The City proper starts and ends at its city limits

This is a list of the most populous cities of the world defined according to the concept of city proper. City proper is defined as a locality with legally fixed boundaries and an administratively recognized urban status that is usually characterized by some form of local government.[1] The list ranks the world's urban municipal units according to population. Note that the populations listed are for the administratively-defined city and not for the urban area nor the metropolitan area. Statistical definitions for each city, approximate surface area, and population density are also indicated.


Cities proper by population

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City Population Source Definition Area (km²) Source Population density (/km²) Country Updated
Shanghai


19,210,000
[2]


Direct-controlled municipality


7,037


2,730
  China
Jul 17, 2010


Mumbai


13,830,884
[3]


Municipal Corporation


603


22,937
  India


Karachi


18,000,000
[4]


City District


3,530


5,099
  Pakistan
Jul 14, 2010


Delhi


12,565,901
[3]


Municipal Corporation


431
[5]


29,155
  India


Istanbul


11,372,613
[6]


Metropolitan Municipality


1,831


6,211
  Turkey
Jul 14, 2010


São Paulo


11,037,593
[7]


Municipality (Brazil)


1,523


7,247
  Brazil
Jul 17, 2010


Moscow


10,508,971
[8]


City proper (includes Zelenograd)


1,081


9,722
  Russia


Seoul


10,464,051
[9]


Special City


605
[10]


17,289
  South Korea


Beijing


22,000,000
[11][12]


Direct-controlled municipality


16,808


1,309
  China
Jul 14, 2010


Mexico City


8,841,916
[13]


Federal District


1,485


5,954
  Mexico


Tokyo


12,989,000
[14]


Tokyo Metropolis


2,187


5,939
  Japan
Jul 17, 2010


Kinshasa


8,754,000
[15]


City-Province


9,965


878
  Democratic Republic of the Congo


Jakarta


8,489,910
[16]


Special capital district


664


12,786
  Indonesia


New York City


8,363,710
[17]


City proper


789


10,600
  United States


Lima


7,605,742
[18]


Province [19]


2,670


2,849
  Peru


London


7,619,800
[20]


Greater London[21]


1,580


4,823
  United Kingdom
Jul 14, 2010


Bogotá


7,259,597
[22]


Capital district


1,590


4,566
  Colombia


Tehran


7,241,000
[15]


City proper


760


9,528
  Iran


Ho Chi Minh City


7,123,340
[23]


Direct-controlled municipality


2,095


3,400
  Vietnam


Hong Kong


7,026,400
[24]


Special Administrative Region


1,092


6,434
  Hong Kong
Jul 14, 2010


Bangkok


7,025,000
[25]


Administrative area


1,569


4,477
  Thailand


Dhaka


7,000,940
[26]


City Corporation


360
[27]


19,447
  Bangladesh


Cairo


6,758,581
[28]


Governorate


214


31,582
  Egypt


Lahore


6,318,745
[29]


City District


1,772


3,566
  Pakistan


Rio de Janeiro


6,186,710
[7]


Municipality (Brazil)


1,182


5,234
  Brazil


Chongqing


32,570,500
[30]


Direct-controlled municipality


82,400


395
  China
Jul 14, 2010


Bangalore


5,840,155
[31]


Municipal Corporation


709
[31]


8,237
  India


Tianjin


11,760,000
[32]


Direct-controlled municipality


11,300


1,041
  China
Jul 14, 2010


Baghdad


5,402,486
[3]


City proper


1,134


4,764
  Iraq


Kolkata


5,138,208
[3]


Municipal Corporation


185


27,774
  India


Singapore


4,987,600
[33]


Country/City


710


7,025
  Singapore


Riyadh


4,848,000
[15]


City proper


800


6,060
  Saudi Arabia


Chennai


4,616,639
[3]


Municipal Corporation


187


24,688
  India


Saint Petersburg


4,581,854
[8]


City proper


1,439
[34]


3,184
  Russia


Surat


4,523,022
[35]


Municipal Corporation


327
[36]


13,852
  India


Yangon


4,350,000
[15]


City proper


599
[37]


7,262
  Myanmar


Guangzhou


10,182,000
[38]


sub-provincial city


7,434


1,370
  China
Jul 15, 2010


Shenzhen


8,768,300
[39]


sub-provincial city


1,953


4,490
  China
Jul 15, 2010


Dongguan


6,949,800
[40]


Prefecture-level city


2,465


2,819
  China
Jul 15, 2010


Zhanjiang


6,902,400
[41]


Prefecture-level city


12,471


553
  China
Jul 15, 2010


Maoming


6,123,700
[42]


Prefecture-level city


11,458


534
  China
Jul 15, 2010


Shijiazhuang


9,170,000
[43]


Prefecture-level city


15,848


579
  China
Jul 15, 2010


Alexandria


4,110,015
[28]


