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Demographia
World
Urban Areas
16th Annual Edition
2020.06
DEMOGRAPHIA WORLD URBAN AREAS
(Built Up Urban Areas or World Agglomerations)
16th ANNUAL EDITION
June 2020
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Demographia World Urban Areas (Introduction)
1
SUMMARY TABLE
Table 1: World Summary: Built-Up Urban Areas Over 500,000
22
URBAN AREA LISTINGS
Table 2: Largest Built-Up Urban Areas in the World
Table 3: Built-Up Urban Areas Ranked by Land Area (Urban Footprint)
Table 4: Built-Up Urban Areas Ranked by Urban Population Density
Table 5: Alphabetical List of Built-Up Urban Areas
COVER PHOTOGRAPH
Guangzhou: Zhujiang New Town (See Introduction)
http://www.demographia.com/db-worldua.pdf
© Copyright Notice
All rights reserved
Permission granted to copy or republish only without alteration of any data, name of urban area or geography.
2020.06.25 Edition
23
40
57
76
Demographia World Urban Areas
(Built-Up Urban Areas or Urban Agglomerations)
16th Annual Edition: April 2020
INTRODUCTION
CONTENTS OF THE INTRODUCTION
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
Demographia World Urban Areas
Revised Population Estimation Methodology
Built-Up Urban Areas: Definitional Issues
Data Issues
Highlights
Built-Up Urban Areas: Definitional Issues
Geographical Notes
Methodology
Caution: Trend Analysis
Background
Cover Illustration: Budapest
Comments and Suggestions
1. DEMOGRAPHIA WORLD URBAN AREAS
RELATED PUBLICATIONS
Toward More Prosperous Cities:
Framing Essay on Urban Policy
th
16 Annual Demographia International
Housing Affordability Survey
The Evolving Urban Form
(Profiles of World Urban Areas)
A Question of Values: Middle-Income Housing
Affordability and Urban Containment Policy
City Sector Model
(Urban Core & Suburban Small Area Analysis
within US Metropolitan Areas)
Demographia World Urban Areas (Built-up Urban Areas or Urban Agglomerations) is the only annually
published inventory of population, corresponding land area and population density for urban areas with
more than 500,000 population. Unlike some other regularly produced lists, Demographia World Urban
Areas applies a generally consistent definition to built-up urban areas.1 Urban footprint data is reported
without regard to political boundaries that are generally associated with metropolitan areas or sub-national
jurisdictions. As used in this report, all instances of the term “urban area” are defined as “built-up urban
area’ (Section 3)
Demographia World Urban Areas contains population, land area and population density for the more than
1,050 identified built-up urban areas (urban agglomerations or urbanized areas) in the world with 500,000
or more population that have been identified. The total population of these urban areas is estimated at 2.25
billion, 51.4 percent of the world urban population in 2020.2
1
Some other urban agglomeration lists mix metropolitan areas, municipalities (parts of metropolitan areas) and
urban areas (built up urban areas or agglomerations). None of these lists include urban land area data. The United
Nations list is unique in providing notes that clarify the nature of its each of its listings (core cities, metropolitan
areas, urban areas and others).
2
Calculated using United Nations data.
16th Annual Demographia World Urban Areas
1
2. REVISED POPULATION ESTIMATION METHODOLOGY
The preferred source for built-up urban area population and land area is directly provided by national
statistical authorities. However, few nations provide this information.
The best alternative to official built-up urban area from national statistical authorities is now from small area
population grids. A review of the available sources has found the Commission Global Human Settlement
(GHS2015) 250 meter database to be appropriate for the purposes of Demographia World Urban Area
population estimation.3 Base year populations for the Demographia produced built-up urban area
perimeters4 can be derived this source. The base population estimates for most 1,000,000 and larger urban
areas are from GHS2015. The data in many of the 500,000 to 1,000,000 population urban areas are also
from GHS 2015.
3. BUILT-UP URBAN AREAS: DEFINITIONAL ISSUES
There is considerable confusion about urban definitions, as is discussed below
3.1. What is a Built-Up Urban Area?
Built-up urban areas are not metropolitan areas.
An urban area ("built-up urban area,"5 urbanized area or urban agglomeration)6 is a continuously built up
land mass of urban development that is within a labor market (metropolitan area or metropolitan region). An
urban area contains no rural land (all land in the world is either urban or rural). In some nations, the term
"urban area" is used, but does not denote a built-up urban area.7
An urban area is best thought of as the “urban footprint” --- the lighted area (“city lights”) that can be
observed from an airplane (or satellite) on a clear night. National census authorities in Australia, Canada,
Denmark, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States
designate urban areas. Except in Australia, the authorities generally use a minimum urban density
definition of 400 persons per square kilometer (or the nearly identical 1,000 per square mile in the United
States) in areas that comprise urban areas.
