What is the largest city in the world? Most populated cities in 2024.
Another GOP lawmaker says he will back Speaker Mike Johnson's ouster, bringing total to three
📷 Key players Meteor shower up next 📷 Leaders at the dais 20 years till the next one
WORLD
Cities

What is the largest city in the world? Biggest places by population and area.

Evan Hecht
USA TODAY

The United Nations estimated the world reached a total population of eight billion in Nov. 2022. With the current population growth, the U.N. also estimates the global population will reach 8.5 billion in 2030 and 9.7 billion in 2050.

The United States Census estimates there are nearly 335 million people living in the United States alone, a number that's steadily increased over the past few years.

Country by country and city by city the population differs drastically, but what is the largest city in the world? 

 What is the largest city in the world?

According to the World Populations Review, here are the top 10 largest cities by population in 2024, rounded:  

  1. Tokyo, Japan - 37.1 million people
  2. Delhi, India  - 34.8 million people
  3. Shanghai, China - 29.8 million people
  4. Dhaka, Bangladesh - 23.9 million people
  5. São Paulo, Brazil - 22.8 million people
  6. Cairo, Egypt - 22.6 people
  7. Mexico City, Mexico - 22.5 million people
  8. Beijing, China - 22.1 million people
  9. Mumbai, India - 21.6 million people
  10. Osaka, Japan - 18.9 million people

What is the largest city in the world by area?

Unlike measuring population, determining the largest city in the world by area is a less straightforward exercise. Each country has its own definition of what constitutes a city, making a standard measurement for the largest city by area harder to determine. For example, the World Population Review says the city of Sermersooq in Greenland is, by their standard of measurement for a city, over 205,400 square miles for a population of 23,123 people. 

To combat the inconsistency across countries, Demographia created a standardization to measure cities called Urban Area that factors population density in determining the area of cities. In using Urban Area as a form of measurement, it groups cities and areas together, so the top 10 largest cities by area are not the individual cities themselves but rather groups of cities within proximity as determined by Demographia.

According to the World Populations Review, based off reports from Demographia, the top 10 largest cities in terms of square miles: 

  1. New York-Newark
  2. Boston-Providence
  3. Tokyo-Yokohama
  4. Atlanta
  5. Chicago
  6. Los Angeles
  7. Moscow
  8. Washington-Baltimore 
  9. Philadelphia
  10. Dallas-Fort Worth

What state has the lowest population?:Top 10 least-populated states

Just Curious for more? We've got you covered.

USA TODAY is exploring the questions you and others ask every day. From "Where is Mount Everest?" to "What is the biggest state in the U.S.?" to "Why do dogs have whiskers?" – we're striving to find answers to the most common questions you ask every day. Head to our Just Curious section to see what else we can answer for you. 

Featured Weekly Ad