Governorate


2,680


1,534
  Egypt


Hyderabad


4,068,611
[3]


Municipal Corporation


621
[44]


6,547
  India


Ahmedabad


3,959,432
[3]


Municipal Corporation


204


19,409
  India


Ankara


3,901,201
[6]


Metropolitan Municipality


2,516


1,551
  Turkey


Johannesburg


3,888,180
[45]


Metropolitan Municipality


1,645


2,364
  South Africa


Los Angeles


3,849,378
[46]


City proper


1,290


2,984
  United States

Wuhan


8,970,000
[47]


Prefecture-level city


8,494


1,056
  China
Jul. 14, 2010


Yokohama


3,672,789
[48]


City proper


435


8,443
  Japan
Jul. 15 2010


Abidjan


3,660,682
[49]


Department/District


2,119


1,728
  Ivory Coast


Busan


3,574,340
[50]


Metropolitan City


766
[50]


4,666
  South Korea


Cape Town


3,497,097
[45]


Metropolitan Municipality


2,455


1,424
  South Africa


Durban


3,468,086
[45]


Metropolitan Municipality


2,292
1513


1,513
  South Africa


Pune


3,446,330
[3]


Municipal Corporation


430


8,015
  India


Berlin


3,442,700
[51]


City state


892


3,860
  Germany
Jul 16 2010


Pyongyang


3,255,388
[52]


Direct-controlled municipality


3,194


1,019
  North Korea


Jeddah


3,234,000
[15]


City proper


1,230


2,629
  Saudi Arabia


Kanpur


3,221,435
[3]


Municipal Corporation


267


12,065
  India


Madrid


3,213,271
[53]


Municipality


698


4,604
  Spain


Jaipur


3,210,570
[3]


Municipal Corporation


485


6,620
  India


Buenos Aires


3,050,728
[54]


Autonomous city


203


15,028
  Argentina


Nairobi


3,038,553
[55]