3
European Commission Global Human Settlement: GHS_POP_E2015_GLOBE_R2019A_54009_250_V1_0
dataset, (https://ghsl.jrc.ec.europa.eu/ghs_pop2019.php).
4
All built-up urban area perimeters are produced by Demographia except for those provided by national statistical
authorities.
5
"Built up urban area" is the new urban area term now used by National Statistics in the United Kingdom. It may be
the most descriptive short term for urban areas.
6
Called a "population centre" in Canada and an "urban centre" in Australia.
7
For example, in China, sub-city or sub-regional districts called “shixiaqu” (市辖区) are sometimes referred to as
urban areas. Shixiaqu resemble metropolitan areas, containing both urban and rural land. Districts designated as
urban often have large tracts of rural land on which urban development is anticipated.
16th Annual Demographia World Urban Areas
2
By necessity, average population density data masks significant variations within urban areas. Within urban
areas, urban population densities can range from below 400 per square kilometer (1,000 per square mile),
particularly in North American urban areas, to over 1,000,000 per square kilometer (2,500,000 per square
mile) in informal neighborhoods8 of some Asian urban areas, such as Dhaka (See: The Evolving Urban
Form: Dhaka).9
Varying densities within urban areas
are illustrated by comparing by the
Phoenix urban area which is at least
60 percent denser than the BostonProvidence urban area. Yet, the
highest small are population densities
within Boston-Providence are at least
five times that of the highest density
areas in Phoenix. Moreover, BostonProvidence has a far larger commercial
core (“central business district” or
“downtown”). The difference is that the
Phoenix suburbs are denser than the
Boston-Providence suburbs.
Megacities: 2020
URBAN AREAS WITH MORE THAN 10 MILLION POPULATION
Tokyo-Yokohama
Jakarta
Delhi, DL-UP-HR
Mumbai, MH
Manila
Shanghai, SHG-JS-ZJ
Sao Paulo
Seoul-Incheon
Mexico City
Guangzhou-Foshan, GD
New York, NY-NJ-CT
Beijing, BJ-HEB
Cairo
Kolkata, WB
Moscow
Bangkok
Buenos Air es
Shenzhen, GD
Dhaka
Los Angeles, CA
Lagos
Istanbul
Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto
Karachi
Bangalore, KA
Tehran
Kinshasa
Ho Chi Minh City
Rio de Janeiro
Chennai, TN
Chengdu, SC
Lahore
Paris
London
Tianjin, TJ
0
5
10
15
20
25
Millions
30
35
40
Figure 1
Higher density suburbs are also responsible for making Los Angeles the most densely populated large
urban area in the United States, despite its much lower urban core densities relative to New York (See:
California’s Dense Suburbs and Urbanization10). This creates an irony that the city most associated with
urban dispersion (“urban sprawl”) in the United States is, in reality, the least dispersed (least “sprawling”).
At the same time, no urban area in the world sprawls over a larger area than New York, as is indicated in
Table 3.
Similarly, London and Athens have similar population densities. Yet, the core densities in Athens are
considerably higher than in London. The Athens suburbs, however, are among the least dense in the highincome world. The Essen-Dusseldorf and Milan urban areas have almost identical densities, yet core
densities are considerably higher in Milan. Demographia World Urban Areas reports the estimated
population and density of entire urban footprints, regardless of their internal density profiles.
3.2: Urban Areas Contrasted with Metropolitan Areas
An urban area (built-up urban area or urban agglomeration) is fundamentally different from a metropolitan
area. A metropolitan area is a labor market (and a housing market). It includes a principal built-up urban
area (the largest built-up urban area in the metropolitan area) as well as economically connected rural
areas (and smaller urban areas) to the outside. (Figure 6).11
8
Called slums, shantytowns or favelas in various geographical areas.
Wendell Cox, (2012), “The Evolving Urban Form: Dhaka,” The New Geography,
http://www.newgeography.com/content/003004-evolving-urban-form-dhaka.
10
See: Wendell Cox (2018), “California’s Dense Suburbs and Urbanization,” The New Geography,
http://www.newgeography.com/content/005908-californias-dense-suburbs-and-urbanization.
11
All land is that is not urban is considered rural.
9
16th Annual Demographia World Urban Areas
3
Urban areas draw employees from a labor market area larger than the area of continuous development.
For example, INSEE, the census authority of France defines the Paris urban area ("unité urbaine") as 2,845
square kilometers and the Paris metropolitan area (aire urbaine) as 17,100 square kilometers, indicating
that more than 80 percent of the land area is outside the Paris urban area (See: The Evolving Urban Form:
Paris12). Similarly, in the United States, 52 metropolitan areas with more than 1,000,000 population in 2010
had only 19 percent of land in urban use, with the remainder of 81 percent being rural (See: Rural
Characterin America’s Metropolitan Areas13).
