Urban area

1. Cairo (Egypt) - 20,485,000
2. Lagos (Nigeria) - 13,904,000
3. Kinshasa (DR Congo) - 13,743,000
4. Luanda (Angola) - 8,045,000
5. Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) - 6,368,000
6. Khartoum (Sudan) - 5,678,000
7. Johannesburg (South Africa) - 5,635,000
8. Alexandria (Egypt) - 5,182,000
9. Abidjan (Ivory Coast) - 5,059,000
10. Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) - 4,592,000

1. Tokyo (Japan) - 37,435,000
2. New Delhi (India) - 29,399,000
3. Shanghai (China) - 26,317,000
4. Dhaka (Bangladesh) - 20,284,000
5. Mumbai (India) - 20,185,000
6. Beijing (China) - 20,035,000
7. Osaka (Japan) - 19,223,000
8. Karachi (Pakistan) - 15,741,000
9. Chongqing (China) - 15,354,000
10. Istanbul (Turkey) - 14,968,000

1. Moscow (Russia) - 12,476,000
2. Paris (France) - 10,958,000
3. London (United Kingdom) - 9,177,000
4. Madrid (Spain) - 6,559,000
5. Barcelona (Spain) - 5,541,000
6. Saint Petersburg (Russia) - 5,427,000
7. Rome (Italy) - 4,234,000
8. Berlin (Germany) - 3,557,000
9. Athens (Greece) - 3,154,000
10. Milan (Italy) - 3,136,000

1. Mexico City (Mexico) - 21,672,000
2. New York - Newark (United States) - 18,805,000
3. Los Angeles - Long Beach - Santa Ana (United States) - 12,448,000
4. Chicago (United States) - 8,862,000
5. Washington, D.C. - Baltimore (United States) - 6,385,000
6. Houston (United States) - 6,245,000
7. Dallas - Fort Worth (United States) - 6,201,000
8. Toronto (Canada) - 6,139,000
9. Miami (United States) - 6,079,000
10. Philadelphia (United States) - 5,705,000

1. Melbourne (Australia) - 4,870,000
2. Sydney (Australia) - 4,859,000
3. Brisbane (Australia) - 2,372,000
4. Perth (Australia) - 2,016,000
5. Auckland (New Zealand) - 1,582,000
6. Adelaide (Australia) - 1,328,000
7. Gold Coast (Australia) - 687,000
8. Canberra (Australia) - 452,000
9. Newcastle (Australia) - 447,000
10. Wellington (New Zealand) - 413,000

1. São Paulo (Brazil) - 21,847,000
2. Buenos Aires (Argentina) - 15,057,000
3. Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) - 13,374,000
4. Bogotá (Colombia) - 10,779,000
5. Lima (Peru) - 10,555,000
6. Santiago (Chile) - 6,724,000
7. Belo Horizonte (Brazil) - 6,028,000
8. Brasília (Brazil) - 4,559,000
9. Porto Alegre (Brazil) - 4,115,000
10. Recife (Brazil) - 4,078,000

4.458 million KABUL (capital) (2022)

512,000 TIRANA (capital) (2022)

2.854 million ALGIERS (capital), 922,000 Oran (2022)

49,000 PAGO PAGO (capital) (2018)

23,000 ANDORRA LA VELLA (capital) (2018)

8.952 million LUANDA (capital), 914,000 Lubango, 862,000 Cabinda, Benguela 777,000 (2022)

1,000 THE VALLEY (capital) (2018)

21,000 SAINT JOHN'S (capital) (2018)

15.370 million BUENOS AIRES (capital), 1.598 million Cordoba, 1.574 million Rosario, 1.209 million Mendoza, 1.014 million San Miguel de Tucuman, 904,000 La Plata (2022)

1.092 million YEREVAN (capital) (2022)

30,000 ORANJESTAD (capital) (2018)

5,151 million Melbourne, 5.057 million Sydney, 2.472 million Brisbane, 2.093 million Perth, 1.356 million Adelaide, 467,000 CANBERRA (capital) (2022)

1.960 million VIENNA (capital) (2022)

2.401 million BAKU (capital) (2022)

280,000 NASSAU (capital) (2018)

689,000 MANAMA (capital) (2022)

22.478 million DHAKA (capital), 5.253 million Chittagong, 950,000 Khulna, 942,000 Rajshahi, 928,000 Sylhet, Bogra 864,000 (2022)

89,000 BRIDGETOWN (capital) (2018)

2.049 million MINSK (capital) (2022)

2.110 million BRUSSELS (capital), 1.053 million Antwerp (2022)

23,000 BELMOPAN (capital) (2018)

285,000 PORTO-NOVO (capital) (2018); 1.189 million Abomey-Calavi, 709,000 COTONOU (seat of government) (2022)

10,000 HAMILTON (capital) (2018)

203,000 THIMPHU (capital) (2018)

278,000 Sucre (constitutional capital) (2018); 1.908 million LA PAZ (capital), 1.784 million Santa Cruz, 1.369 million Cochabamba (2022)

344,000 SARAJEVO (capital) (2022)

269,000 GABORONE (capital) (2018)

