Biggest Cities in the World Quiz

Jakarta, Dhaka, Tokyo: the 33 megacities of 2025 from the UN's new count. Which is bigger, which country, which continent.

Jakarta, not Tokyo, is the biggest city in the world by the UN's 2025 count, and Dhaka is on course to overtake it. Test yourself on the 33 megacities of 10 million people or more, then check the full list.

How the biggest cities quiz works

Questions come in four kinds: which country a megacity is in, which continent, which of two cities has more people, and which of four megacities is in a given country. A few record questions cover the largest, the fastest-growing and the one that is shrinking. Two cities are only compared when one is at least 10% bigger. Easy plays the 10 largest cities, Medium 20, Hard 27 and Expert all 33.

The biggest cities in the world (2025)

Rank	City	Country	Population 2025	Population 2000
1	Jakarta	Indonesia	41.9 million	25.6 million
2	Dhaka	Bangladesh	36.6 million	17.4 million
3	Tokyo	Japan	33.4 million	30.3 million
4	New Delhi	India	30.2 million	18.0 million
5	Shanghai	China	29.6 million	14.0 million
6	Guangzhou	China	27.6 million	19.0 million
7	Cairo	Egypt	25.6 million	15.7 million
8	Manila	Philippines	24.7 million	17.8 million
9	Kolkata	India	22.6 million	18.4 million
10	Seoul	South Korea	22.5 million	19.0 million
11	Karachi	Pakistan	21.4 million	10.8 million
12	Mumbai	India	20.2 million	16.0 million
13	São Paulo	Brazil	18.9 million	16.7 million
14	Bangkok	Thailand	18.2 million	8.4 million
15	Mexico City	Mexico	17.7 million	17.6 million
16	Beijing	China	17.0 million	9.6 million
17	Lahore	Pakistan	15.2 million	8.0 million
18	Istanbul	Turkey	15.0 million	10.6 million
19	Moscow	Russia	14.5 million	11.2 million
20	Ho Chi Minh City	Vietnam	14.1 million	6.0 million
21	Buenos Aires	Argentina	14.0 million	11.7 million
22	New York City	United States	13.9 million	13.0 million
23	Shenzhen	China	13.9 million	8.2 million
24	Bengaluru	India	13.2 million	6.1 million
25	Osaka	Japan	13.0 million	14.5 million
26	Lagos	Nigeria	12.8 million	7.9 million
27	Los Angeles	United States	12.7 million	11.2 million
28	Luanda	Angola	11.4 million	0.7 million
29	Chennai	India	11.2 million	7.6 million
30	Kinshasa	Democratic Republic of the Congo	10.9 million	5.3 million
31	Bogotá	Colombia	10.6 million	6.3 million
32	Lima	Peru	10.6 million	7.0 million
33	London	United Kingdom	10.4 million	7.7 million

Why Jakarta, and not Tokyo?

Older lists, including the UN's own 2018 edition, used each country's definition of a city. Some countries draw a tight municipal boundary and others a whole metropolitan area, so the same city can look very different from one list to the next. The 2025 edition counts every city the same way, by its continuous built-up area (the Degree of Urbanization method). On the old definitions Jakarta was about 12 million and thirtieth; on the new one it is 41.9 million and first. Tokyo, first in 2000, is now third.

Records worth knowing

Megacities: 33 in 2025, up from 8 in 1975. 19 are in Asia; India has five and China four.
Only top-10 city outside Asia: Cairo, seventh.
Biggest by 2050: Dhaka, projected at 52.1 million, just ahead of Jakarta.
Fastest-growing since 2000: Luanda, Angola, from about 0.7 million to 11.4 million.
Shrinking: Osaka has fewer people than in 2000, and Mexico City fell from 19.0 million in 2015 to 17.7 million in 2025.
Biggest in the US: New York City, then Los Angeles, the only two US megacities.

Source

United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division: World Urbanization Prospects 2025, The World's Cities in 2025 data booklet (November 2025), annex table of cities with more than 5 million people. Checked October 2026. Other rankings that use city limits or metro areas give different numbers, so treat any single list as one definition, not the final word.

Keep going

Countries by population: Most Populous Countries
Countries by size: Largest Countries Quiz
Where the capitals are: Capital to Country Quiz

Frequently asked questions

What is the biggest city in the world?

Jakarta, Indonesia, with about 41.9 million people in 2025 by the UN's World Urbanization Prospects 2025. Dhaka (36.6 million) and Tokyo (33.4 million) are second and third.

What are the 10 biggest cities in the world?

Jakarta, Dhaka, Tokyo, New Delhi, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Cairo, Manila, Kolkata and Seoul, by the UN's 2025 count.

How many megacities are there?

33 cities had 10 million people or more in 2025, up from 8 in 1975. The UN projects 37 by 2050.

Why is Tokyo no longer the biggest city?

The UN now counts every city by its continuous built-up area. On that method Jakarta and Dhaka are larger, and Tokyo, whose population is barely growing, is third.

Is the quiz free?

Yes. There is no sign-up, and your best score for each difficulty is saved in this browser.