Where tens of millions share a single metro
10 Largest Megacities in the World
Each of these urban regions is home to more people than most countries. Together they hold roughly one in fifteen humans on Earth.
A 'megacity' is usually defined as a metro area of more than 10 million people. Just a few decades ago the world had three. Today there are more than thirty, and the biggest of them now top thirty million.
Seoul, South Korea · pop. 9,635,445
Half of South Korea — roughly 26 million people — lives in the Seoul Capital Area, one of the most concentrated populations on Earth.
Osaka, Japan · pop. 2,691,185
The Keihanshin region around Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe holds about 19 million — Japan's second megalopolis, still in Tokyo's shadow.
Beijing, China · pop. 21,893,095
Beijing's metro has roughly 22 million people and is the political and cultural counterweight to Shanghai.
Maharashtra, India · pop. 12,442,373
Squeezed onto a peninsula, Mumbai's 21 million share India's most expensive real estate and its busiest suburban rail system.
Mexico City, Mexico · pop. 9,209,944
The Valley of Mexico holds about 22 million people at 2,240 m elevation — easily the highest megacity on Earth.
Acre, Brazil
São Paulo anchors the Western Hemisphere's largest metro, with 22 million residents and a skyline of more apartment towers than New York.
Dhaka, Bangladesh · pop. 21,741,000
Dhaka may be the densest city on Earth — more than 23 million people packed into a delta no bigger than greater London.
Shanghai, China · pop. 24,870,895
Shanghai's metropolitan region is home to roughly 28 million people and is the engine of the lower Yangtze economy.
Delhi, India · pop. 16,787,941
Delhi is closing the gap on Tokyo and is widely projected to become the world's largest metro within the next decade.
Tokyo, Japan · pop. 13,613,660
Greater Tokyo has held the world's #1 spot for decades, with 37 million people across one of the densest commuter-rail networks anywhere.
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For entertainment only. Rankings on this page are editorial picks compiled from public sources for fun and discovery — they aren't a scientific measurement. Population figures and place details come from open data; see the linked place pages for sources.