22.430 million Sao Paulo, 13.634 million Rio de Janeiro, 6.194 million Belo Horizonte, 4.804 million BRASILIA (capital), 4.220 million Recife, 4.185 million Porto Alegre (2022)

15,000 ROAD TOWN (capital) (2018)

241,000 BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN (capital) (2011)

1.287 million SOFIA (capital) (2022)

3.056 million OUAGADOUGOU (capital), 1.074 million Bobo-Dioulasso (2022)

1.139 million BUJUMBURA (capital) (2022)

168,000 PRAIA (capital) (2018)

2.211 million PHNOM PENH (capital) (2022)

4.164 million YAOUNDE (capital), 3.927 million Douala (2022)

6.313 million Toronto, 4.277 million Montreal, 2.632 million Vancouver, 1.611 million Calgary, 1.519 million Edmonton, 1.423 million OTTAWA (capital) (2022)

35,000 GEORGE TOWN (capital) (2018)

933,000 BANGUI (capital) (2022)

1.533 million N'DJAMENA (capital) (2022)

6.857 million SANTIAGO (capital), 1.000 million Valparaiso, 902,000 Concepcion (2022)

28.517 million Shanghai, 20.133 million BEIJING (capital), 16.875 million Chongqing, 14.012 million Tianjin, 13.965 million Guangzhou, 12.831 million Shenzhen (2022)

11.344 million BOGOTA (capital), 4.068 million Medellin, 2.837 million Cali, 2.325 million Barranquilla, 1.366 million Bucaramanga, 1.079 million Cartagena (2022)

62,000 MORONI (capital) (2018)

15.628 million KINSHASA (capital), 2.765 million Mbuji-Mayi, 2.695 million Lubumbashi, 1.593 million Kananga, 1.366 million Kisangani, 1.190 million Bukavu (2022)

2.553 million BRAZZAVILLE (capital), 1.295 million Pointe-Noire (2022)

1.441 million SAN JOSE (capital) (2022)

231,000 YAMOUSSOUKRO (capital) (2018), 5.516 million ABIDJAN (seat of government) (2022)

684,000 ZAGREB (capital) (2022)

2.146 million HAVANA (capital) (2022)

144,000 WILLEMSTAD (capital) (2018)

269,000 NICOSIA (capital) (2018)

1.318 million PRAGUE (capital) (2022)

1.370 million COPENHAGEN (capital) (2022)

591,000 DJIBOUTI (capital) (2022)

15,000 ROSEAU (capital) (2018)

3.458 million SANTO DOMINGO (capital) (2022)

3.092 million Guayaquil, 1.928 million QUITO (capital) (2022)

21.750 million CAIRO (capital), 5.484 million Alexandria, 764,000 Bur Sa'id (2022)

1.111 million SAN SALVADOR (capital) (2022)

297,000 MALABO (capital) (2018)

1.035 million ASMARA (capital) (2022)

452,000 TALLINN (capital) (2022)

68,000 MBABANE (capital) (2018)

5.228 million ADDIS ABABA (capital) (2022)

2,000 STANLEY (capital) (2018)

21,000 TÓRSHAVN (capital) (2018)

178,000 SUVA (capital) (2018)

1.328 million HELSINKI (capital) (2022)

11.142 million PARIS (capital), 1.748 million Lyon, 1.620 million Marseille-Aix-en-Provence, 1.073 million Lille, 1.049 million Toulouse, 991,000 Bordeaux (2022)

136,000 PAPEETE (capital) (2018)

857,000 LIBREVILLE (capital) (2022)

470,000 BANJUL (capital) (2022)

756,000 Gaza (2022)

1.080 million TBILISI (capital) (2022)

3.571 million BERLIN (capital), 1.788 million Hamburg, 1.566 million Munich, 1.137 million Cologne, 791,000 Frankfurt (2022)

3.630 million Kumasi, 2.605 million ACCRA (capital), 1.035 million Sekondi Takoradi (2022)

35,000 GIBRALTAR (capital) (2018)

3.154 million ATHENS (capital), 814,000 Thessaloniki (2022)

18,000 NUUK (capital) (2018)

39,000 SAINT GEORGE'S (capital) (2018)

147,000 HAGATNA (capital) (2018)

3.036 million GUATEMALA CITY (capital) (2022)

16,000 SAINT PETER PORT (capital) (2018)

2.049 million CONAKRY (capital) (2022)

643,000 BISSAU (capital) (2022)

110,000 GEORGETOWN (capital) (2018)

2.915 million PORT-AU-PRINCE (capital) (2022)

1,000 VATICAN CITY (capital) (2018)

1.527 million TEGUCIGALPA (capital), 956,000 San Pedro Sula (2022)

7.643 million Hong Kong (2022)

1.775 million BUDAPEST (capital) (2022)

216,000 REYKJAVÍK (capital) (2018)

32.066 million NEW DELHI (capital), 20.961 million Mumbai, 15.134 million Kolkata, 13.193 million Bangalore, 11.503 million Chennai, 10.534 million Hyderabad (2022)

11.075 million JAKARTA (capital), 3.622 million Bekasi, 3.005 million Surabaya, 2.942 million Depok, 2.638 million Bandung, 2.456 million Tangerang (2022)

