By 2050, almost 10 billion people will live in the world, two thirds of whom will live in cities. As the transition from rural to urban continues, the network of megacities around the world is expanding rapidly.
Today, nearly half a billion people live in the 20 largest cities in the world, and their number will only grow, as urban centers are becoming higher, more extensive and denser.
We bring to your attention a list of the 10 largest cities in the world in terms of population for 2019-2020: a rating of the major capitals of different countries.
List
- 10. Mexico City, 20,395 thousand people.
- 9. Sao Paulo, 20 935 thousand people.
- 8. New York, 21,045 thousand people.
- 7. Shanghai, 22 125 thousand people.
- 6. Mumbai, 23,645 thousand people.
- 5. Seoul-Incheon, 24,315 thousand people.
- 4. Manila, 25 065 thousand people.
- 3. Delhi, 28 125 thousand people.
- 2. Jakarta, 34,365 thousand people.
- 1. Tokyo-Yokohama, 38 505 thousand people.
10. people
- Country: Mexico
- Area: 2 370 km²
Spanish conquistadors founded Mexico city in 1521, on the ruined island capital Tenochtitlan, the cultural and political center of the Aztec empire (Mexico). This is one of the oldest continuously populated urban settlements in the Western Hemisphere, which is considered one of the most densely populated megacities in the world.
One of the few large cities located not along the banks of the river, it is located in the inner basin, called the Valley of Mexico, or Central Mesa. The valley is a continuation of the southern Mexican plateau and is also known as Anahuac.
9. people
- Country: Brazil
- Area: 3043 km²
Sao paulo is the largest city in Brazil and the seventh largest in the world. This makes it an important destination for business people and travelers from all over the world who want to feel the taste of Brazil and South America.
The city of São Paulo is the state capital of the same name. It is particularly rich in historical, political and cultural value, giving visitors an authentic, memorable experience of an exciting country.
8. people
- Country: USA
- Area: 11,875 km²
Over the past two centuries New York was the largest and richest American city. More than half of the people and goods that ever entered the United States passed through its port, and this flow of trade has led to constant changes in urban life.
New York has always meant opportunity, as it was an urban center on the path to something better, a metropolis too busy to care for those who stood in the way of progress.
Thus, New York, which is the most American of all cities in the country, has also gained a reputation as a foreign and fearsome place where turmoil, arrogance and cruelty checked the stamina of everyone who entered it.
7. people
- Country: China
- Area: 4 015 km²
The city has flourished in the past two decades because of China's desire to become an international center of finance and culture. Many businesses thrive in Shanghai and offer new opportunities for China's growing middle class and foreigners seeking to enter the Chinese market.
The city is constantly growing, and it is the center of many international companies operating in China. It has also become a center of culture with a notoriety in fashion, art, and design. Shanghai is also known as the birthplace of Chinese cinema, which is gaining popularity around the world.
In 2016, International Talent magazine named Shanghai the most attractive expat city for the fourth time in six years. 48,000 expats were interviewed, and they were asked to rank their city in categories such as living conditions and policies for foreign experts. Shanghai was home to more than 170,000 expats as of 2015.
6. people
- Country: India
- Area: 881 km²
Located on the coast of Maharashtra, Mumbai is the most populous city in India, and it is one of the largest and most densely populated urban areas in the world.
It was built on the site of an ancient settlement and got its name from the local goddess Mumba - the form of Parvati, the wife of Shiva, one of the main deities of Hinduism, whose temple once stood in what is now the southeastern part of the city. He became known as Bombay during the British colonial period.
5. people
- Country: South Korea
- Area: 2745 km²
Seoul - formally Sul-tukspilsi («Special City Seoul ») - the city and capital of South Korea (Republic of Korea). It is located on the Khan River (Khan Bang) in the northwestern part of the country, with the city center about 60 km from the Yellow Sea (west).
Seoul is the cultural, economic and political center of South Korea. With the exception of a brief interregnum (1399–1405), Seoul was the capital of Korea from 1394 until the official division of the country in 1948. The name itself began to mean "capital" in Korean.
4. people
- Country: Philippines
- Area: 1787 km²
Manila It is the center of the country's economic, political, social and cultural activities. It is located on Luzon Island and extends along the eastern shore of Manila Bay at the mouth of the Pasig River.
Name of the city, originally Minilad, comes from the name of the nilad plant, a flowering shrub adapted to marshy conditions that once grew along the banks of the river; the name was reduced first to Maynila, and then to its current form.
In 1975, by a presidential decree, Manila and its adjacent cities and municipalities were united into a single administrative region, known as the Metropolitan of Manila (also called the region of the national capital).
3. people
- Country: India
- Area: 2 202 km²
Delhi, city and national capital, north-central India. The city of Delhi actually consists of two components: Old Delhi, in the north, a historic city; and New Delhi, in the south, since 1947, the capital of India, built in the first half of the 20th century as the capital of British India.
Delhi, one of the country's largest urban agglomerations, is located on top (but mainly on the west bank) of the Yamuna River, a tributary of the Ganges (Ganges) River, about 100 miles (160 km) south of the Himalayas. The territory of the capital of the country covers Old and New Delhi and the surrounding areas.
2. people
- Country: Indonesia
- Area: 3 302 km²
Jakartaearlier (until 1949) Batavia or (1949–72) Jakarta, Indonesia's largest city and capital. Jakarta is located on the northwestern coast of Java at the mouth of the Silivung River (Livung River), in Jakarta Bay (Java Bay).
The city is adjacent to the metropolitan area of Big Jakarta (Jakarta Raya) and almost simultaneously with Daer Husus Ibukot (a special metropolitan area) of Jakarta - the latter also includes several small coastal islands in the Java Sea.
In 1966, when the city was declared a special metropolitan district, it received a status approximately equal to that of a state.
1. people
- Country: Japan
- Area: 8 547 km²
Until 1868 Tokyo was known as Edo. A small castle town in the 16th century, Edo became the political center of Japan in 1603 when Tokugawa Ieyasu established his feudal government there.
Decades later, Edo became one of the most populous cities in the world. With the restoration of Meiji in 1868, the emperor and capital moved from Kyoto to Edo, which was renamed Tokyo ("Eastern Capital").
Large parts of Tokyo were destroyed during the Great Kanto of the 1923 Earthquake and 1945 air raids.
Today, Tokyo offers its visitors a seemingly unlimited selection of shops, entertainment, cultures and restaurants.
The history of the city can be appreciated in areas such as Asakusa, as well as in many beautiful museums, historical temples and gardens. Contrary to popular belief, Tokyo also offers a number of attractive green spaces in the city center and within relatively short train rides around its outskirts.