Ranked: The World’s 50 Largest Cities, From 1975 to 2050

Ranked: The World’s 50 Largest Cities, From 1975 to 2050

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In 1975, the world’s largest cities were dominated by Japan, Europe, and North America. By 2025, that balance had already shifted toward Asia. Looking ahead to 2050, Africa is projected to emerge as a major force in the global urban hierarchy.

Urbanization has been the driving force behind this transformation—and it’s far from finished.

This visualization tracks how the world’s 50 largest cities have risen, stagnated, or fallen in rank across four points in time—1975, 2000, 2025, and 2050—using data from the UN World Urbanization Prospects 2025.

How the World’s Largest Cities Have Risen and Fallen

In 1975, Tokyo and Osaka were the world’s two largest cities, followed by New York, Jakarta, and Mexico City.

By 2000, Asian megacities like Shanghai, Beijing, and New Delhi climbed the rankings as population growth accelerated across Asia. Fast forward to 2025, and the shift has become more pronounced, with many of the world’s largest cities now located in South and East Asia. As urbanization continues, this shift is projected to continue through 2050.

The table below shows the world’s 50 largest cities in 2050, along with their population sizes in 1975, 2000, and 2025:

2050 Population Rank	City	Country	1975 Population	2000 Population	2025 Population	2050 Population
1	Dhaka	Bangladesh	5,037,174	17,434,596	36,585,479	52,123,000
2	Jakarta	Indonesia	11,696,369	25,591,966	41,913,860	51,784,000
3	Shanghai	China	4,542,787	14,034,558	29,558,908	34,912,000
4	New Delhi	India	6,091,891	17,969,092	30,222,405	33,891,000
5	Karachi	Pakistan	4,626,701	10,799,503	21,422,590	32,593,000
6	Cairo	Egypt	7,440,914	15,676,619	25,566,102	32,366,000
7	Tokyo	Japan	24,281,618	30,302,560	33,412,512	30,658,000
8	Guangzhou	China	1,644,240	18,970,258	27,563,372	29,243,000
9	Manila	Philippines	8,329,012	17,799,064	24,735,305	27,120,000
10	Kolkata	India	10,527,605	18,355,286	22,549,738	23,768,000
11	Mumbai	India	8,338,773	15,952,862	20,203,056	23,059,000
12	Seoul	Republic of Korea	10,079,046	18,962,544	22,490,482	21,225,000
13	Bangkok	Thailand	3,650,772	8,377,066	18,180,280	20,462,000
14	Lahore	Pakistan	4,402,766	7,978,805	15,156,430	20,388,000
15	Luanda	Angola	306,000	714,643	11,370,127	20,286,000
16	São Paulo	Brazil	10,536,121	16,702,008	18,949,790	18,217,000
17	Beijing	China	5,154,971	9,635,380	17,013,303	18,004,000
18	Mexico City	Mexico	11,119,402	17,598,162	17,734,212	17,679,000
19	Ho Chi Minh City	Vietnam	2,384,034	6,006,090	14,052,713	17,201,000
20	Istanbul	Türkiye	5,305,193	10,633,602	15,014,763	16,303,000
21	Lagos	Nigeria	2,612,450	7,908,961	12,791,699	16,180,000
22	Moscow	Russian Federation	8,520,842	11,194,627	14,524,753	15,522,000
23	Shenzhen	China	487,944	8,180,960	13,878,396	14,661,000
24	Bengaluru	India	2,369,541	6,051,928	13,187,098	14,258,000
25	Buenos Aires	Argentina	8,560,900	11,711,634	14,017,736	14,236,000
26	Los Angeles	United States	7,717,837	11,195,626	12,740,420	13,862,000
27	Hajipur	India	745,962	3,363,805	9,941,510	13,695,000
28	New York City	United States	12,076,416	13,044,483	13,920,148	13,225,000
29	Kinshasa	DR Congo	1,035,622	5,328,174	10,943,641	13,211,000
30	Dar es Salaam	Tanzania	299,151	2,071,645	7,795,114	13,160,000
31	Bogotá	Colombia	3,389,750	6,340,840	10,624,315	12,478,000
32	Lima	Peru	3,519,785	6,991,685	10,580,241	12,358,000
33	London	United Kingdom	7,369,842	7,654,553	10,416,420	11,869,000
34	Chennai	India	4,484,115	7,612,508	11,153,205	11,757,000
35	Addis Ababa	Ethiopia	868,901	2,791,724	6,705,705	10,783,000
36	Kuala Lumpur	Malaysia	170,777	4,143,915	8,443,731	10,627,000
37	Osaka	Japan	14,448,054	14,487,830	12,964,145	10,449,000
38	Abidjan	Côte d’Ivoire	1,024,745	3,441,806	6,621,711	9,775,000
39	Bandung	Indonesia	3,475,759	6,333,411	8,909,104	9,747,000
40	Hangzhou	China	1,113,616	4,964,897	7,500,208	9,625,000
41	Hyderabad	India	2,810,479	6,340,661	9,190,795	9,546,000
42	Tehran	Iran	4,265,101	6,999,195	9,174,964	9,499,000
43	Khartoum	Sudan	870,553	4,135,102	6,809,355	9,444,000
44	Paris	France	7,423,859	8,385,156	9,381,921	9,326,000
45	Rio de Janeiro	Brazil	5,880,669	8,416,754	9,500,336	9,300,000
46	Riyadh	Saudi Arabia	126,000	2,557,269	6,916,417	9,153,000
47	Alexandria	Egypt	2,647,675	4,477,718	7,266,957	9,023,000
48	Johannesburg	South Africa	1,180,560	2,767,803	7,077,175	8,916,000
49	Onitsha	Nigeria	756,883	2,353,086	5,627,706	8,681,000
50	Yaoundé	Cameroon	455,219	1,578,631	5,106,087	8,661,000

Looking ahead to 2050, Dhaka is projected to be the world’s most populous city with over 52 million residents, followed closely by Jakarta. Asian cities are projected to remain population hubs, with Shanghai, New Delhi, and Karachi rounding out the top five, and the Asian continent accounting for 24 of the 50 largest cities.

Meanwhile, Africa emerges as the fastest-growing urban region in the world, accounting for 13 of the 50 largest cities. Cities such as Lagos, Kinshasa, Cairo, and Dar es Salaam are projected to see explosive population growth over the coming decades, driven by high fertility rates and urbanization.

Overall, the number of megacities, those with over 10 million inhabitants, is projected to increase to 37, up from 33 megacities in 2025.

Slower Growth in Developed Economies

While cities in emerging markets surge, many historically large cities in Europe, Japan, and North America are projected to grow relatively slowly, or even plateau.

For example, Osaka’s population is projected to decline by 2.5 million, or 20%, and New York’s by 5%. Other large metros including Tokyo, Paris, and Seoul, are expected to hit similar population plateaus.

However, despite slow growth, these cities are likely to remain global economic powerhouses, supported by long histories of commercial and economic activity.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

If you enjoyed this infographic, explore more insights on Voronoi, including The Countries Set to Double Their Population the Fastest.

• Source: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/ranked-the-worlds-50-largest-cities-from-1975-to-2050/