Because of the fundamental differences between urban areas (or urban agglomerations) and metropolitan
areas, population comparisons should be made only within the two categories, not between. To mix the two
is akin to comparing “apples and oranges.”
3.3: Metropolitan Area Densities are not Urban Densities
Metropolitan area densities can be
calculated, but are not a representation
of urban densities, because all
metropolitan areas include suburban
land, which is therefore not urban.
Urban densities can be calculated only
using urban populations and land
areas, which necessarily exclude rural
data. All metropolitan areas have rural
areas and thus metropolitan density is
not a genuine measure of urban
density.
Urban Areas & Metropolitan Areas: Contrast
EXAMPLE: PARIS URBAN & METROPOLITAN AREA
EXURBAN: RURAL
(Non-urban)
EXURBAN
BUILT-UP URBAN AREA
(Example: Nemours)
PRINCIPAL
BUILT-UP URBAN AREA
412 Municipalities Including Core
(Physical city: Area of
continuous urbanization)
CORE
1 Municipality
(Ville de Paris)
EXURBAN: RURAL
(Non-urban)
METROPOLITAN AREA
1,798 Municipalities including Urban Municipalities
Moreover, comparing metropolitan
(Functional or economic city)
areas is fraught with difficulty, because
Figure 2
(1) there are no international standards
for delineating metropolitan areas, rendering them non-comparable between nations and (2) geographical
“building blocks” may be too large to reasonably estimate the geographical extent of metropolitan areas.
Even within nations, comparison of metropolitan area densities can be invalid. This is illustrated by
metropolitan areas in the United States, where counties are used as the building blocks. The size of
counties in the United States varies up to 1,500 times and, as a result, metropolitan densities are strongly
influenced by the densities of the rural areas surrounding the built-up urban areas. The metropolitan area
with the largest land area in the United States is Riverside-San Bernardino, at 27,300 square miles (71,000
square kilometers). This is nearly as large as Austria. Most of this area is well beyond commuting range,
which means that Riverside-San Bernardino is much larger than its genuine labor or housing market. The
situation is similar, but not as extreme in some other metropolitan areas of the United States. Metropolitan
12
Wendell Cox (2018), “The Evolving Urban Form: Paris,” The New Geography,
http://www.newgeography.com/content/005912-the-evolving-urban-form-paris.
13
Wendell Cox (2013), "Rural character in America's Metropolitan Areas, The New Geography,
http://www.newgeography.com/content/004088-rural-character-america-s-metropolitan-areas.
16th Annual Demographia World Urban Areas
4
area densities in the United States therefore cannot be compared with a reasonable level of precision as an
indication of urban densities, even among themselves.
3.4: Urban Areas Contrasted with Municipalities (Cities or Communes)
An urban area is different from a municipality (also called a city, city proper, or a local government
authority). Municipalities have political boundaries that usually constitute only a part of the urban area. For
example, the city of Seoul represents less than one-half of the population (and a declining proportion) of the
Seoul-Incheon urban area, which extends well beyond the municipality. On the other hand, a municipality
may be considerably larger than an urban area and therefore contain considerable non-urban (or rural)
territory. Zaragoza, Spain is an example. A large part of the municipality of Mumbai is rural, composed of
the Rajiv Gandhi National Park and thus not included in the urban area.
The translated term "city" is generally used to denote sub-provincial (or in some cases provincial)
government areas in China. These were formally referred to as "prefectures." Generally, they include rural
areas and extend far beyond their built-up areas (such as Beijing, Tianjin, Wuhan and Guangzhou). The
city of Chongqing, which has the largest population of any entity called a city (municipality) in the world and
stretches far beyond any reasonable definition of a metropolitan area. Like the Riverside-San Bernardino
metropolitan area, Chongqing covers a land area similar to that of Austria. Most of the municipality is well
beyond the commuting range of the urban area.
The Chinese term "shi" is popularly translated as "city" in English. Chinese "shi" and equivalent terms are
divisions of divisions of provinces or province equivalent. China is divided into more than 3,000 "shi," which
are similar in number to the more than 3,000 counties of the United States. France has more than 30,000
communes, with most of their respective land areas typically being rural.
3.5: Urban Areas Contrasted with Adjacent Urban Areas
This report confines urban areas to a single metropolitan area (below) or labor market area. As a result,
where urban areas have grown together but remain as (labor markets), they are considered “adjacent
urban areas.” Each component urban area is separately listed.
