Top 10 largest cities in the world by population

By 2050, the world will be home to almost 10 billion people, two-thirds of whom will live in cities. As the transition from rural to urban continues, the network of metropolitan areas around the world is rapidly expanding.

Today, nearly half a billion people live in the world’s 20 largest cities, and this number will only grow as urban centers become taller, larger and denser.

We bring to your attention a list of the 10 largest cities in the world by population for 2019-2020: a rating of major capitals of different countries.

10 Mexico City, 20 thousand people

• A country: Mexico
• Area: 2 370 km²

Spanish conquistadors founded Mexico City in 1521 on the ruined island capital of Tenochtitlan, the cultural and political center of the Aztec Empire (Mexico). It is one of the oldest continuously inhabited urban settlements in the Western Hemisphere and is considered one of the most densely populated metropolitan areas in the world.

One of the few large cities not located along the banks of the river, it is located in an inland basin called the Valley of Mexico, or Central Mesa. The valley is an extension of the southern Mexican plateau and is also known as Anahuac.

9. Sao Paulo, 20 thousand people

• A country: Brazil
• Area: 3043 km²

San Paolo is the largest city in Brazil and the seventh largest in the world. This makes it an important destination for business travelers and travelers from all over the world who want a taste of Brazil and South America.

The city of Sao Paulo is the capital of the state of the same name. It is especially rich in historical, political and cultural value, giving visitors an authentic, memorable experience of an exciting country.

8. New York, 21 thousand people

• A country: USA
• Area: 11 km²

Over the past two centuries New York was the largest and richest American city. More than half of the people and goods that have ever entered the United States have passed through its port, and this flow of trade has led to permanent changes in city life.

New York has always meant opportunity, as it was an urban center on its way to something better, a metropolis too busy to care for those who stand in the way of progress.

Thus, New York, being the most American of all cities in the country, also acquired a reputation as both a foreign and awe-inspiring place, where turmoil, arrogance and cruelty tested the endurance of all who entered it.

7. Shanghai, 22 thousand. chel.

• A country: China
• Area: 4 015 km²

The city has prospered in the past two decades due to China’s desire to become an international center of finance and culture. Many businesses thrive in Shanghai and offer new opportunities for China’s growing middle class and foreigners seeking to enter the Chinese market.

The city has experienced continuous growth and is the hub of many international companies operating in China. It has also become a cultural center of infamy in fashion, art and design. Shanghai is also known as the birthplace of Chinese cinema, which is gaining popularity all over the world.

In 2016, International Talent named Shanghai the most attractive city for expats for the fourth time in six years. 48 expats were surveyed and asked to rank their city in categories such as living conditions and policies for foreign professionals. Shanghai was home to over 000 expats as of 170.

6. Mumbai, 23 thousand people

• A country: India
• Area: 881 km²

Located on the coast of Maharashtra, Mumbai is the most populous city in India, and it is one of the largest and most densely populated urban areas in the world.

It was built on the site of an ancient settlement and takes its name from the local goddess Mumba, a form of Parvati, the consort of Shiva, one of the main deities of Hinduism, whose temple once stood in what is now the southeastern part of the city. He became known as Bombay during the British colonial period.

5. Seoul-Incheon, 24 thousand people

• A country: South Korea
• Area: 2745 km²

Seoul – formally Sul-tuxpilsi (“Seoul Special City”) is the city and capital of South Korea (Republic of Korea). It is located on the Han River (Khan-bang) in the northwestern part of the country, with the city center about 60 km from the Yellow Sea (west).

Seoul is the cultural, economic and political center of South Korea. With the exception of a brief interregnum (1399–1405), Seoul was the capital of Korea from 1394 until the official division of the country in 1948. The name itself has come to mean “capital” in Korean.

4. Manila, 25 thousand people

• A country: Philippines
• Area: 1787 km²

Manila is the center of economic, political, social and cultural activities of the country. It is located on the island of Luzon and stretches along the eastern shore of Manila Bay at the mouth of the Pasig River.

City name, originally Mainilad, comes from the name of the nilad plant, a flowering shrub adapted to swampy conditions that once grew along the banks of the river; the name was shortened first to Maynila and then to its current form.

In 1975, by presidential decree, Manila and its adjacent cities and municipalities were merged into a single administrative region known as Metropolitan Manila (also called the National Capital Region).

3. Delhi, 28 thousand people

• A country: India
• Area: 2 202 km²

Delhi, city and national capital, north-central India. The city of Delhi actually has two components: Old Delhi, to the north, a historic city; and New Delhi, in the south, since 1947 the capital of India, built in the first half of the 20th century as the capital of British India.

Delhi, one of the country’s largest urban agglomerations, sits on top of (but mostly on the western bank of) the Yamuna River, a tributary of the Ganges (Ganges), about 100 miles (160 km) south of the Himalayas. The territory of the capital of the country covers Old and New Delhi and the surrounding areas.

2. Jakarta, 34 thousand people

• A country: Indonesia
• Area: 3 302 km²

Jakarta, earlier (until 1949) Batavia or (1949–72) Jakarta, the largest city and capital of Indonesia. Jakarta is located on the northwest coast of Java at the mouth of the Silivung River (Livung River), in Jakarta Bay (Java Bay).

The city is adjacent to the Greater Jakarta metropolitan area (Jakarta Raya) and almost simultaneously with Jakarta’s Daera husus ibukota (special capital district) – the latter also includes several small offshore islands in the Java Sea.

In 1966, when the city was declared a special capital district, it received a status approximately equal to that of a state.

1. Tokyo-Yokohama, 38 thousand people

• A country: Japan
• Area: 8 547 km²

Up to 1868 years Tokyo was known as Edo. A small castle town in the 16th century, Edo became the political center of Japan in 1603 when Tokugawa Ieyasu established his feudal government there.

Several decades later, Edo has grown into one of the most densely populated cities in the world. With the Meiji Restoration in 1868, the emperor and the capital moved from Kyoto to Edo, which was renamed Tokyo (“Eastern Capital”).

Large parts of Tokyo were destroyed during the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 and the air raids of 1945.

Today, Tokyo offers its visitors a seemingly unlimited choice of shopping, entertainment, culture and dining options.

The history of the city can be appreciated in areas such as Asakusa, as well as many excellent museums, historic temples and gardens. Contrary to popular belief, Tokyo also offers a number of attractive green spaces in the city center and within relatively short train rides around its outskirts.