Urban area

According to The World Factbook:[11]

1. Tokyo (Japan) – 37,274,000
2. Delhi (India) – 32,066,000
3. Shanghai (China) – 28,517,000
4. Manila (Philippines) – 28,250,517
5. Dhaka (Bangladesh) – 22,478,000
6. São Paulo (Brazil) – 22,430,000
7. Mexico City (Mexico) – 22,085,000
8. Cairo (Egypt) – 21,750,000
9. Beijing (China) – 21,333,000
10. Mumbai (India) – 20,961,000

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,[3] when its cities will house a combined population of over one billion.[13] The country's urbanization rate increased from 17.4% to 46.6% between 1978 and 2009.[14] Between 150 and 200 million migrant workers work part-time in the major cities, returning home to the countryside periodically with their earnings.[15][16]

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.[13] 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;[17] the figures below include only long-term residents.

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

Largest cities or municipalities in the People's Republic of China China Urban Construction Statistical Yearbook 2020 Urban Population and Urban Temporary Population [18][note 1][note 2]
	Rank	Name	Province	Pop.	Rank	Name	Province	Pop.
Shanghai Beijing	1	Shanghai	SH	24,281,400	11	Hong Kong	HK	7,448,900	Guangzhou Shenzhen
	2	Beijing	BJ	19,164,000	12	Zhengzhou	HA	7,179,400
	3	Guangzhou	GD	13,858,700	13	Nanjing	JS	6,823,500
	4	Shenzhen	GD	13,438,800	14	Xi'an	SN	6,642,100
	5	Tianjin	TJ	11,744,400	15	Jinan	SD	6,409,600
	6	Chongqing	CQ	11,488,000	16	Shenyang	LN	5,900,000
	7	Dongguan	GD	9,752,500	17	Qingdao	SD	5,501,400
	8	Chengdu	SC	8,875,600	18	Harbin	HL	5,054,500
	9	Wuhan	HB	8,652,900	19	Hefei	AH	4,750,100
	10	Hangzhou	ZJ	8,109,000	20	Changchun	JL	4,730,900

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).

Seoul is the largest urban area in South Korea.

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.[21]

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).[22]

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.[25] 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.[26] 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.[27] 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%.[28] 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).[29]

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.[30] The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is responsible for the urban land-use planning, which designates land use and urban density of the country.[31] 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.[32]

In Vietnam, there are six 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).

Bangkok is the largest urban area in Thailand.

A street sign in Vimpeli indicating the beginning of an urban area in Finland

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.[33][34]

In France, an urban area (Fr: aire d'attraction d'une ville) is a zone encompassing an area of built-up growth (called an "urban unit" (unité urbaine)[35] – close in definition to the North American urban area) and its commuter belt (couronne). Americans would find the INSEE definition of the urban area[36] to be similar to their metropolitan area.

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).[37]

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.[38]

Largest urban agglomerations in Germany Federal Statistical Office of Germany (31 December 2022)
	Rank	Name	State	Pop.	Rank	Name	State	Pop.
Rhine-Ruhr Berlin	1	Rhine-Ruhr	North Rhine-Westphalia	11,199,073	11	Chemnitz	Saxony	867,051	Rhine-Main Stuttgart
	2	Berlin	Berlin	4,661,925	12	Hanover	Lower Saxony	807,181
	3	Rhine-Main	Hesse	3,200,201	13	Dresden	Saxony	799,317
	4	Stuttgart	Baden-Württemberg	3,044,428	14	Saar	Saarland	762,791
	5	Munich	Bavaria	2,415,964	15	Bremen	Bremen	668,074
	6	Hamburg	Hamburg	2,399,250	16	Aachen	North Rhine-Westphalia	663,371
	7	Rhine-Neckar	Baden-Württemberg	1,426,056	17	Karlsruhe	Baden-Württemberg	612,031
	8	Nuremberg	Bavaria	1,247,309	18	Augsburg	Bavaria	554,118
	9	Leipzig	Saxony	1,068,429	19	Freiburg im Breisgau	Baden-Württemberg	339,767
	10	Bielefeld	North Rhine-Westphalia	941,933	20	Kassel	Hesse	335,358

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.

