Thedefinition of a cityvaries , but it ’s by and large thought to be an inhabited place that ’s more populous than a town or village . The size of that population can roam from several thousand to tens of jillion . And if we ’re talking about the world ’s largest city as it pertain to population , we need to look to Japan .

What’s the World’s Most Populous City?

According to the UN ’s World Cities Report for 2018 , Tokyo is thelargest city on Earth , with a population of more than37 millionoccupying the metro area . For equivalence , there are fewer people be in the entire res publica ofTexas(about 28.6 million ) or on the entire continent ofAustralia(approximately 25.5 million ) . The population rest within Tokyo ’s official city limits is smaller at 14 million , though that ’s still telling . The Japanese capital interpret itsfirst universe dipin a twenty-five percent of a century during theCOVID-19 pandemic , but it has n’t lost its No.1 spot on the list .

The next most thickly settled urban area is Delhi , India , which was home plate to around 31.1 million residents in 2018 . Though it ’s America ’s biggest city , New Yorkdoesn’t get along closely to the top of the ranking . The population in 2021 stood at about8.46 millionwithin the city borderline and19.77 millionfor the greater metro country .

What’s the World’s Biggest City in Square Miles?

New York may be belittled compared to some Asian cities , but it holds a different international superlative . If your definition of the world ’s cock-a-hoop urban center look at literal sizing rather than population , the Big Apple takes the patty . Its satisfying gasoline mileage ranges from 3300 to 4700 solid miles , calculate on what sources you look at . ( metropolis borders are n’t as bleak - and - clean as a you may think , which make ittricky to measureboth country and full population . )

When discussing the world ’s largest city , mass usually mean universe , not area . If you ’ve ever been to a metropolis where the flat — and the commuters — are stacked on top of one another , you make out that physical blank can be limited in the planet ’s busiest metropolis . To see how crowded America ’s city can get , here are the most — and least — densely populated cities in the U.S.

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