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Mapped: The Two Largest Cities on Every Continent by Population
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This graphic visualizes the two largest cities on every continent, by 2025 estimates for their population. Data is sourced from the UN’s World Urbanization Prospects.
Population figures are measured for urban agglomerations, which is a continuous urban area that may not follow local administrative boundaries.
This is important to remember because the list of largest cities in the world can change—as seen in this map we did—depending on whether the local boundaries are adhered to, or the metropolitan region, or the built up urban area.
What Large Cities Tell Us About the World
Asia’s largest cities, Tokyo (37 million) and Delhi (35 million) are also the largest cities in the world.
Tokyo took the crown from New York in 1950, and in turn, Delhi is expected to end Tokyo’s reign in 2028.
| Continent | Largest City | 2nd Largest City |
|---|---|---|
| Asia | 🇯🇵 Tokyo (37.0M) | 🇮🇳 Delhi (34.7M) |
| Africa | 🇪🇬 Cairo (23.1M) | 🇨🇩 Kinshasa (17.8M) |
| South America | 🇧🇷 São Paulo (23.0M) | 🇦🇷 Buenos Aires (15.8M) |
| North America | 🇲🇽 Mexico City (22.8M) | 🇺🇸 NYC (19.2M) |
| Europe | 🇷🇺 Moscow (12.7M) | 🇫🇷 Paris (11.3M) |
| Oceania | 🇦🇺 Melbourne (5.4M) | 🇦🇺 Sydney (5.2M) |
A quick glance at the table and map reveals that Asia and Africa’s largest cities dwarf their peers from the North America, Europe, and Oceania.
This is mirroring general population trends—where Asia and Africa are responsible for a significant proportion of the global population in the 21st century.
Countries in these continents also are generally home to bigger cities. Of the top 20 by population: 13 are from Asia, three are from Africa, two each from North and South America, and none from Europe or Oceania.
Interestingly, the world is both moving towards and away from large cities. Urbanization has occurred at a rapid clip since 1950. By 2008, more people lived in cities than the country side. However during the pandemic, parts of North America saw people leave larger metropolitan regions for smaller towns—though not nearly at the same scale.
Learn More on the Voronoi App 
We mentioned that New York was once the largest city in the world. Where does it rank now? Check out All the Cities Larger Than NYC to find out!