9.382 million TEHRAN (capital), 3.318 million Mashhad, 2.219 million Esfahan, 1.699 million Shiraz, 1.644 million Tabriz, 1.587 million Karaj (2022)

7.512 million BAGHDAD (capital), 1.737 million Mosul, 1.414 million Basra, 1.052 million Kirkuk, 930,000 Najaf, 878,000 Erbil (2022)

1.256 million DUBLIN (capital) (2022)

27,000 DOUGLAS (capital) (2018)

4.344 million Tel Aviv-Yafo, 1.164 million Haifa, 957,000 JERUSALEM (capital) (2022)

4.298 million ROME (capital), 3.149 million Milan, 2.180 million Naples, 1.798 million Turin, 907,000 Bergamo, 850,000 Palermo (2022)

595,000 KINGSTON (capital) (2022)

37.274 million TOKYO (capital), 19.060 million Osaka, 9.572 million Nagoya, 5.503 million Kitakyushu-Fukuoka, 2.935 million Shizuoka-Hamamatsu, 2.669 million Sapporo (2022)

34,000 SAINT HELIER (capital) (2018)

2.210 million AMMAN (capital) (2022)

1.958 million Almaty, 1.254 million NUR-SULTAN (capital), 1.126 million Shimkent (2022)

5.119 million NAIROBI (capital), 1.389 million Mombasa (2022)

64,000 TARAWA (capital) (2018)

3.133 million PYONGYANG (capital) (2022)

9.976 million SEOUL (capital), 3.468 million Busan, 2.834 million Incheon, 2.185 million Daegu (Taegu), 1.573 million Daejon (Taejon), 1.526 million Gwangju (Kwangju) (2022)

216,870 PRISTINA (capital) (2019)

3.239 million KUWAIT (capital) (2022)

1.082 million BISHKEK (capital) (2022)

706,000 VIENTIANE (capital) (2022)

625,000 RIGA (capital) (2022)

2.433 million BEIRUT (capital) (2022)

202,000 MASERU (capital) (2018)

1.623 million MONROVIA (capital) (2022)

1.176 million TRIPOLI (capital), 953,000 Misratah, 848,000 Benghazi (2022)

5,000 VADUZ (capital) (2018)

541,000 VILNIUS (capital) (2022)

120,000 LUXEMBOURG (capital) (2018)

3.700 million ANTANANARIVO (capital) (2022)

1.222 million LILONGWE (capital), 995,000 Blantyre-Limbe (2022)

8.420 million KUALA LUMPUR (capital), 1.065 million Johor Bahru, 842,000 Ipoh (2022)

177,000 MALE (capital) (2018)

2.817 million BAMAKO (capital) (2022)

213,000 VALLETTA (capital) (2018)

31,000 MAJURO (capital) (2018)

1.432 million NOUAKCHOTT (capital) (2022)

149,000 PORT LOUIS (capital) (2018)

22.085 million MEXICO CITY (capital), 5.340 million Guadalajara, 5.037 million Monterrey, 3.295 million Puebla, 2.576 million Toluca de Lerdo, 2.221 million Tijuana (2022)

7,000 PALIKIR (capital) (2018)

491,000 CHISINAU (capital) (2022)

39,000 MONACO (capital) (2018)

1.645 million ULAANBAATAR (capital) (2022)

177,000 PODGORICA (capital) (2018)

3.840 million Casablanca, 1.932 million RABAT (capital), 1.267 million Fes, 1.238 million Tangier, 1.277 million Marrakech, 960,000 Agadir (2022)

1.797 million Matola, 1.139 million MAPUTO (capital), 927,000 Nampula (2022)

5.514 million Rangoon (Yangon), 1.501 million Mandalay, 925,000 NAYPYIDAW (capital) (2022)

461,000 WINDHOEK (capital) (2022)

1.521 million KATHMANDU (capital) (2022)

1.166 million AMSTERDAM (capital), 1.015 million Rotterdam (2022)

198,000 NOUMEA (capital) (2018)

1.652 million Auckland, 419,000 WELLINGTON (capital) (2022)

1.083 million MANAGUA (capital) (2022)

1.384 million NIAMEY (capital) (2022)

15.388 million Lagos, 4.219 million Kano, 3.756 million Ibadan, 3.652 million ABUJA (capital), 3.325 million Port Harcourt, 1.841 million Benin City (2022)

1,000 ALOFI (capital) (2018)

606,000 SKOPJE (capital) (2022)

51,000 SAIPAN (capital) (2018)

1.071 million OSLO (capital) (2022)

1.623 million MUSCAT (capital) (2022)

16.840 million Karachi, 13.542 million Lahore, 3.625 million Faisalabad, 2.353 million Gujranwala, 2.343 million Peshawar, 1.198 million ISLAMABAD (capital) (2022)

277 NGERULMUD (capital) (2018)

1.938 million PANAMA CITY (capital) (2022)

400,000 PORT MORESBY (capital) (2022)

3.452 million ASUNCION (capital) (2022)

11.045 million LIMA (capital), 947,000 Arequipa, 891,000 Trujillo (2022)

