,000 |
| 41 | Luanda | Angola | 8,952,000 |
| 42 | Chicago | United States | 8,901,000 |
| 43 | Wuhan | China | 8,592,000 |
| 44 | Xian, Shaanxi | China | 8,538,000 |
| 45 | Ahmadabad | India | 8,450,000 |
| 46 | Kuala Lumpur | Malaysia | 8,420,000 |
| 47 | Hangzhou | China | 8,045,000 |
| 48 | Surat | India | 7,784,000 |
| 49 | Suzhou, Jiangsu | China | 7,764,000 |
| 50 | Hong Kong | Hong Kong | 7,643,000 |
| 51 | Riyadh | Saudi Arabia | 7,538,000 |
| 52 | Shenyang | China | 7,528,000 |
| 53 | Baghdad | Iraq | 7,512,000 |
| 54 | Dongguan | China | 7,512,000 |
| 55 | Foshan | China | 7,497,000 |
| 56 | Dar es Salaam | Tanzania | 7,405,000 |
| 57 | Poona | India | 6,987,000 |
| 58 | Santiago | Chile | 6,857,000 |
| 59 | Madrid | Spain | 6,714,000 |
| 60 | Haerbin | China | 6,666,000 |
| 61 | Houston | United States | 6,603,000 |
| 62 | Dallas-Fort Worth | United States | 6,488,000 |
| 63 | Toronto | Canada | 6,313,000 |
| 64 | Miami | United States | 6,215,000 |
| 65 | Belo Horizonte | Brazil | 6,194,000 |
| 66 | Khartoum | Sudan | 6,160,000 |
| 67 | Johannesburg | South Africa | 6,065,000 |
| 68 | Singapore | Singapore | 6,040,000 |
| 69 | Atlanta | United States | 6,013,000 |
| 70 | Dalian | China | 5,930,000 |
| 71 | Qingdao | China | 5,865,000 |
| 72 | Philadelphia | United States | 5,756,000 |
| 73 | Zhengzhou | China | 5,690,000 |
| 74 | Jinan, Shandong | China | 5,663,000 |
| 75 | Barcelona | Spain | 5,658,000 |
| 76 | Saint Petersburg | Russia | 5,536,000 |
| 77 | Abidjan | Cote dIvoire | 5,516,000 |
| 78 | Yangon | Myanmar | 5,514,000 |
| 79 | Kitakyushu-Fukuoka | Japan | 5,503,000 |
| 80 | Alexandria | Egypt | 5,484,000 |
| 81 | Washington DC | United States | 5,434,000 |
| 82 | Guadalajara | Mexico | 5,340,000 |
| 83 | Ankara | Turkey | 5,310,000 |
| 84 | Chittagong | Bangladesh | 5,253,000 |
| 85 | Addis Ababa | Ethiopia | 5,228,000 |
| 86 | Melbourne | Australia | 5,151,000 |
| 87 | Nairobi | Kenya | 5,119,000 |
| 88 | Ha Noi | Vietnam | 5,067,000 |
| 89 | Sydney | Australia | 5,057,000 |
| 90 | Monterrey | Mexico | 5,037,000 |
| 91 | Changsha | China | 4,810,000 |
| 92 | Brasilia | Brazil | 4,804,000 |
| 93 | Cape Town | South Africa | 4,801,000 |
| 94 | Jeddah | Saudi Arabia | 4,781,000 |
| 95 | Wulumqi | China | 4,710,000 |
| 96 | Kunming | China | 4,657,000 |
| 97 | Phoenix | United States | 4,652,000 |
| 98 | Changchun | China | 4,616,000 |
| 99 | Hefei | China | 4,496,000 |
| 100 | Shantou | China | 4,490,000 |
| 101 | Xinbei | Taiwan | 4,471,000 |
| 102 | Kabul | Afghanistan | 4,458,000 |
| 103 | Ningbo | China | 4,405,000 |
| 104 | Tel Aviv-Jaffa | Israel | 4,344,000 |
| 105 | Yaounde | Cameroon | 4,337,000 |
| 106 | Boston | United States | 4,327,000 |
| 107 | Rome | Italy | 4,298,000 |
| 108 | Shijiazhuang | China | 4,285,000 |
| 109 | Montreal | Canada | 4,277,000 |
| 110 | Recife | Brazil | 4,220,000 |
| 111 | Kano | Nigeria | 4,219,000 |
| 112 | Porto Alegre | Brazil | 4,185,000 |
| 113 | Fortaleza | Brazil | 4,164,000 |
| 114 | Jaipur | India | 4,107,000 |
| 115 | Nanning | China | 4,086,000 |
| 116 | Medellin | Colombia | 4,068,000 |
| 117 | Taiyuan, Shanxi | China | 4,061,000 |
| 118 | Ekurhuleni | South Africa | 4,045,000 |
| 119 | Douala | Cameroon | 3,927,000 |
| 120 | Calicut | India | 3,921,000 |
| 121 | Salvador | Brazil | 3,920,000 |
| 122 | Changzhou, Jiangsu | China | 3,869,000 |
| 123 | Xiamen | China | 3,863,000 |
| 124 | Lucknow | India | 3,854,000 |
| 125 | Fuzhou, Fujian | China | 3,844,000 |
| 126 | Casablanca | Morocco | 3,840,000 |
| 127 | Wenzhou | China | 3,825,000 |
| 128 | Nanchang | China | 3,818,000 |
| 129 | Malappuram | India | 3,816,000 |
| 130 | Curitiba | Brazil | 3,771,000 |
| 131 | Ibadan | Nigeria | 3,756,000 |
| 132 | Antananarivo | Madagascar | 3,700,000 |
| 133 | Tangshan, Hebei | China | 3,693,000 |
| 134 | Kampala | Uganda | 3,652,000 |
| 135 | Abuja | Nigeria | 3,652,000 |
| 136 | Kumasi | Ghana | 3,630,000 |
| 137 | Faisalabad | Pakistan | 3,625,000 |
| 138 | Bekasi | Indonesia | 3,622,000 |
| 139 | Berlin | Germany | 3,571,000 |
| 140 | Detroit | United States | 3,521,000 |
| 141 | Guiyang | China | 3,496,000 |
| 142 | Seattle | United States | 3,489,000 |
| 143 | Busan | South Korea | 3,468,000 |
| 144 | Santo Domingo | Dominican Republic | 3,458,000 |
| 145 | Asuncion | Paraguay | 3,452,000 |
| 146 | Campinas | Brazil | 3,385,000 |
| 147 | Wuxi, Jiangsu | China | 3,376,000 |
| 148 | Thrissur | India | 3,351,000 |
| 149 | Dakar | Senegal | 3,326,000 |
| 150 | Port Harcourt | Nigeria | 3,325,000 |