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.[39]

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[40] 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. The metropolitan areas in Poland are the biggest urban zones (e.g. Upper Silesian metropolitan area, Łódź metropolitan area and Szczecin metropolitan area) and have great impact on the rural surroundings, as it is around Lublin, Radom, Kielce, Tarnów and Białystok.

Moscow, the capital and largest city of Russia

Moscow, the capital and largest city of Russia, has a population estimated at 12.4 million residents within the city limits,[41] while over 17 million residents in the urban area,[42] and over 20 million residents in the Moscow Metropolitan Area.[43] It is among the world's largest cities, being the most populous city entirely within Europe, the most populous urban area in Europe,[42] the most populous metropolitan area in Europe,[43] and also the largest city by land area on the European continent.[44] Saint Petersburg, the cultural capital, is the second-largest city, with a population of roughly 5.4 million inhabitants.[45] Other major urban areas are Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, and Chelyabinsk.

Largest cities or towns in Russia 2021 Census[46]
	Rank	Name	Federal subject	Pop.	Rank	Name	Federal subject	Pop.
Moscow Saint Petersburg	1	Moscow	Moscow	13,010,112	11	Rostov-on-Don	Rostov Oblast	1,142,162	Novosibirsk Yekaterinburg
	2	Saint Petersburg	Saint Petersburg	5,601,911	12	Omsk	Omsk Oblast	1,125,695
	3	Novosibirsk	Novosibirsk Oblast	1,633,595	13	Krasnodar	Krasnodar Krai	1,099,344
	4	Yekaterinburg	Sverdlovsk Oblast	1,544,376	14	Voronezh	Voronezh Oblast	1,057,681
	5	Kazan	Tatarstan	1,308,660	15	Perm	Perm Krai	1,034,002
	6	Nizhny Novgorod	Nizhny Novgorod Oblast	1,228,199	16	Volgograd	Volgograd Oblast	1,028,036
	7	Chelyabinsk	Chelyabinsk Oblast	1,189,525	17	Saratov	Saratov Oblast	901,361
	8	Krasnoyarsk	Krasnoyarsk Krai	1,187,771	18	Tyumen	Tyumen Oblast	847,488
	9	Samara	Samara Oblast	1,173,299	19	Tolyatti	Samara Oblast	684,709
	10	Ufa	Bashkortostan	1,144,809	20	Barnaul	Altai Krai	630,877

Spain is a very highly urbanized country. Madrid is its largest urban area. The Southern and Eastern coasts with Barcelona, Valencia and Málaga are more urbanised than the Northern and Western ones.

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.[47]

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 (BUA) 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 Built-up area sub-divisions (BUASD) for which data is also available. Each built-up area is named algorithmically, using Ordnance Survey place-name data.[48]

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.[49] The UK has five Urban Areas with a population over a million and a further sixty nine with a population over one hundred thousand.

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.[53] 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.[53]

Sydney is Australia's largest city, home to 5.3 million inhabitants.[54]

Largest populated areas in Australia 2021 data from Australian Bureau of Statistics[55]
	Rank	Name	State	Pop.	Rank	Name	State	Pop.
Sydney Melbourne	1	Sydney	NSW	5,259,764	11	Geelong	Vic	289,400	Brisbane Perth
	2	Melbourne	Vic	4,976,157	12	Hobart	Tas	251,047
	3	Brisbane	Qld	2,568,927	13	Townsville	Qld	181,665
	4	Perth	WA	2,192,229	14	Cairns	Qld	155,638
	5	Adelaide	SA	1,402,393	15	Darwin	NT	148,801
	6	Gold Coast–Tweed Heads	Qld/NSW	706,673	16	Toowoomba	Qld	143,994
	7	Newcastle–Maitland	NSW	509,894	17	Ballarat	Vic	111,702
	8	Canberra–Queanbeyan	ACT/NSW	482,250	18	Bendigo	Vic	102,899
	9	Sunshine Coast	Qld	355,631	19	Albury-Wodonga	NSW/Vic	97,676
	10	Wollongong	NSW	305,880	20	Launceston	Tas	93,332

Statistics New Zealand defines urban areas in New Zealand, which are independent of any administrative subdivisions and have no legal basis.[56] 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 1,000–9,999). 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.