14.406 million MANILA (capital), 1.908 million Davao, 1.009 million Cebu City, 931,000 Zamboanga, 925,000 Antipolo, 786,000 Cagayan de Oro City (2022)

1.795 million WARSAW (capital), 770,000 Krakow (2022)

3.035 million LISBON (capital), 1.737 million Porto (2022)

2.443 million SAN JUAN (capital) (2022)

779,000 Ar-Rayyan, 652,000 DOHA (capital) (2022)

1.785 million BUCHAREST (capital) (2022)

12.641 million MOSCOW (capital), 5.536 million Saint Petersburg, 1.686 million Novosibirsk, 1.521 million Yekaterinburg, 1.286 million Kazan, 1.253 million Nizhniy Novgorod (2022)

1.208 million KIGALI (capital) (2022)

1,000 JAMESTOWN (capital) (2018)

14,000 BASSETERRE (capital) (2018)

22,000 CASTRIES (capital) (2018)

6,000 SAINT - PIERRE (capital) (2018)

27,000 KINGSTOWN (capital) (2018)

36,000 APIA (capital) (2018)

4,000 SAN MARINO (2018)

80,000 SÃO TOMÉ (capital) (2018)

7.538 million RIYADH (capital), 4.781 million Jeddah, 2.115 million Mecca, 1.545 million Medina, 1.305 million Ad Dammam, 860,000 million Hufuf-Mubarraz (2022)

3.326 million DAKAR (capital) (2022)

1.405 million BELGRADE (capital) (2022)

28,000 VICTORIA (capital) (2018)

1.272 million FREETOWN (capital) (2022)

3.040 million SINGAPORE (capital) (2022)

1,327 PHILIPSBURG (capital) (2011)

439,000 BRATISLAVA (capital) (2022)

286,000 LJUBLJANA (capital) (2018)

82,000 HONIARA (capital) (2018)

2.497 million MOGADISHU (capital), 1.079 million Hargeysa (2022)

10.110 million Johannesburg (includes Ekurhuleni), 4.801 million Cape Town (legislative capital), 3.199 million Durban, 2.74 million PRETORIA (administrative capital), 1.281 million Port Elizabeth, 909,000 West Rand (2022)

440,000 JUBA (capital) (2022)

6.714 million MADRID (capital), 5.658 million Barcelona, 837,000 Valencia (2022)

103,000 Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte (legislative capital) (2018), 626,000 COLOMBO (capital) (2022)

6.160 million KHARTOUM (capital), 1.012 million Nyala (2022)

239,000 PARAMARIBO (capital) (2018)

1.659 million STOCKHOLM (capital) (2022)

1.420 million Zurich, 437,000 BERN (capital) (2022)

2.503 million DAMASCUS (capital), 2.098 million Aleppo, 1.398 million Hims (Homs), 964,000 Hamah (2022)

4.471 million New Taipei City, 2.821 million Taichung, 2.770 million Kaohsiung, 2.742 million TAIPEI (capital), 2.296 million Taoyuan, 863,000 Tainan (2022)

962,000 DUSHANBE (capital) (2022)

262,000 Dodoma (legislative capital) (2018), 7.405 million DAR ES SALAAM (administrative capital), 1.245 million Mwanza, 766,000 Zanzibar (2022)

10.700 million BANGKOK (capital), 1.198 million Chiang Mai, 500,000 Nakhon Ratchasima, 420,000 Khon Kaen, 410,000 Udon Thani (2022)

281,000 DILI (capital) (2018)

1.926 million LOME (capital) (2022)

23,000 NUKU'ALOFA (2018)

545,000 PORT OF SPAIN (capital) (2022)

2.439 million TUNIS (capital) (2022)

15.636 million Istanbul, 5.310 million ANKARA (capital), 3.056 million Izmir, 2.055 million Bursa, 1.814 million Adana, 1.773 million Gaziantep (2022)

883,000 ASHGABAT (capital) (2022)

5,000 GRAND TURK (capital) (2018)

7,000 FUNAFUTI (capital) (2018)

3.652 million KAMPALA (capital) (2022)

3.010 million KYIV (capital), 1.423 million Kharkiv, 1.008 million Odesa, 952,000 Dnipropetrovsk, 893,000 Donetsk (2022)

2.964 million Dubai, 1.786 million Sharjah, 1.540 million ABU DHABI (capital) (2022)

9.426 million LONDON (capital), 2.750 million Manchester, 2.626 million Birmingham, 1.902 million West Yorkshire, 1.681 million Glasgow, 944,000 Southampton/Portsmouth (2022)

18.867 million New York - Newark, 12.488 million Los Angeles - Long Beach - Santa Ana, 8.901 million Chicago, 6.603 million Houston, 6.488 million Dallas - Fort Worth, 5.434 million WASHINGTON, D.C. (capital) (2022)

1.767 million MONTEVIDEO (capital) (2022)

2.574 million TASHKENT (capital) (2022)

53,000 PORT - VILA (capital) (2018)

2.957 million CARACAS (capital), 2.333 million Maracaibo, 1.959 million Valencia, 1.241 million Barquisimeto, 1.230 million Maracay, 950,000 Ciudad Guayana (2022)

