How Many Cities Does Europe Have? Tens of Thousands.

There's no single answer—because "city" means different things in different countries. But the number is certainly in the tens of thousands.

The Definition Problem

• Legal/administrative: Each country defines "city" differently (population threshold, charter, cathedral, governance)
• Statistical: Eurostat uses "urban centre" (≥50,000 pop, ≥1,500/km²) and "city" (LAU level)
• Cultural: Historic towns call themselves cities regardless of size

Country Examples

• France: 34,965 communes — many call themselves "ville" (town/city); 35,000+ if counting all
• Germany: 2,056 Kreisfreie Städte + Große kreisangehörige Städte (≥50k); 11,000+ municipalities with town rights
• UK: 76 official cities (royal charter); 1,000+ towns >10k pop
• Italy: 7,904 comuni — many historic cities
• Poland: 964 cities (miasto) by statute
• Spain: 8,131 municipios — many are cities historically

Eurostat Urban Centres (2020)

• 800+ "cities" (>50k pop, dense)
• 6,000+ "towns and suburbs"
• Functional Urban Areas (metro): ~1,000

Historic vs. Administrative

St. Davids, Wales: 1,600 people, city (cathedral). London: 9M, city (ancient rights). Stuttgart: 630k, city. Vatican City: 800, city-state.

Best Estimate

20,000-50,000 settlements across Europe could reasonably be called "cities" by some definition. If you mean "major cities" (>250k): ~150. "Global cities" (top-tier): 5-10.

The question reveals more about administrative geography than urban reality.