Largest cities or towns in New Zealand Statistics New Zealand June 2023 estimate (SSGA18 boundaries)[57]
	Rank	Name	Region	Pop.	Rank	Name	Region	Pop.
Auckland Christchurch	1	Auckland	Auckland	1,478,800	11	Porirua	Wellington	60,900	Wellington Hamilton
	2	Christchurch	Canterbury	384,800	12	New Plymouth	Taranaki	59,600
	3	Wellington	Wellington	215,200	13	Rotorua	Bay of Plenty	58,900
	4	Hamilton	Waikato	185,300	14	Whangārei	Northland	56,900
	5	Tauranga	Bay of Plenty	161,800	15	Nelson	Nelson	51,900
	6	Lower Hutt	Wellington	113,000	16	Hastings	Hawke's Bay	51,500
	7	Dunedin	Otago	106,200	17	Invercargill	Southland	51,000
	8	Palmerston North	Manawatū-Whanganui	82,500	18	Upper Hutt	Wellington	45,400
	9	Napier	Hawke's Bay	67,500	19	Whanganui	Manawatū-Whanganui	42,800
	10	Hibiscus Coast	Auckland	63,400	20	Gisborne	Gisborne	38,200

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).[58] 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.[59]

In the Canada 2011 Census, Statistics Canada redesignated urban areas with the new term "population centre";[60] 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).[60] 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.

Mexico is one of many countries where the urbanization rate is at least 80%. Mexico City, its capital, is the largest urban area in the country.

In the United States, the Census Bureau defines urban areas and delineates urban area boundaries after each census. The Bureau defines an urban area as "a statistical geographic entity consisting of a densely settled core created from census blocks and contiguous qualifying territory that together have at least 2,000 housing units or 5,000 persons."[62] There were 2,646 urban areas identified by the Census Bureau for 2020. 511 of these had a population of 50,000 or more.[63]

For the 2000 and 2010 censuses, the Census Bureau differentiated between two kinds of urban areas: urbanized areas and urban clusters. The term urbanized area denoted an urban area of 50,000 or more people. Urban areas under 50,000 people were 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. The distinction between urbanized areas and urban clusters was removed for the 2020 census.[62]

Urban areas consist of a densely-settled urban core, plus surrounding developed areas that meet certain density criteria. Since urban areas are composed of census blocks and not cities, counties, or county-equivalents, urban area boundaries may consist of partial areas of these political units. Urban areas are distinguished from rural areas: any area not part of an urban area is considered to be rural by the Census Bureau.[62]

The largest urban area in the United States is that of New York City and its surrounding suburbs. The New York–Jersey City–Newark, NY–NJ urban area had a population of 19,426,449 as of 2020, while the larger metropolitan area had a population of 20,140,470, and the combined statistical area had a population of 23,582,649. The next five largest urban areas in the U.S. are those of Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Houston, and Dallas.[63] 80.0 percent of the population of the United States lives within the boundaries of an urban area as of the 2020 census.[64]

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.[65]

Argentina is highly urbanized.[66] 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.[67]

Córdoba has around 1.5 million people living in the urban area, while Rosario, Mendoza and Tucumán have around 1.2 million inhabitants each[67] and La Plata, Mar del Plata, Salta and Santa Fe[67][68] have at least 500,000 people each.

Chile is highly urbanized, just like Argentina. The largest urban area in the country is its capital, Santiago.