9.077 million Ho Chi Minh City, 5.067 million HANOI (capital), 1.786 million Can Tho, 1.382 million Hai Phong, 1.188 million Da Nang, 1.078 million Bien Hoa (2022)

52,000 CHARLOTTE AMALIE (capital) (2018)

1,000 MATA - UTU (capital) (2018)

3.182 million SANAA (capital), 1.045 million Aden (2022)

3.042 million LUSAKA (capital) (2022)

1.558 million HARARE (capital) (2022)

Since 2000, China's cities have expanded at an average rate of 10% annually. It is estimated that China's urban population will increase by 292 million people by 2050,[2] when its cities will house a combined population of over one billion.[11] The country's urbanization rate increased from 17.4% to 46.6% between 1978 and 2009.[12] Between 150 and 200 million migrant workers work part-time in the major cities, returning home to the countryside periodically with their earnings.[13][14]

Today, China has more cities with one million or more long-term residents than any other country, including the three global cities of Beijing, Hong Kong, and Shanghai; by 2025, the country will be home to 221 cities with over a million inhabitants.[11] The figures in the table below are from the 2008 census, and are only estimates of the urban populations within administrative city limits; a different ranking exists when considering the total municipal populations (which includes suburban and rural populations). The large "floating populations" of migrant workers make conducting censuses in urban areas difficult;[15] the figures below include only long-term residents.

Panoramic view of Pudong's Skyline from the Bund in Shanghai.

In Japan urbanized areas are defined as contiguous areas of densely inhabited districts (DIDs) using census enumeration districts as units with a density requirement of 4,000 inhabitants per square kilometre (10,000/sq mi).

For the Census of India 2011, the definition of urban area is a place having a minimum population of 5,000 of density 400 persons per square kilometre (1,000/sq mi) or higher, and 75% plus of the male working population employed in non-agricultural activities. Places administered by a municipal corporation, cantonment board or notified town area committee are automatically considered urban areas.[16]

The Census of India 2011 also defined the term "urban agglomeration" as an integrated urban area consisting of a core town together with its "outgrowths" (contiguous suburbs).[17]

India gate panorama.

In Pakistan, an area is a major city and municipality if it has more than 100,000 inhabitants according to census results. Cities include adjacent cantonments. Urbanisation in Pakistan has increased since the time of independence and has several different causes. The majority of southern Pakistan's population lives along the Indus River. Karachi is its most populous city.[20] In the northern half of the country, most of the population lives in an arc formed by the cities of Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Gujrat, Jhelum, Sargodha, Sheikhupura, Nowshera, Mardan and Peshawar. During 1990–2008, city dwellers made up 36% of Pakistan's population, making it the most urbanised nation in South Asia. Furthermore, 50% of Pakistanis live in towns of 5,000 people or more.[21] Karachi is the most populated city in Pakistan closely followed by Lahore according to the 2017 Census.

In Bangladesh, there are total 532 urban areas, which are divided into three categories. Those are City Corporation, Municipal Corporation (Pourasova) and Upazila town. Among those urban areas, Dhaka is the largest city by population and area, with a population of 19.10 million.[22] In Bangladesh, there are total 11 City Corporations and 329 Municipal Corporations and 203 Small towns, which serves as the center for Upazilas. According to 2011 population census, Bangladesh has an urban population of 28%, with a growth rate of 2.8%.[23] At this growth rate, it is estimated that the urban population of Bangladesh will reach 79 million or 42% of total population by 2035.

With an estimated population of 16.3 million, Metro Manila is the most populous metropolitan area in the Philippines and the 11th in the world. However, the greater urban area is the 5th largest in the world with a population of 20,654,307 people (2010 estimate).[24]

As an island city-state, about 5.6 million people live and work within 700 square kilometres (270 sq mi). With 64 islands and islets, Singapore Island makes up the largest urban area in the country. According to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the country has the highest urbanised population in Southeast Asia, with 100 percent of its population living in an urban area.[25] The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is responsible for the urban land-use planning, which designates land use and urban density of the country.[26] The country is divided into 5 regions for planning purposes by the URA, even though as a city state Singapore is defined as a single continuous urban area. It is further subdivided into 55 urban planning areas, which acts as the boundaries of planned towns within the country.[27]

In Vietnam, there are 6 types of urban areas:

• Special urban area (2 municipalities): Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
• Type I urban area (18 provincial cities and 3 municipalities): Long Xuyên, Pleiku, Mỹ Tho, Thủ Dầu Một, Bắc Ninh, Biên Hòa, Hải Dương, Thanh Hóa, Hạ Long, Việt Trì, Thái Nguyên, Nam Định, Vũng Tàu, Buôn Ma Thuột, Đà Lạt, Quy Nhơn, Nha Trang, Huế, Vinh, Cần Thơ, Đà Nẵng and Hải Phòng.
• Type II urban area (21 provincial cities and 1 district):Châu Đốc, Đồng Hới, Uông Bí, Bắc Giang, Ninh Bình, Bạc Liêu, Bà Rịa, Thái Bình, Rạch Giá, Cà Mau, Phan Rang–Tháp Chàm, Tuy Hòa, Phan Thiết, Vĩnh Yên, Lào Cai and Phú Quốc.
• Type III urban area (31 provincial cities and 12 towns).
• Type IV urban area (35 towns and 35 townships).
• Type V urban area (586 townships and 54 communes).

