Biggest City in the World 2025: Jakarta Tops Population List

Jakarta now hosts an estimated 41.9 million people in its metropolitan area, making it the planet’s most populous urban agglomeration in 2025. For decades, the Japanese capital held that title almost by reflex, but a quiet shift is underway in the data.

Largest Urban Agglomeration: Jakarta, 41.9 million · Second Largest: Dhaka, 36.6 million · Tokyo Metro Population: 33.4 million · Source Year: 2025 data

What is the top 10 biggest city in the world?

Five cities tower above the rest when measured by metropolitan area population. Jakarta leads with 41,913,860 residents in 2025, according to Wikipedia’s compilation of metropolitan area data. Dhaka follows, having grown rapidly to challenge Tokyo’s long-held dominance. Tokyo now ranks third at 37,036,200, with a slight annual population decline of -0.22% that compounds the shift, as documented by World Population Review.

Tokyo metro area

Tokyo’s metropolitan area spans 8,547 km² and housed 37,843,000 residents in 2015 estimates, per Worldometer’s baseline data. The Tokyo-Yokohama corridor remains Earth’s most economically productive urban zone, but demographic headwinds have eroded its population crown. Research from ArchDaily’s 2025 analysis notes that Tokyo, Delhi, and Shanghai continue to lead in population size among world cities, though the order has shifted.

Jakarta urban agglomeration

Jakarta’s metropolitan area covers 7,063 km² with 33,430,285 residents under the broader Jabodetabek definition, according to Wikipedia. The Indonesian capital’s growth reflects both natural increase and rural-to-urban migration driven by economic opportunity. Unlike Tokyo, Jakarta continues expanding at a pace that suggests further ranking changes ahead.

Key population metrics

Dhaka’s density of 43,500 persons per km² exceeds any other top-10 city, dwarfing Mumbai’s 32,400/km² and Karachi’s 23,400/km², per Worldometer. Delhi’s 2026 projection stands at 35,518,400 with 2.46% annual growth—nearly 11× Tokyo’s decline rate, as tracked by World Population Review.

What is the largest city in the world by physical size?

Population tells only half the story. By land area, the rankings flip entirely. Hulunbuir in Inner Mongolia claims the title of largest city by physical territory, covering roughly 250,000 km²—larger than many countries. Chongqing, a municipality in southwestern China, spans 82,400 km² with 32 million residents, blending massive area with substantial population. Comparing area to population exposes a fundamental tension: cities like Dhaka achieve extreme density within tiny footprints, while Hulunbuir’s vast territory holds a relatively modest population of 2.5 million.

By land area rankings

The World Population Review’s area rankings place Hulunbuir first, followed by Gilroy’s broader conceptual claims and Chongqing’s administrative sprawl. These rankings use municipal or administrative boundaries rather than urbanized area, creating definitions that puzzle comparison. Critics argue that Hulunbuir’s include vast grasslands and semi-rural territory that share an administrative designation rather than forming a continuous urban fabric.

Hulunbuir China example

Hulunbuir illustrates the gap between administrative size and urban reality. Its territory stretches across forests, grasslands, and winter plains, hosting fewer people than metropolitan Jakarta packs into a fraction of the space. For urban planners, this distinction matters: the “largest city by area” title often reflects political geography rather than the human settlement the phrase implies.

Comparison to population leaders

New York City offers a contrasting model: its metropolitan area spans 11,642 km² with only 1,800 persons per km² density, per Worldometer. Tokyo-Yokohama’s 8,547 km² holds 37,843,000 residents at roughly 4,400/km². The contrast reveals that density—or lack thereof—depends heavily on how cities define their boundaries and where urban growth concentrates.

Is Tokyo the biggest city in the world?

No—and that answer has grown more emphatic in recent years. Tokyo no longer holds the top spot by metropolitan population, having been overtaken by Jakarta’s 41.9 million residents against Tokyo’s 37.0 million. The ranking shift reflects a broader trend: rapidly growing Asian megacities in developing economies now outpace Tokyo’s stagnant or declining population. Dhaka’s 2.86% annual growth rate, documented by World Population Review, suggests it may eventually challenge Jakarta’s position.

Tokyo vs Jakarta

The population gap widened as Jakarta added residents while Tokyo shed them. Jakarta’s metropolitan area reached 33,430,285 in 2015 per Wikipedia; Tokyo-Yokohama held 37,843,000 then, per Worldometer. By 2025, Jakarta’s total surpassed 41.9 million while Tokyo fell to 37.0 million. The reversal spans roughly a decade and shows no signs of reversing.

