Science & Infrastructure600–2025
World’s Most Populous Cities
The largest-city race is the story of world urbanization moving east, west, then east again. Ancient capitals yield to imperial London and New York, before Tokyo, Shanghai, Delhi and Lagos reveal the scale of the modern megacity.
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Source: Chandler, UN World Urbanization Prospects and citypopulation.de Urban agglomeration estimates at broad historical intervals; pre-1900 values are especially approximate. illustrative data Updated 2026-07-03
The race in numbers
6lead changes
1,425years covered
16contenders
Beijinglongest reign — 450 yrs at #1
Final standings · 2025
- 1Tokyo37.1M
- 2Jakarta35.4M
- 3Delhi34.7M
- 4Shanghai29.9M
- 5Sao Paulo22.8M