Largest Cities in the World by Population (2024)

In 2024, the world’s largest cities reflect ongoing urbanization trends driven by economic opportunity, migration, and regional development. According to the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Tokyo continues to hold the title of the most populous city with 37 million residents, followed by Delhi (34.7M), Shanghai (30.5M), and Dhaka (24.7M). These megacities are vital global hubs of commerce, culture, and innovation, but they also face challenges related to infrastructure, housing, and sustainability.

Asian cities dominate the top 30, with significant representation from India, China, and Southeast Asia. North and South American entries like New York, São Paulo, and Mexico City remain influential, while African cities like Lagos and Kinshasa show rapid growth trends that will likely push them further up in future rankings.

Cities with Largest Population:

Rank	City	Country or Area	Population (millions)
1	Tokyo	Japan	37.0
2	Delhi	India	34.7
3	Shanghai	China	30.5
4	Dhaka	Bangladesh	24.7
5	Al-Qahirah (Cairo)	Egypt	23.1
6	São Paulo	Brazil	23.0
7	Ciudad de México (Mexico City)	Mexico	22.8
8	Beijing	China	22.6
9	Mumbai (Bombay)	India	22.1
10	New York-Newark	United States of America	19.2
11	Kinki M.M.A. (Osaka)	Japan	18.9
12	Chongqing	China	18.2
13	Karachi	Pakistan	18.1
14	Kinshasa	Democratic Republic of the Congo	17.8
15	Lagos	Nigeria	17.2
16	Istanbul	Turkey	16.2
17	Kolkata (Calcutta)	India	15.8
18	Buenos Aires	Argentina	15.8
19	Manila	Philippines	15.2
20	Guangzhou, Guangdong	China	14.9
21	Lahore	Pakistan	14.8
22	Tianjin	China	14.7
23	Bangalore	India	14.4
24	Rio de Janeiro	Brazil	13.9
25	Shenzhen	China	13.5
26	Moskva (Moscow)	Russian Federation	12.7
27	Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana	United States of America	12.7
28	Chennai (Madras)	India	12.3
29	Bogotá	Colombia	11.8
30	Jakarta	Indonesia	11.6

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Source:

Data from the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs – Population Division