A street sign indicating the beginning of an urban area in Finland. The picture was taken in Vimpeli.

As in other Nordic countries, an urban area (taajama in Finnish) in Finland must have a building at least every 200 m (660 ft) and at least 200 people. To be considered a town or a city (kaupunki) for statistical purposes, an urban area must have at least 15,000 people. This is not to be confused with the city / town designation used by municipalities.[28][29]

In France, an urban area (Fr: aire urbaine) is a zone encompassing an area of built-up growth (called an "urban unit" (unité urbaine)[30] – close in definition to the North American urban area) and its commuter belt (couronne). Americans would find the INSEE definition of the urban area[31] to be similar to their metropolitan area, and the INSEE sometimes uses the term aire métropolitaine[32] to refer to the country's largest aires urbaines.

The largest cities in France, in terms of urban area population (2017), are Paris (12,628,266), Lyon (2,323,221), Marseille (1,760,653), Toulouse (1,360,829), Bordeaux (1,247,977), Lille (1,191,117), Nice (1,006,201), Nantes (972,828), Strasbourg (790,087) and Rennes (733,320).[33]

Panorama of Paris as seen from the Eiffel Tower as full 360-degree view (river flowing from north-east to south-west, right to left)

Germany has a number of large cities. The largest conurbation is the Rhine-Ruhr region (11 million in 2008), including Düsseldorf (the capital of North Rhine-Westphalia), Cologne, Bonn, Dortmund, Essen, Duisburg, and Bochum.[34]

Largest urban agglomerations in Germany Federal Statistical Office of Germany (31 December 2017)
	Rank	Name	State	Pop.	Rank	Name	State	Pop.
Rhine-Ruhr Berlin	1	Rhine-Ruhr	North Rhine-Westphalia	11,108,117	11	Chemnitz	Saxony	873,745	Rhine-Main Stuttgart
	2	Berlin	Berlin	4,544,525	12	Hanover	Lower Saxony	796,298
	3	Rhine-Main	Hesse	3,146,343	13	Dresden	Saxony	790,534
	4	Stuttgart	Baden-Württemberg	3,016,208	14	Saar	Saarland	758,249
	5	Munich	Bavaria	2,374,272	15	Bremen	Bremen	664,603
	6	Hamburg	Hamburg	2,342,356	16	Aachen	North Rhine-Westphalia	655,276
	7	Rhine-Neckar	Baden-Württemberg	1,410,711	17	Karlsruhe	Baden-Württemberg	611,319
	8	Nuremberg	Bavaria	1,228,597	18	Augsburg	Bavaria	543,503
	9	Leipzig	Saxony	1,038,996	19	Freiburg im Breisgau	Baden-Württemberg	332,013
	10	Bielefeld	North Rhine-Westphalia	929,005	20	Kassel	Hesse	330,654

The Netherlands is the 30th most densely populated country in the world, with 404.6 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,048/sq mi)—or 497 inhabitants per square kilometre (1,287/sq mi) if only the land area is counted. The Randstad is the country's largest conurbation located in the west of the country and contains the four largest cities: Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht. The Randstad has a population of 7 million inhabitants and is the 6th largest metropolitan area in Europe.

Urban areas in Sweden (tätorter) are statistically defined localities, totally independent of the administrative subdivision of the country. There are 1,956 such localities in Sweden, with a population ranging from 200 to 1,372,000 inhabitants.[35]

In 2013 the United Kingdom's Office for National Statistics (ONS) published 2011 Built-up Areas - Methodology and Guidance which sets out its definition of a built-up area as an area of built-up land of at least 20 hectares (0.077 sq mi), separated from other settlements by at least 200 metres (660 ft). For 2011 census data there are 5,493 built-up areas, of which 501 are divided into sub-divisions for which data is also available. Each built-up area is named algorithmically, using Ordnance Survey place-name data.[36]

The ONS has produced census results from urban areas since 1951, since 1981 based upon the extent of irreversible urban development indicated on Ordnance Survey maps. The definition is an extent of at least 20 ha and at least 1,500 census residents. Separate areas are linked if less than 200 m (220 yd) apart. Included are transportation features.[37] The UK has five Urban Areas with a population over a million and a further sixty nine with a population over one hundred thousand.

