World's Three Largest Cities by Metropolitan Population
Based on UN World Urbanization Prospects (2024 revision) for metropolitan/urban agglomeration:
| Rank | City | Country | Metro Population (2024 est.) | City Proper |
|---|
| 1 | Tokyo | Japan | 37.1 million | 14.0 million (23 wards) |
| 2 | Delhi | India | 33.8 million | 16.8 million (NCT) |
| 3 | Shanghai | China | 29.9 million | 24.9 million |
Notes on Measurement
- Metropolitan area (functional economic zone) vs. city proper (administrative) yields different rankings.
- Delhi surpasses Shanghai in metro; Shanghai larger in city proper.
- Next tier: São Paulo (22.8M), Mexico City (22.5M), Cairo (22.2M), Dhaka (22.1M), Beijing (21.8M).
- Definitions vary: OECD, Demographia, CityPopulation.de produce slightly different figures.
Why Tokyo Leads
- Kantō plain integration (Tokyo, Yokohama, Saitama, Chiba).
- Rail network (world's busiest) binds 80+ municipalities.
- Post-war growth + limited greenfield → extreme densification.
Wanderlust World