Metro vs city proper

Even within Tokyo, definitional ambiguity shapes perception. Tokyo’s 23 special wards contained 9.7 million residents in 2025, while the broader Tokyo metropolis held 14 million. The metropolitan figure of 37 million includes Saitama, Chiba, and Kanagawa prefectures—a corridor often called Greater Tokyo. Jakarta’s Jabodetabek region similarly extends beyond the capital’s official boundaries, making direct comparison sensitive to where analysts draw the line.

Recent overtake by Dhaka

Dhaka’s climb reshapes South Asia’s megacity hierarchy. Its density of 43,500 persons per km²—the world’s highest among major cities—reflects intense land use within a constrained delta. As Dhaka surpassed 25 million in 2026 projections, it positioned itself as a contender for second place globally, with growth rates that far exceed mature economies’ cities.

Which city is expected to be largest in 2050?

Projections suggest that Lagos, Kinshasa, and other rapidly growing African and Asian cities will dominate mid-century rankings. Delhi’s trajectory approaches 50 million by 2050 under current growth assumptions. Jakarta may face its own slowdown as Indonesia develops and urbanization rates plateau. No single source reliably predicts the 2050 leader—different models apply varying assumptions about migration, fertility, and economic development.

UN projections

The United Nations World Urbanization Prospects provides the most widely cited long-term estimates, though its city-level projections carry wide confidence intervals. Lagos appears consistently poised for dramatic growth, with some models placing it among the top three megacities by 2050. Kinshasa and other Sub-Saharan African cities follow similar trajectories.

Ontario Tech University data

Academic research from institutions including Ontario Tech University has modeled megacity growth using cohort-component methods, tracking fertility rates, mortality, and migration. These models suggest that cities currently in the 10-20 million range will lead future growth, while today’s megacities plateau or decline as populations age.

Growth factors

The drivers of urban growth divide into three categories: natural increase (births minus deaths), rural-to-urban migration, and international migration. In fast-growing cities like Dhaka and Lagos, migration drives expansion. In cities like Tokyo and Seoul, international migration partially offsets natural decrease but cannot fully compensate for aging populations.

What this means: the next generation’s “biggest city” may not exist yet in its current form. Cities currently mid-sized in regions with high fertility and rural-urban migration pressure could leapfrog today’s leaders. For urban planners, the challenge lies not in today’s rankings but in preparing infrastructure for tomorrow’s population shocks.

What is the biggest city in Europe by area?

London, Paris, and Berlin dominate European conversations about megacities, but by land area, smaller cities may claim the crown if municipal boundaries include administrative territory. The definition question returns with particular force in Europe, where cities often encompass massive rural hinterlands within their formal boundaries.

European area leaders

Cities like Castelltersol or equivalent tiny municipalities claim minimal urbanized area while holding large administrative titles. Among major European capitals, the picture differs: Lille and Rotterdam combine substantial area with regional influence. Paris proper spans 105 km², but its urban area extends further. London’s continuous urban fabric covers roughly 1,600 km²—more comparable to New York’s metropolitan footprint than to Jakarta’s sprawling Jabodetabek.

Vs global giants

Compared to global megacities, Europe’s largest cities by area occupy different positions. London and Paris rank in the top 20 globally by metropolitan population, but neither approaches Jakarta, Dhaka, or Tokyo in scale. Europe’s slower growth rates and mature infrastructure limit dramatic expansion, though immigration-driven growth in cities like London partially offsets demographic aging.

Population context

The European city with the largest metropolitan population remains Paris at roughly 12 million in its urban area, followed closely by London at approximately 11 million. London’s growth rate of 1.1% annually, per World Population Review, exceeds Paris’s 0.4%, suggesting gradual convergence. Neither approaches the density of South Asian megacities, making European urban challenges qualitatively different from those facing Jakarta or Dhaka.

The implication: Europe’s “biggest city” debates often reflect cultural and political concerns rather than pure demographic measurement. The question of what makes London or Paris “largest” incorporates economic influence, cultural reach, and infrastructure quality alongside population counts.

“Tokyo, Delhi, and Shanghai continue to lead in population size, while cities such as Lagos, Dhaka, and Kinshasa are among the fastest-growing.”

— ArchDaily’s 2025 urban population analysis

“These urban environments are at the forefront of demographic transformation, reflecting broader topics in migration, fertility, and development.”

— Sustainability Today urban research

Related reading: population statistics

Jakarta now leads global urban centers with 41.9 million people, as confirmed in the 2025 population rankings that detail overtaking Tokyo.

Frequently asked questions

For urban planners and policymakers, the shift from Tokyo to Jakarta as the world’s largest megacity signals a broader demographic transition. Cities in developing economies—Jakarta, Dhaka, Delhi, Lagos—are ascending as mature economies’ urban centers face aging and population decline. The infrastructure demands, economic opportunities, and governance challenges differ dramatically between these , making the ranking more than a curiosity: it charts the geography of 21st-century human settlement.