Ci-dessous se trouvent les zones urbaines du monde classées par population.
Zone urbaine est définie comme une zone urbaine continue ou une combinaison de zones urbaines qui, statistiquement, peuvent être considérées comme un marché du travail unique.
Une liste alternative pourrait adopter une définition différente de « ville » et classer les villes proprement dites, qui sont des villes dotées d'un statut urbain administrativement reconnu. Cependant, celles-ci pourraient s'étendre au-delà de la zone métropolitaine et inclure des zones rurales.
| Rang | Zone urbaine | Estimation de la population (2015) | Pays | Superficie terrestre (km²) | Densité (Hab./km²) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tokyo-Yokohama | 37,843,000 | Japon | 8,547 | 4,400 |
| 2 | Jakarta | 30,539,000 | Indonésie | 3,225 | 9,500 |
| 3 | Delhi, DL-UP-HR | 24,998,000 | Inde | 2,072 | 12,100 |
| 4 | Manila | 24,123,000 | Philippines | 1,580 | 15,300 |
| 5 | Seoul-Incheon | 23,480,000 | Corée du Sud | 2,266 | 10,400 |
| 6 | Shanghai, SHG-JS-ZJ | 23,416,000 | Chine | 3,820 | 6,100 |
| 7 | Karachi | 22,123,000 | Pakistan | 945 | 23,400 |
| 8 | Beijing, BJ | 21,009,000 | Chine | 3,820 | 5,500 |
| 9 | New York, NY-NJ-CT | 20,630,000 | États-Unis | 11,642 | 1,800 |
| 10 | Guangzhou-Foshan, GD | 20,597,000 | Chine | 3,432 | 6,000 |
| 11 | Sao Paulo | 20,365,000 | Brésil | 2,707 | 7,500 |
| 12 | Mexico City | 20,063,000 | Mexique | 2,072 | 9,700 |
| 13 | Mumbai, MH | 17,712,000 | Inde | 546 | 32,400 |
| 14 | Osaka-Kobe-Kyoto | 17,444,000 | Japon | 3,212 | 5,400 |
| 15 | Moscow | 16,170,000 | Russie | 4,662 | 3,500 |
| 16 | Dhaka | 15,669,000 | Bangladesh | 360 | 43,500 |
| 17 | Cairo | 15,600,000 | Égypte | 1,761 | 8,900 |
| 18 | Los Angeles, CA | 15,058,000 | États-Unis | 6,299 | 2,400 |
| 19 | Bangkok | 14,998,000 | Thaïlande | 2,590 | 5,800 |
| 20 | Kolkata, WB | 14,667,000 | Inde | 1,204 | 12,200 |
| 21 | Buenos Aires | 14,122,000 | Argentine | 2,681 | 5,300 |
| 22 | Tehran | 13,532,000 | Iran | 1,489 | 9,100 |
| 23 | Istanbul | 13,287,000 | Turquie | 1,360 | 9,800 |
| 24 | Lagos | 13,123,000 | Nigéria | 907 | 14,500 |
| 25 | Shenzhen, GD | 12,084,000 | Chine | 1,748 | 6,900 |
| 26 | Rio de Janeiro | 11,727,000 | Brésil | 2,020 | 5,800 |
| 27 | