You’ve probably seen the lists. They’re everywhere. One site says Tokyo is the biggest city on the planet. Another claims it’s Jakarta. Then you’ve got someone in a comment section shouting about Chongqing being the size of Austria.
Honestly? They’re all kinda right, and they’re all totally wrong.
Getting a straight answer on cities of the world by population is a mess because nobody can agree on what a "city" even is. Are we talking about the tiny downtown core? The massive sprawl of the suburbs? Or the imaginary lines drawn by a government 30 years ago?
If you're planning a trip or just trying to win a bar bet, you need to know that the numbers you see on Wikipedia don't always match the "vibe" on the ground.
The New King: Why Jakarta Is Toppling Tokyo
For as long as most of us have been alive, Tokyo was the undisputed heavyweight champion. It was the "Big One." But according to the latest 2026 data from the UN World Urbanization Prospects, the crown has officially shifted.
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Jakarta, Indonesia, is currently the most populous urban agglomeration on Earth.
We’re talking about roughly 41.9 million people packed into the greater Jakarta area (often called Jabodetabek). If you’ve ever sat in Jakarta traffic at 5:00 PM on a Tuesday, this won't surprise you. The city is a relentless, pulsing engine of humanity.
Tokyo has slipped to third place.
Why? Because Japan is shrinking. It’s the 16th consecutive year of population decline for the country. Even though young people still move to Tokyo for work, the overall math isn’t working in the city's favor anymore. By 2050, Tokyo is projected to fall all the way to seventh place.
The Top 5 Urban Heavyweights (2026 Estimates)
- Jakarta, Indonesia: 41.9 million
- Dhaka, Bangladesh: 36.6 million
- Tokyo, Japan: 33.4 million
- New Delhi, India: 30.2 million
- Shanghai, China: 29.6 million
Dhaka is the one to watch. It’s growing so fast it’s actually scary. The UN predicts it will overtake Jakarta by mid-century, potentially hitting over 50 million people. Imagine the entire population of Spain living in one metropolitan area. That’s the future of Dhaka.
The Chongqing "Lie": Is it Really the Biggest?
You can’t talk about cities of the world by population without mentioning Chongqing. People love to share photos of its futuristic monorails and "vertical" architecture, claiming it has 32 million people.
Here is the catch: Chongqing isn't a city. It’s a municipality.
The administrative borders of Chongqing are about the same size as the country of Austria. Most of that land is mountains and farmland. If you’re a farmer living three hours away from the nearest skyscraper, the Chinese government still counts you as a "Chongqing resident."
In reality, the actual urban core of Chongqing has closer to 16–20 million people. Still massive? Absolutely. The biggest city in the world? Not even close if you're using a fair yardstick.
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Why We Keep Measuring Cities Wrong
There are basically three ways to measure a city's size, and using the wrong one is why your Google searches keep giving you conflicting answers.
City Proper
This is the administrative boundary. Think of London as just "The City" or Paris as just the 20 arrondissements. Under this metric, Paris looks tiny (about 2.1 million), which is hilarious to anyone who has actually tried to walk across it.
Urban Agglomeration
This is what the UN uses. It ignores political borders and looks at the "built-up" area. If the houses don't stop, the city hasn't stopped. This is the most "human" way to look at population because it describes the actual physical footprint of the city.
Metropolitan Area
This is the widest net. It includes the suburbs and the "commuter belt"—places where people might live in the woods but drive into the city for work every day. This is why New York City can jump from 8 million (city proper) to over 20 million (metro area) depending on who you ask.
The Rise of the African Megacity
Most people focusing on cities of the world by population are looking at Asia, but the real explosion is happening in Africa.
Cairo is currently the only city outside of Asia in the global top ten, sitting at roughly 25.6 million people. But look at Lagos, Nigeria. It’s currently around 12.8 million, but its growth rate is staggering.
Then there’s Luanda, Angola. Since 2000, it’s been growing at an annual rate of nearly 11%. These cities are young, chaotic, and incredibly productive. By 2050, cities like Dar es Salaam and Addis Ababa are expected to blow past the 10-million "megacity" threshold.
The "Shrinking" Giants
It’s not just Tokyo. Seoul is also expected to see a significant drop in its numbers by 2050. We are entering an era where some cities aren't just slowing down; they're actually getting smaller.
This creates a weird paradox. In a shrinking city like Tokyo, you have incredible infrastructure and world-class transit, but an aging population that struggles to fill the jobs. In a booming city like Dhaka, you have a massive, young workforce but a "choking" infrastructure that can't keep up with the sewage, water, and transport needs of 36 million people.
What This Means for You
If you’re looking at these numbers for business or travel, stop looking at "City Proper" stats. They’re useless.
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- For Business: Look at Metropolitan Area growth. That tells you where the consumers are actually living and spending money.
- For Travel: Look at Urban Agglomeration. This tells you how much "city" you’re actually going to have to navigate.
- For the Future: Keep your eye on the "Silver Corridor" in India (the Delhi-Mumbai industrial path) and the coastal hubs of West Africa.
Actionable Next Steps
- Check the "Scale": When you see a population stat, verify if it's "Metro" or "City Proper." If a city like Manila says it has 1.8 million people, they’re lying; the metro area has 24 million.
- Compare Density: Population doesn't equal "crowdedness." Mumbai is far denser than New York. If you hate crowds, a "big" city in the US is very different from a "big" city in South Asia.
- Track the Projections: Use the UN World Urbanization Prospects site to see how a city is trending before you move or invest. A city that is shrinking (like Osaka) has very different real estate vibes than one that is exploding (like Lagos).
The world is tilting toward the Global South. The old maps of the 20th century, where London and Paris were the centers of the universe, are officially dead. Today, the world belongs to the 42 million people in Jakarta.