Is New York City the World's Largest City?

No. New York City is not the largest city in the world by any standard metric.

By Metropolitan Population (2023–2024 estimates)

1. Tokyo, Japan: ~37–38 million (Greater Tokyo Area)
2. Delhi, India: ~32–33 million (NCR)
3. Shanghai, China: ~28–29 million
4. São Paulo, Brazil: ~22–23 million
5. Mexico City, Mexico: ~22 million
6. ...
7. New York City: ~19–20 million (NY-NJ-CT-PA MSA) — ~6th–10th globally

By City Proper Population

• Chongqing, China: ~32M (administrative area = province-sized)
• Shanghai: ~24M
• Beijing: ~21M
• ...
• NYC: ~8.3M (5 boroughs) — ~10th–15th

By Land Area

• Chongqing: 82,400 km²
• Hulunbuir, China: 263,953 km² (prefecture-level)
• NYC: 784 km² (302 sq mi) — modest

What NYC *Is*

• Largest city in United States (by metro and city proper)
• Global financial, cultural, media capital
• Most linguistically diverse (>800 languages)
• Highest GDP metro (~$2.5T)

Tokyo has held #1 metro spot since 1950s. NYC's peak relative rank was ~1920s–1950s (#1–2).