These cities are of course also culturally significant and between them welcome millions of tourists each year.

This is followed by Moscow (over 12 million) and Paris (11 million including the Paris metro area). Of the European cities, Istanbul is the most populous, with more than 14.5 million residents. There are also a number of non-Asian cities with high populations, including Mexico City (over 21 million), Cairo (almost 19.5 million), and Buenos Aires (almost 15.5 million).

Another Japanese city, Osaka, also has a very large population of almost 20.5 million. However, Tokyo is the largest city in the world if the entire Tokyo metro area is included, with a total of more than 38 million residents.

Among these are Shanghai and Beijing, with populations of 25 and 22 million respectively, Delhi (27 million), and Mumbai (over 21.5 million). It is perhaps unsurprising that the majority of the most populous cities in the world are in the two most populated countries in the world, China and India. What are the most populated cities in the world? Here is a list of the top ten most populated cities in the world:

Global cities ranking 2021