Province


696


4,366
  Kenya



 
A City proper is usually characterized by some form of local government
 
Some cities, such as New York City are the core of a much larger conurbation
 
Some cities, such as Chongqing have large rural areas within their city limits

See also

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References

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  1. ^ http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/most_pop_cities_usa.htm
  2. ^ "Shanghai's permanent population approaches 20 mln". People's Daily.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "World: largest cities and towns and statistics of their population". World Gazetteer. Retrieved 30 March 2010.
  4. ^ [1] Retrieved on Jul 14, 2010
  5. ^ "CHAPTER IV Area and Density – Metropolitan Cities" (PDF). Ministry of Urban Development. Government of India. Retrieved 2009-11-08.
  6. ^ a b TUIK. "Address-based population registration system: Inside-Outside District Centers Population By Province And Sex And Population Density 2007" (in Turkish). TUIK. Retrieved 2008-01-21.
  7. ^ a b [http://www.ibge.gov.br/home/estatistica/populacao/estimativa2009/POP2009_DOU.pdf Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística, Estimativas de População, Estimativas para 1º de julho de 2009] Retrieved on 2009-08-16. Population estimate for 2009-07-01.
  8. ^ a b Tim Bespyatov, Population Statistics for Eastern Europe Population as of 2009-01-01. Retrieved on 2009-08-05.
  9. ^ "Seoul Statistics (Population)". Seoul Metropolitan Government. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
  10. ^ "Seoul Statistics (Land Area)". Seoul Metropolitan Government. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
  11. ^ "Beijing's population exceeds 22 million". China Daily. 26 February 2010.
  12. ^ "Beijing's population exceeds 22 million". National Population and Family Planning Commission of China. 2 March 2010.
  13. ^ National Population Council. "Mexico City Population" (PDF). Government of the State of Mexico. Retrieved 20 December 2009.
  14. ^ Population of Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolitan Government Retrieved on Jul 14, 2010. Population estimate on 2009-10-01.
  15. ^ a b c d e UN world Urbanization Prospects estimate for 2010
  16. ^ Penduduk Provinsi DKI Jakarta: Penduduk Provinsi DKI Jakarta Januari 2008 (Demographics and Civil Records Service: Population of the Province of Jakarta January 2008) Retrieved on 2008-10-25.
  17. ^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places Over 100,000, Ranked by July 1, 2008 Population: April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2008". US Census Bureau. Retrieved 2009-09-30.
  18. ^ INEI 2007 Census Results
  19. ^ Composed of 43 independent districts
  20. ^ UK Office of National Statistics -- Key Figures for People and Society: Population and Migration Information on People and Society: Population and Migration Jun08 population estimate for London region
  21. ^ Composed of 32 London boroughs
  22. ^ Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadística. Proyecciones de población municipales por área, 2005-2009, a junio 30. (excel-file) Retrieved on 2009-08-05. Projected population on 2009-06-30.
  23. ^ http://www.chinhphu.vn/portal/page?_pageid=439,1090462&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL&pers_id=1091147&item_id=33638381&p_details=1
  24. ^ Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong; Year-end Population for 2009 Retrieved on 2010-07-14. Estimated population on 2009-12-31. Including 'usual' and 'mobile' residents, but excluding temporary visitors.
  25. ^ National Statistical Office Thailand, Key Statistics of Thailand 2007; Chapter 1.9, Population Projections (1 July) by Region and Sex (embedded in huge 121MB zipped file!) Retrieved on 2009-08-05. Projected de facto population as of 2009. The registered (de jure) population was 5,695,956 in 2006.
  26. ^ Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, Statistical Pocket Book, 2008 (pdf-file) 2008 Population Estimate. Accessed on 2009-08-05.
  27. ^ "Dhaka Area". Dhaka City Corporation. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
  28. ^ a b Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics, Population and Housing Census 2006, Governorate level, Population distribution by sex (excel-file) For Cairo, figure is an adjusted census result, as Helwan governorate was created on the 17th of April 2008 from a.o. parts of the Cairo governorate.
  29. ^ GeoHive, Pakistan - The Punjab - Administrative units 1998 Census result for Lahore District. Accessed on 2008-09-28. The UN estimated the population of Lahore to be 6,577,000 in 2007.However, that estimate is based on now obsolete administrative boundaries for the Lahore Metropolitan Corporation. The administrative boundaries for Lahore was changed in 2001, when it was transformed from Metropolitan Corporation into a City District. The City District includes the old Metropolitan Corporation as well as the surrounding district. The District of Lahore had a total of 6,318,745 inhabitants in 1998, compared to 5,143,495 for the Metropolitan Corporation. Current, but vague, estimates puts the population of the district at somewhere between 7.5 and 10 millions.
  30. ^ Chongqing Statistical Yearbook. Total registered population as of 2008-12-31.
  31. ^ a b "BBMP Delimitation 2009". Government of Karnataka. Retrieved 2009-11-09.
  32. ^ China Statistical Yearbook 2009. Beijing, China: China Statistics Press. 2009. p. digital version, file D0304e.xls. ISBN 978-7-5037-5800-3. Retrieved June 24, 2010. {{cite book}}: More than one of |pages= and |page= specified (help); Unknown parameter |laysummary= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  33. ^ Statistics Singapore, Population (Mid-Year Estimates) Retrieved on 2009. Estimated population on Mid-2009, including Singapore residents plus non-residents. Population of Singapore citizens and residents was 3,642,700 on 2008-06-30.
  34. ^ City of Saint Petersburg Official Portal, Statistics
  35. ^ Surat Municipal Corporation; Mid-Year Population Estimates Retrieved on 2009-08-05. Projected population as of 2009, including areas within the new and extended city boundaries.
  36. ^ Demographics: Surat Municipal Corporation
  37. ^ Third Regional EST Forum, Presentation of Myanmar. Retrieved 6 June 2009
  38. ^ Guangdong Statistical Yearbook. Permanent population Guangzhou as of the end of 2008.
  39. ^ Guangdong Statistical Yearbook. Permanent population Shenzhen as of the end of 2008.
  40. ^ Guangdong Statistical Yearbook. Permanent population Dongguan as of the end of 2008.
  41. ^ Guangdong Statistical Yearbook. Permanent population Zhanjiang as of the end of 2008.
  42. ^ Guangdong Statistical Yearbook. Permanent population Maoming as of the end of 2008.
  43. ^ Shijiazhuang Commerce
  44. ^ "Greater Hyderabad Municipal corporation 2010". GHMC. Retrieved 12-04-2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  45. ^ a b c Statistics South Africa, Community Survey, 2007, Basic Results Municipalities (pdf-file) Retrieved on 2008-03-23.
  46. ^ U.S. Census Bureau estimates for 2006
  47. ^ Wuhan Statistical Yearbook 2009. Retrieved on 2010-04-27. Total permanent residents as of 2008-12-31
  48. ^ 'Statistical Pocketbook of Yokohama 2010 (excel-file) Retrieved on 2010-07-15. Population estimate on 2010-01-01.
  49. ^ Abidjan District estimate for 2003
  50. ^ a b "Busan: Population and area of Administrative units". Busan Metropolitan City. Retrieved 24 March 2010.
  51. ^ "Bevölkerungszuwachs in Berlin im Jahr 2009" (PDF). Amt für Statistik Berlin-Brandenburg. 2010-07-09. Retrieved 2010-07-16.
  52. ^ United Nations Statistics Division; Preliminary results of the 2008 Census of Population of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea conducted on 1-15 October 2008 (pdf-file) Retrieved on 2009-03-01.
  53. ^ INE (2008)
  54. ^ Population projections (pdf-file)
  55. ^ UN OCHA, Estimate for mid-2008
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