Examples of adjacent urban areas follow:
The Pearl River Delta urban areas of Shenzhen, Dongguan, Zhongshan, Jiangmen, Huizhou,
Zhuhai, Guangzhou and Foshan in China’s Guangdong province are very close to one-another
and in some cases the built-up urban areas are virtually adjacent. Yet, this is not considered a
single urban area because there is not a single labor market. Demographia World Urban Areas
considers Guangzhou and Foshan as a single urban area, because they have become more
economically integrated than the other urban areas (such as by Metro system that serves both
cities). Otherwise, each of the other urban areas in the Pearl River Delta economic region is
considered to be separate. The Hong Kong and Macau urban areas are also adjacent to the
adjacent urban areas of Guangdong (see “Adjacent International Urban areas,” below). See:
16th Annual Demographia World Urban Areas
5
Ultimate City: Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (with Photographic Tour).14
Plans call for significant transport improvements that could make all or part of this area a single
labor market in the future.
The Yangtze River Delta (broadly defined to include Hangzhou Bay) contains a number of
nearby urban areas stretching from Zhoushan/Ningbo to Shanghai, and Nanjing. This includes
the municipalities (prefectures) of Zhougshan, Ningbo, Shaoxing, Hangzhou, Jiaxing,
Shanghai, Suzhou, Wuxi, Changzhou, Zhenjiang, Nanjing and other smaller urban areas.
Adjacent urban areas in the Yangtze River Delta extend from Shanghai, through Suzhou and
Wuxi to Changzhou. There are two other adjacent urban areas, Hangzhou and Shaoxing as
well as Ningbo and Zhoushan. There is rural territory between Changzhou and Zhenjiang,
Zhenjiang and Nanjing, Shanghai and Hangzhou as well as between Shaoxing and Ningbo.
Plans call for significant transport improvements that could combine some of these adjacent
urban areas into single urban areas in the future.
The coast of Japan from Tokyo-Yokohama to Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto has nearly “grown together.”
Yet, this ribbon of urbanization is far too large to be a single metropolitan area (labor market).
The same applies to the Northeastern "megalopolis" of the United States. There is continuous
development from the Philadelphia urban area, through the New York urban area, to the
Hartford urban area. This continuous urbanization is considered as separate built-up urban
areas because there are three labor markets (metropolitan areas).
International Urban Areas: Urban areas (and metropolitan areas) are confined to a single nation, unless
there is virtual freedom of movement (principally labor) between the adjacent nations (or jurisdictions).
Freedom of movement means that there are no customs or immigration facilities at borders, or that there
are arrangements (such as readily available permits) for residents to live and/or work in any of the adjacent
jurisdictions. Currently, this condition is met only between some continental nations of the European Union.
For example, the Lille urban area is in both France and Belgium yet is considered a single urban area
because there is freedom of labor movement without trade, immigration or customs barriers. Treaty
provisions render Geneva (Switzerland)-Annemasse (France), Basel (Switzerland) along with suburban
areas of France and Germany as a single built-up urban area. Similarly, Milan together with Chiasso in
Switzerland is a single built-up urban area.
However, Detroit-Windsor El Paso-Ciudad Juarez and San Diego-Tijuana are not considered single urban
areas because border controls restrict the free movement of labor. In China’s Pearl River Delta, the Macao
and Hong Kong urban areas are considered separate from Guangdong urban areas due, at least partly, to
the international-style border at the provincial border.
3.6: Combined Urban Areas
In the United States, single labor markets can be either metropolitan areas, or combined statistical areas
(CSAs), which are, in effect, larger metropolitan areas or metropolitan regions, with somewhat less
14
Wendell Cox (2018), “Ultimate City: Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area (with Photographic
Tour),” The New Geography, http://www.newgeography.com/content/006132-ultimate-city-guangdong-hong-kongmacao-greater-bay-area-with-photographic-tour.
16th Annual Demographia World Urban Areas
6
stringent economic interchanges (measured by employment commuting).15 Where continuous urban
footprints exist within CSA. Demographia World Urban Areas combines them into a single built-up urban
area. For example, the New York built-up urban area stretches from New York to other adjacent built-up
urban areas, such as Bridgeport-Stamford, New Haven, Trenton and other metropolitan areas.
In addition, the US Census Bureau has retained some urban areas, despite their now continuous
urbanization with other urban areas within the same metropolitan areas.16 Demographia World Urban Areas
combines them into a single built-up urban area. Cleveland and Lorain, Ohio and Orlando and Kissimmee,
Florida are examples of this (Table A-1).
In Canada, where the national census authority (Statistics Canada) defines metropolitan areas, the
Toronto, Hamilton and Oshawa metropolitan areas are also considered a single labor market and are
combined into a single combined urban area. While Canada does not designate combinations of
metropolitan areas, Statistics Canada has indicated that if criteria similar to that of the United States were
applied the Toronto, Hamilton and Oshawa metropolitan areas, they would constitute a combined
metropolitan area.17
Other adjacent urban areas are combined in nations that do not report built-up urban area data. For
example, Guangzhou and Foshan, and Tehran and Karaj are combined because of strong transport links
that make commuting feasible.