Largest urban areas of the United Kingdom (England and Wales: 2011 census built-up area;[38] Scotland: 2016 estimates settlement;[39] Northern Ireland: 2001 census urban area)[40]
	Rank	Urban area	Pop.	Principal settlement	Rank	Urban area	Pop.	Principal settlement
Greater London Urban Area Greater Manchester Urban Area	1	Greater London Urban Area	9,787,426	London	11	Bristol Urban Area	617,280	Bristol	West Midlands Urban Area West Yorkshire Urban Area
	2	Greater Manchester Urban Area	2,553,379	Manchester	12	Edinburgh Urban Area	512,150	Edinburgh
	3	West Midlands Urban Area	2,440,986	Birmingham	13	Leicester Urban Area	508,916	Leicester
	4	West Yorkshire Urban Area	1,777,934	Leeds	14	Belfast Urban Area	483,418	Belfast
	5	Greater Glasgow	985,290	Glasgow	15	Brighton and Hove built-up area	474,485	Brighton
	6	Liverpool Urban Area	864,122	Liverpool	16	South East Dorset conurbation	466,266	Bournemouth
	7	South Hampshire	855,569	Southampton	17	Cardiff Urban Area	390,214	Cardiff
	8	Tyneside	774,891	Newcastle	18	Teesside	376,633	Middlesbrough
	9	Nottingham Urban Area	729,977	Nottingham	19	The Potteries Urban Area	372,775	Stoke-on-Trent
	10	Sheffield Urban Area	685,368	Sheffield	20	Coventry and Bedworth Urban Area	359,262	Coventry

Statistics Norway defines urban areas ("tettsteder") similarly to the other Nordic countries. Unlike in Denmark and Sweden, the distance between each building has to be of less than 50 m, although exceptions are made due to parks, industrial areas, rivers, and similar. Groups of houses less than 400 m from the main body of an urban area are included in the urban area.[41]

In Poland, official "urban" population figures simply refer to those localities which have the status of towns (miasta). The "rural" population is that of all areas outside the boundaries of these towns. This distinction may give a misleading impression in some cases, since some localities with only village status may have acquired larger and denser populations than many many smaller towns[42] with most excessive example of Poznań, most spread urban area of the country with population of the city app. 534 thousand and urban area above 1,100 thousand inhabitants. On the other hand, the Upper Silesian Industrial Region conurbation with numerous large and medium cities covers 3,200 km and has approximately 3 million people.

Moscow, the capital and largest city of Russia, has a population estimated at 12.4 million residents within the city limits,[43] while over 17 million residents in the urban area,[44] and over 20 million residents in the Moscow Metropolitan Area.[45] It is among the world's largest cities, being the most populous city entirely within Europe, the most populous urban area in Europe,[44] the most populous metropolitan area in Europe,[45] and also the largest city by land area on the European continent.[46] Saint Petersburg, the cultural capital, is the second-largest city, with a population of roughly 5.4 million inhabitants.[47] Other major urban areas are Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, and Chelyabinsk.

• 
  Moscow, the capital and largest city of Russia
• 
  Saint Petersburg, the cultural capital and the second-largest city
• 
  Yekaterinburg, the fourth-largest city in the country.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics refers to urban areas as Urban Centres, which it generally defines as population clusters of 1,000 or more people.[48] Australia is one of the most urbanised countries in the world, with more than 50% of the population residing in Australia's three biggest urban centres.[48]

Sydney is Australia's largest city, home to 5.3 million inhabitants.[49]

Statistics New Zealand defines urban areas in New Zealand, which are independent of any administrative subdivisions and have no legal basis.[50] There are four classes of urban area: major urban areas (population 100,000+), large urban areas (population 30,000-99,999), medium urban areas (population 10,000-29,999) and small urban areas (population 1000-9,999). As of 2021, there are 7 major urban areas, 13 large urban areas, 22 medium urban areas and 136 small urban areas. Urban areas are reclassified after each New Zealand census, so population changes between censuses does not change an urban area's classification.

According to Statistics Canada, an urban area in Canada is an area with a population of at least 1,000 people where the density is no fewer than 400 persons per square kilometre (1,000/sq mi).[51] If two or more urban areas are within 2 km (1.2 mi) of each other by road, they are merged into a single urban area, provided they do not cross census metropolitan area or census agglomeration boundaries.[52]

In the Canada 2011 Census, Statistics Canada redesignated urban areas with the new term "population centre";[53] the new term was chosen in order to better reflect the fact that urban vs. rural is not a strict division, but rather a continuum within which several distinct settlement patterns may exist. For example, a community may fit a strictly statistical definition of an urban area, but may not be commonly thought of as "urban" because it has a smaller population, or functions socially and economically as a suburb of another urban area rather than as a self-contained urban entity, or is geographically remote from other urban communities. Accordingly, the new definition set out three distinct types of population centres: small (population 1,000 to 29,999), medium (population 30,000 to 99,999) and large (population 100,000 or greater).[53] Despite the change in terminology, however, the demographic definition of a population centre remains unchanged from that of an urban area: a population of at least 1,000 people where the density is no fewer than 400 persons per km².

In the United States, there are two categories of urban area. The term urbanized area denotes an urban area of 50,000 or more people. Urban areas under 50,000 people are called urban clusters. Urbanized areas were first delineated in the United States in the 1950 census, while urban clusters were added in the 2000 census. There are 1,371 urban areas and urban clusters with more than 10,000 people.

