The biggest cities in the world are truly spectacular places, where the height of our current achievements as a species and civilization can be witnessed. The thought of 20 million people co-existing and functioning together in a small region is pretty spectacular when you consider the simple, nomadic roots from which humans developed. It’s not really a surprise however, as it’s essentially a necessity given the world’s bulging population of about 7.167 billion people (according to the United States Census Bureau (USCB)) that we live in harmony together in densely-populated regions. And it will only continue along this course, as the world’s population is expected to top 9 billion before 2050.
The history and culture of the 25 biggest cities in the world makes for some great studying, as the majority of the cities have lengthy and notable histories that led to their development as human gathering places. In some cases, the living environment was an important factor, with open plains being desirable places to build cities, as opposed to deserts, mountains or forests (though the latter can be conquered).
In addition to the total population figures presented on our list, you’ll also notice the population density statistics of each city. This is the number of people living square kilometer living in the city, which gives you an idea of how tightly packed with people each city is. You may notice some discrepancies with the numbers on our list compared to other lists. That’s because this list ranks cities by their “city proper”, which essentially eschews outer districts if they are run by different political or administrative bodies than the city proper. This has little effect on the rankings of some cities, but others, like New York, and Tokyo (otherwise widely regarded as the most populated city in the world) have much fewer people with their actual city proper.
Here then, we have listed the 25 biggest cities in the world in terms of their city proper population, which will give you a glimpse into the staggering number of people that populate some of the world’s greatest cities. If you’re interested in further reading on the subject afterwards, particularly as it relates to the United States (from which only one city made our forthcoming list), we suggest you check out previous article on The 20 Biggest Cities in the United States.
25. Dongguan
Country: China
Population: 8,220,207
Population Density Per Square Kilometer: 3,329
24. Bangkok
Country: Thailand
Population: 8,280,925
Population Density Per Square Kilometer: 5,280
23. London
Country: United Kingdom
Population: 8,308,369
Population Density Per Square Kilometer: 5,285
22. New York City
Country: United States of America
Population: 8,405,837
Population Density Per Square Kilometer: 10,724
21. Bangalore
Country: India
Population: 8,425,970
Population Density Per Square Kilometer: 11,876
20. Mexico City
Country: Mexico
Population: 8,874,724
Population Density Per Square Kilometer: 5,974
19. Dhaka
Country: Bangladesh
Population: 8,906,039
Population Density Per Square Kilometer: 29,401
18. Cairo
Country: Egypt
Population: 8,922,949
Population Density Per Square Kilometer: 2,892
17. Tokyo
Country: Japan
Population: 9,071,577
Population Density Per Square Kilometer: 14,562
16. Tianjin
Country: China
Population: 9,341,844
Population Density Per Square Kilometer: 2,31B
15. Kinshasa
Country: Democratic Republic Congo
Population: 9,735,000
Population Density Per Square Kilometer: 8,710
14. Lima
Country: Peru
Population: 9,751,717
Population Density Per Square Kilometer: 9,489
13. Jakarta
Country: Indonesia
Population: 9,988,329
Population Density Per Square Kilometer: 15,040
12. Seoul
Country: South Korea
Population: 10,388,055
Population Density Per Square Kilometer: 17,164
11. Shenzhen
Country: China
Population: 10,467,400
Population Density Per Square Kilometer: 5,255
10. Delhi
Country: India
Population: 11,007,835
Population Density Per Square Kilometer: 25,535
9. São Paulo
Country: Brazil
Population: 11,821,873
Population Density Per Square Kilometer: 7,772
8. Moscow
Country: Russia
Population: 12,111,194
Population Density Per Square Kilometer: 4,825
7. Mumbai
Country: India
Population: 12,478,447
Population Density Per Square Kilometer: 20,680
6. Guangzhou
Country: China
Population: 12,700,800
Population Density Per Square Kilometer: 3,305
5. Istanbul
Country: Turkey
Population: 14,160,467
Population Density Per Square Kilometer: 6,467
4. Lagos
Country: Nigeria
Population: 16,060,307
Population Density Per Square Kilometer: 16,067
3. Karachi
Country: Pakistan
Population: 21,142,625
Population Density Per Square Kilometer: 5,994
2. Beijing
Country: China
Population: 21,150,000
Population Density Per Square Kilometer: 1,288
1. Shanghai
Country: China
Population: 24,150,000
Population Density Per Square Kilometer: 3,800