4: DATA ISSUES
New census data and estimates as well as later satellite imagery has led to important revisions in recent
editions of Demographia World Urban Areas:
Statistical communiqués from many Chinese cities have shown population growth rates since 2010
that are far below earlier projections. This publication substitutes annual estimates based on the
rate of growth of from the 2010 census to the latest available year, in larger urban areas where
sufficient data is available. These estimates have been substituted in cases where a there is a
Basis Population Code of “L.” (See related article: Beijing and Shanghai Limit Population
Growth18).
Canada has revised its method for delineation of built-up urban areas (population centres) in the
2016 census. Urban areas are now comprised of qualifying small area “blocks,” rather than the
former municipalities. Some municipalities included large tracts of rural land and this revision
15
Metropolitan areas require a 25 percent employment interchange between constituent counties (US metropolitan
areas are no longer based on central municipalities, but now use "central counties"). Combined statistical areas
require a 15 percent employment interchange between metropolitan areas.
16
United States Census Bureau (2011), “Urban Area Criteria for the 2010 Census,” The Federal Register,
https://www2.census.gov/geo/pdfs/reference/fedreg/fedregv76n164.pdf.
17
Statistics Canada (2008), “Defining and Measuring Metropolitan Areas: A Comparison between Canada and the
United States,” http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/92f0138m/2008002/5002030-eng.htm.
18
Wendell Cox, (2019), “Beijing and Shanghai Limit Population Growth,” The New Geography,
http://www.newgeography.com/content/006258-beijing-and-shanghai-limit-population-growth.
16th Annual Demographia World Urban Areas
7
removed these areas from the urban areas. As a result, urban area densities in Canada are higher
and land areas smaller than previously reported.
A new population estimate for Kinshasa has been developed, from 2014 data provided by the
Institut National de la Statistique of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The data was
not sufficient, however, to develop revised estimates for other built-up urban areas in the DRC.
Table A-1
COMBINED URBAN AREAS
Designated only in Nations Reporting Urban Agglomeration Data
COMBINED URBAN AREA & Constituent Urban Areas
NATION
Canada
United States
United States
TORONTO, ON: Hamilton, Oshawa, Toronto
ATLANTA, GA: Atlanta, Gainesville, Winder
BOSTON-PROVIDENCE, MA-RI-NH-CT-ME: Barnstable Town (MA), Dover (NH-ME), Boston (MA-NH-RI),
Leominster (MA), Manchester (NH) Nashua (NH-MA), New Bedford (MA), Portsmouth (NH-ME), Providence (RIMA), Worcester (MA-CT)
United States
CHARLOTTE, NC-SC: Charlotte, Concord, Gastonia, Rock Hill (SC)
United States
CHICAGO, IL-IN-WI: Chicago, Kenosha (WI), Round Lake Beach
United States
CLEVELAND, OH: Cleveland, Akron, Lorain
United States
DALLAS-FORT WORTH, TX: Dallas-Fort Worth, Denton, McKinney
United States
DETROIT, MI: Detroit, Ann Arbor, South Lyon
United States
HOUSTON, TX: Houston, Conroe, Texas City
United States
KANSAS CITY, MO-KS: Kansas City, Lee’s Summit
United States
LOS ANGELES, CA: Los Angeles, Riverside-San Bernardino, Mission Viejo
United States
NEW YORK, NY-NJ-CT-PA: Bridgeport (CT), Danbury (CT-NY), New Haven (CT), New York (NY-NJ-PA), Trenton
(NJ), Twin Rivers (NJ), Waterbury, CT
United States
ORLANDO, FL: Orlando, Kissimmee, Poinciana
United States
PHILADELPHIA, PA-NJ-DE-MD: Philadelphia, Pottstown
United States
PHOENIX, AZ: Phoenix, Avondale, Buckeye
United States
RALEIGH, NC: Raleigh, Durham
United States
SALT LAKE CITY: Salt Lake City, Ogden, Provo
United States
SAN FRANCISCO-SAN JOSE, CA: San Francisco, Concord, Livermore, Napa, San Jose, Vallejo
United States
SEATTLE, WA: Seattle, Bremerton, Indianola, Marysville
United States
ST. LOUIS, MO-IL: St. Louis, Alton (IL-MO)
United States
WASHINGTON-BALTIMORE, DC-VA-MD: Washington, Baltimore, Waldorf (MD)
A combined urban area consists of adjacent urban areas that are located within the same labor market area (U.S. Combined Statistical Area)
or equivalent).
A new population census ends
more than 30 years since the last
in Myanmar. Built-up urban area
estimates have been updated
using this information.