The U.S. Census Bureau defines an urban area as "core census block groups or blocks that have a population density of at least 1,000 people per square mile (386 per square kilometer) and surrounding census blocks that have an overall density of at least 500 people per square mile (193 per square kilometer)".[54]

The largest urban area in the United States is the New York metropolitan area. The population of New York City, the core of the metropolitan area, exceeds 8.8 million people, its metropolitan statistical area has a population that is over 20 million, and its combined statistical area population is over 23 million. The next seven largest urban areas in the U.S. are Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Houston, and Atlanta.[55] About 82 percent of the population of the United States lives within the boundaries of an urbanized area as of December, 2010.[56] Combined, these areas occupy about 2 percent of the land area of the United States. Many Americans live in agglomerations of cities, suburbs, and towns that are adjacent to a metropolitan area's largest city.

The skyscrapers of New York City, the most populous city in the United States and the most populous U.S. metropolitan area, are almost all situated in Manhattan, the world's largest central business district, seen here in this panorama in February 2018, as viewed from Weehawken, New Jersey.

1. Riverside Church
2. Time Warner Center
3. 220 Central Park South
4. Central Park Tower
5. One57
6. 432 Park Avenue
7. 53W53
8. Chrysler Building
9. Bank of America Tower
10. Conde Nast Building
11. The New York Times Building
12. Empire State Building
13. Manhattan West
14. a: 55 Hudson Yards, b: 35 Hudson Yards, c: 10 Hudson Yards, d: 15 Hudson Yards
15. 56 Leonard Street
16. 8 Spruce Street
17. Woolworth Building
18. 70 Pine Street
19. 30 Park Place
20. 40 Wall Street
21. Three World Trade Center
22. Four World Trade Center
23. One World Trade Center

The concept of Urbanized Areas as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau is often used as a more accurate gauge of the size of a city, since in different cities and states the lines between city borders and the urbanized area of that city are often not the same. For example, the city of Greenville, South Carolina has a city population just over 68,000 and an urbanized area population of around 400,000, while Greensboro, North Carolina has a city population just over 285,000 and an urbanized area population of around 300,000 — meaning that Greenville is actually "larger" for some intents and purposes, but not for others, such as taxation, local elections, etc.

In the U.S. Department of Agriculture's natural resources inventory, urban areas are officially known as developed areas or urban and built-up areas. Such areas include cities, ethnic villages, other built-up areas of more than 10 ac (4 ha), industrial sites, railroad yards, cemeteries, airports, golf courses, shooting ranges, institutional and public administration sites, and similar areas. The 1997 national resources inventory placed over 98,000,000 ac (40,000,000 ha) in this category, an increase of 25,000,000 ac (10,000,000 ha) since 1982.[57]

Argentina is highly urbanized.[58] The ten largest metropolitan areas account for half of the population, and fewer than one in ten live in rural areas. About 3 million people live in Buenos Aires City and the Greater Buenos Aires metropolitan area totals around 15 million, making it one of the largest urban areas in the world, with a population of 18 million all up.[59]

Córdoba has around 1.5 million people living in the urban area, while Rosario, Mendoza and Tucumán have around 1.2 million inhabitants each[59] and La Plata, Mar del Plata, Salta and Santa Fe[59][60] have at least 500,000 people each.

According to IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) urban areas already concentrate 84.35% of the population, while the Southeast region remains the most populated one, with over 80 million inhabitants.[61] The largest metropolitan areas in Brazil are São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Belo Horizonte — all in the Southeastern Region — with 21, 12, and 5 million inhabitants respectively.[62] In general, state capitals are the largest cities in their states, except for Vitória, the capital of Espírito Santo, and Florianópolis, the capital of Santa Catarina. There are also non-capital metropolitan areas in the states of São Paulo (Campinas, Santos and the Paraíba Valley), Minas Gerais (Steel Valley), Rio Grande do Sul (Sinos Valley) and Santa Catarina (Itajaí Valley).[63]

São Paulo, the largest city in Brazil, the largest city proper in the Southern Hemisphere, in the Americas, and the world's ninth-largest urban area by population.[64]

Largest urban agglomerations in Brazil 2021 Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics estimates[65][66][67]
	Rank	Name	State	Pop.	Rank	Name	State	Pop.
São Paulo Rio de Janeiro	1	São Paulo	São Paulo	21,986,195	11	Manaus	Amazonas	2,247,422	Belo Horizonte Brasília
	2	Rio de Janeiro	Rio de Janeiro	12,809,246	12	Belém	Pará	2,255,903
	3	Belo Horizonte	Minas Gerais	5,278,870	13	Campinas	São Paulo	2,216,244
	4	Brasília	Federal District	4,104,434	14	Vitória	Espírito Santo	1,904,563
	5	Recife	Pernambuco	4,104,786	15	Baixada Santista (Santos)	São Paulo	1,761,700
	6	Porto Alegre	Rio Grande do Sul	3,995,375	16	São José dos Campos	São Paulo	1,626,041
	7	Salvador	Bahia	3,832,899	17	São Luís	Maranhão	1,453,128
	8	Fortaleza	Ceará	3,695,896	18	Natal	Rio Grande do Norte	1,386,227
	9	Curitiba	Paraná	3,542,615	19	Maceió	Alagoas	1,235,261
	10	Goiânia	Goiás	2,579,327	20	João Pessoa	Paraíba	1,187,465