List of metropolitan areas by population

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27 metropolitan areas of at least 11 million people.
27 metropolitan areas of at least 11 million people.

The question of which are the world's largest cities is a complex one, to which there is no single correct answer, simply because there are many different ways of defining a "city". One concept is the metropolitan area, which is based on the concept of a labor market area and is typically defined as an employment core (an area with a high density of available jobs) and the surrounding areas that have strong commuting ties to the core.

The following is a list of the twenty largest metropolitan areas in 2003 as defined by one source.[1] As population figures are interpreted and presented differently according to different methods of data collection, definitions and sources, these numbers should be viewed as approximate. Data from other sources may be equally "valid", but differ due to being measured according to different criteria or taken from different census years.

Rank Metropolitan area Country Population Area (km²) Population Density (People/km²)
1 Tokyo  Japan 32,450,000 8,014 4,049
2 Seoul  South Korea 20,550,000 5,076 4,048
3 Mexico City[2]  Mexico 20,450,000 7,346 2,784
4 New York City[3]  United States 19,750,000 17,884 1,104
5 Mumbai  India 19,200,000 2,350 8,170
6 Jakarta  Indonesia 18,900,000 5,100 3,706
7 São Paulo  Brazil 18,850,000 8,479 2,223
8 Delhi  India 18,600,000 3,182 5,845
9 Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto  Japan 17,375,000 6,930 2,507
10 Shanghai  China 16,650,000 5,177 3,216
11 Metro Manila  Philippines 16,300,000 2,521 6,466
12 Hong Kong-Shenzhen[4]  China 15,800,000 3,051 5,179
13 Los Angeles  United States 15,250,000 10,780 1,415
14 Kolkata  India 15,100,000 1,785 8,459
15 Moscow  Russia 15,000,000 14,925 1,005
16 Cairo  Egypt 14,450,000 1,600 9,031
17 Buenos Aires  Argentina 13,170,000 10,888 1,210
18 London  United Kingdom 12,875,000 11,391 1,130
19 Beijing  China 12,500,000 6,562 1,905
20 Karachi  Pakistan 11,800,000 1,100 10,727

[edit] References and notes

  1. ^ R.L. Forstall, R.P. Greene, and J.B. Pick, "Which are the largest? Why published populations for major world urban areas vary so greatly", City Futures Conference, (University of Illinois at Chicago, July 2004) – Table 5 (p.34)
  2. ^ Consists of two separate zona metropolitanas: the Zona Metropolitana del Valle de Mexico (ZMVM) and the Zona Metropolitana de Toluca (ZMT)
  3. ^ Consists of two separate metropolitan statistical areas (MSA): the New York-Northern New Jersey Long Island MSA and the Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk MSA.
  4. ^ There are restrictions on the movement of labor between Hong Kong and mainland China and the two areas are sometimes listed separately in other lists.

[edit] See also

[edit] Lists of metropolitan areas by region

[edit] Lists of metropolitan areas by country

[edit] External links

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