World Population Distribution: 2019
URBAN (BY POPULATION) & RURAL
Under 100,000
15.5%
100,000-500,000
11.0%
500,0001,000,000
4.9%
1,000,0002,500,000
6.5%
The lower range population
estimates for the Lagos built up
urban area have been largely
confirmed by the Africapolis
project (see Geographical Notes,
Rural (Not Urban)
44.3%
16th Annual Demographia World Urban Areas
2,500,0005,000,000
5.3%
5,000,00010,000,000
4.3%
10,000,000+
(Megacity)
8.4%
Figure 3
8
below). There has been considerable controversy about the population of Lagos for years and local
governments had claimed the census of Nigeria had severely under-counted its population. The
new information is generally consistent with the Nigerian federal government population data.
5. HIGHLIGHTS
In recent years, the world has become more than one-half urban for the first time in history (56.2 percent in
2020). Yet, it would be a mistake to believe that the world's urban residents live in settings similar to 5th
Avenue in New York or within the fourth ring road of Beijing or in inner Paris, or for that matter in large
urban areas. Nearly all of the world’s large urban areas have extensive suburbs of much lower density
outside the historic cores that are characterized by higher densities. Some post-automobile urban areas
have little or no high-density urban core.
Distribution of World Population: Approximately 70 percent of the world’s population live in udrban areas
with fewer than 500,000 residents19 or in rural areas in 2019 (See: What is a Half-Urban World?20).
Approximately 30 percent lives in urban areas with 500,000 or more population.21 Only 13 percent of the
world’s population lives in the urban areas of 5 million or more, approximately. China has more than 15
urban agglomerations of this size, the United States more than 10 and India 9 (Figure 1).
Distribution of Large Urban Population by Urban Density: More than one-half of the 500,000+ urban
area population lived in built-up urban areas with between 4,000 and 10,000 persons per square kilometer
(approximately 10,000 to 25,000 persons per square mile) in 2019. About 27 percent lived in urban areas
with lower densities and 21 percent in higher density urban areas (Figure 2).Nearly one-half of the urban
areas have densities between 4,000
and 10,000 per square kilometer and
World Population by Urban Area Density
nearly one-quarter have densities of
BUILT-UP URBAN AREAS 500,000+: PER KM2: 2019
from 2,000 to 4,000 per square
10,000 - 20,000
(25,000 - 50,000)
kilometer (Figure 3).
16.8%
Distribution of World Population by
Continent: More than one-half of the
population of large built-up urban
areas (500,000 and over) are in Asia
(Figure 4). The Asian urban areas
comprised 58 percent of the world’s
large urban area population in 2019.
Megacities: There are 35 megacities
in the world (urban areas over 10
million population), revised as a result
20,000 - 40,000
(50,000 - 100,000)
3.2%
40,000 & Over
(100,000 & Over)
0.8%
Under 2,000
(Under 5,000)
9.1%
2,000 - 4,000
(5,000 - 10,000)
17.8%
4,000 - 10,000
(10,000 - 25,000)
52.3%
Approximate
Per Square Mile
Densities in (..)
Figure 4
19
The of urban areas under 500,000 is estimated by applying ratios from, Making Room for a Planet of Cities
(Shlomo Angel, with Jason Parent, Daniel L. Civco, and Alejandro M. Blei) to the Demographia data.
20
Wendell Cox (2012), "What is a Half-Urban World," The New Geography,
http://www.newgeography.com/content/003249-what-a-half-urban-world.
21
Caution is recommended in comparing population categories with previous years. Because urban areas shift
(generally upward) in population categories, the urban area components of each population category have changed.
The of urban areas under 100,000 is estimated by applying ratios from, Making Room for a Planet of Cities.
16th Annual Demographia World Urban Areas
9
of the new population estimation methodology from last year’s 38 (Figure 5). A total of 88 urban areas have
5,000,000 or more population, up from 86 last year (Table 2).
Median Resident Analysis
Indicator s of the “median resident” (middle resident) for the current year are provided as follows:
The median world resident lived in an urban area of 625,000 residents in 2019 (including all urban
and rural residents). This is the estimated population of urban areas such as Wroclaw, Poland;
Suez, Egypt; Siping (Jilin), China; Kolhapur (Maharashtra), India; Albany (New York), US; and Mar
del Plata, Argentina.
The median resident of urban areas with 500,000+ population lived in an urban area with an
average density of approximately 5,600 per square kilometer (approximately 14,500 per square
mile). This is similar to the estimated population density urban areas such as London, Chongqing,
Santiago, Chile; Khartoum and Morelia (Mexico).
The median resident of urban areas with 500,000+ population lived in an urban area covering
approximately 1,150 square kilometers (440 square miles). Urban areas such as Bangalore
(Karnataka), India; Xi’an (Shaanxi), China; Baku, Azerbaijan; and Rome have similar densities.
6. GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES
Pakistan: The new 2017 census data has now been reported for Pakistan. This is the first compete census
since 1998. Demographia had reported concerns about the reliability of population estimates in Pakistan.
These concerns no longer exist.
West Africa: Demographia World Urban
Areas uses base population data (2010)
from Africapolis, where available (West
Africa).22 Africapolis uses various
techniques, including an analysis of
satellite photographs to develop
population estimates for built-up urban
areas in West Africa. Moreover, the
urban are definition used by Africapolis
is consistent with the general approach
by Western European governments that
define built-up urban areas. The
Africapolis data is particularly useful in
West Africa, where most national
statistical authorities (like those of most
Built-Up Urban Area Population: 2019
BY CONTINENT: 500,000 POPULATION & OVER
Europe
9.7%
North America
12.5%
Asia
57.6%
Oceania
0.7%
South America
7.9%
Africa
11.6%
Figure 5
Agencie Francaise de Develloppment, Africapolis Urbanization Trends: 1950-2020: A Geo-statistical Approach
West Africa,´, http://www.afd.fr/webdav/site/afd/shared/PUBLICATIONS/THEMATIQUES/autrespublications/BT/Africapolis_Final-Report_EN.pdf.
22
16th Annual Demographia World Urban Areas
10
nations) do not report urban agglomeration data.
Nigeria: Unlike other nations of West Africa, there have been strong criticisms of the Nigerian census for
decades, which makes the Africapolis built-up urban area data particularly important in Nigeria. For
example, the most recent federal census (2006) been severely criticized by local officials in Lagos state as
having missed many people. The census indicated that Lagos metropolitan area population was
approximately 9 million. By comparison, a local census conducted at about the same time indicated a
population of 17.5 million. Authoritative neutral analysis generally finds lower population levels, more
consistent with data from the federal census.23 The detailed analysis by Africapolis is believed to be the
most accurate population estimates for the urban areas of Nigeria.
Democratic Republic of the Congo: The government recently published provincial population estimates,
which made it possible to produce a far more reliable estimate for the Kinshasa urban area, which
constitutes nearly all of the population of Kinshasa province. Population estimates for other urban areas
may be less reliable.
Specific Built-Up Urban Areas
Table A-2 below notes identify some additional components of urban areas that (1) might be thought to be
separate urban areas, or (2) may be classified separate by statistical agencies or are (3) listed to indicate to
better describe the geography of an urban area. Urban areas include many more components that are not
indicated in Table.A-2.
Table A-2
Specific Urban Areas: Notes
Built-up Urban Area or
Geography
Aachen, Germany
Abuja, Nigeria
Akron, OH urban area, USA
Alton, IL-MO urban area, USA
Amersfoort, Netherlands
Amman, Jordan
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Ann Arbor, MI urban area, USA
Ansan, Korea
Atlanta, GA urban area, USA
Avondale, AZ urban area, USA
Bahadurgarh, Haryana, India
Barnstable Town, MA urban area
USA
Basel, Switzerland
Bataysk, Russia
Notes (See end of the table)
Extends into the Netherlands; Includes Heerlen, Netherlands.
Includes Kwamba
Included in Cleveland
Included in St. Louis
Included in Utrecht.
Includes Az-Zarqa.
Includes Haarlem
Included in Detroit
Included in Seoul-Incheon.
Combined urban area. Includes Gainesville & Winder urban areas
Included in Phoenix.
Included in Delhi.
Included in Boston-Providence
Extends into France and Germany
Included in Rostov.
23
Adewale Maja-Pearce and Eleanor Whitehead (2014 , “Factsheet: Nigeria’s Population Figures,” Africa Check:
Sorting Fact from Fiction, https://africacheck.org/factsheets/factsheet-nigerias-population-figures/
16th Annual Demographia World Urban Areas
11
Table A-2
Specific Urban Areas: Notes
Bhiwandi, Maharashtra, India
Included in Mumbai (beginning in 2016).
Bogor, Indonesia
Included in Jakarta
Boston-Providence, MA-RI-NH-CT- Combined urban area. Includes Barnstable Town (MA), Dover (NHME urban area, USA
ME), Boston (MA-NH-RI), Leominster (MA), Manchester (NH)
Nashua (NH-MA), New Bedford (MA), Portsmouth (NH-ME), &
Providence (RI-MA), Worcester (MA-CT) urban areas.
Brasilia, Brazil
Includes Luziana and Gama (GO)
Bremerton, WA urban area, USA
Included in Seattle
Bridgeport, CT, USA
Included in New York.
Buckeye, AZ urban area, USA
Included in Phoenix.
Chanan (Shantou), GD, China
Included in Chaoyang
Changtai, FJ China
Included in Zhangzhou
Chaoyang (Shantou), GD, China
Includes Chaonan
Charlotte, NC-SC
Combined urban area. Includes Charlotte (NC), Concord (NC),
Gastonia (NC), Rock Hill (SC)
Chiasso, Switzerland
Included in Milan, Italy (single labor market)
Chicago, IL-IN-WI urban area, USA Combined urban area. Includes Chicago, Kenosha and Round
Lake Beach urban areas
Choloma, Honduras
Included in San Pedro Sula
Chungli, China: Taiwan
Included in Taipei.
Chuzhou, AN China
Includes Quanjiao
Ciudad Juarez, Mexico urban area Not combined with El Paso: (International Border Controls: Not a
labor market)
Cleveland, OH, USA
Combined urban area. Includes Cleveland, Akron, Lorain
Concord, CA urban area, USA
Included in San Francisco-San Jose
Concord, NC urban area, USA
Included in Charlotte
Conroe, TX urban area, USA
Included in Houston.
Dallas-Fort Worth, TX urban area,
Combined urban area. Includes Denton and McKinney urban areas
USA
Danbury, CT urban area, USA
Included in New York.
Darwin, NT, Australia
Includes Palmerston.
Dashiqiao, LN China
Included in Yingkou
Daye, HUB, China
Included in Huangshui
Delhi, NCT, HA, UP, India
Includes Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Noida, Gurgaon and Bahadurgarh
urban areas and New Delhi.
Denton, TX, USA
Included in Dallas-Fort Worth
Detroit, MI, USA
Not combined with Windsor: (International Border Controls: Not a
labor market), Combined urban area. Includes Detroit, Ann Arbor &
South Lyon
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Nayaranganj included.
Dongguan, Guangdong, China
2010 census population was well below previous local estimates
Dongyang, ZJ, China
Included in Yiwu (Jinhua)
16th Annual Demographia World Urban Areas
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Dover, NH-ME urban area, USA
Dubai, UAE
Durham, NC urban area, USA
Ejin Horo, NM, China
El Pasa, TX urban area, USA
Ezhou, Hubei, China
Faridabad, Haryana, India
Foshan, Guangdong, China
Francisco Morato, Sao Paulo,
Brazil
Fukuoka, Fukuoka, Japan
Fushun, LN China
Gainesville, GA urban area, USA
Gama, GO Brazil
Ganzhou, JX, China
Gaogang, Jiangsu, China
Gastona, NC urban area, USA
Geneva, Switzerland
Gezbe, Turkey
Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India
Gongjing, SC, China
Guangzhou-Foshan, Guangdong,
China
Gujranwali, Pakistan
Gurgaon, Haryana, India
Haarlem, Netherlands
Hague, Netherlands
Hamilton, ON urban area, Canada
Hebi, Henan, China
Heerlen, Netherlands
Helan, NX China
Himeji, Hyogo, Japan
Hitachi, Japan
Hong Kong, China
Houston, TX urban area, USA
Huangmei (Huanggang), HUB
Huangshui, HUB
Huangzhou (Huanggang), Hubei,
China
Hubli, West Bengal, India
Table A-2
Specific Urban Areas: Notes
Included in Boston-Providence
Includes Sharja
Included in Raleigh
Includes Kangbashi
Not combined with Ciudad Juarez: (International Border Controls:
Not a labor market)
Includes Huangzhou (Huanggang).
Included in Delhi.
Included in Guangzhou-Foshan
Included in Sao Paulo
Shown as a separate urban area. Some sources combine Fukuoka
with Kitakyushu (such as the United Nations).
Included in Shenyang
Included in Atlanta
Included in Brasilia
Includes Nankang
Included in Taizhou
Included in Charlotte
Extends into France
Included in Istanbul
Included in Delhi.
See Zigong
Includes Foshan
Includes Kamoki
Included in Delhi.
Included in Amsterdam.
Included in Rotterdam-Hague
Included in Toronto.
Includes Qi
Included in Aachen, Germany.
Included in Yinchuan
Included in Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto.
Included in Mito.
Not combined with Shenzhen: (Border Controls: Not a labor market)
Combined urban area. Includes Conroe & Texas City
Included in Jiujiang, JX.
Includes Daye (county level city)
Included in Ezhou.
Does not include Dharwad.
16th Annual Demographia World Urban Areas
13
Table A-2
Specific Urban Areas: Notes
Huiyang qu (Huizhou), Guangdong, Included in Shenzhen.
China
Huizhou, Guangdong, China
Huicheng qu only
Ikorodo, Nigeria
Included in Lagos
Incheon, South Korea
Included in Seoul-Incheon,
Indianola WA urban area, USA
Included in Seattle
Istanbul, Turkey
Includes Gezbe
Jakarta, Indonesia
Higher estimate than other sources (such as the United Nations),
which are largely limited to DKI Jakarta. Continuous urbanization
extends into Tangerang, South Tanerang, Borgor, Bekasi and
Karawang.
Jianbizhen (qu), China
Included in Zhenjiang, JS
Jiangyin (Wuxi), GD, China
Included in Zhangjiaggang (Suzhou) JS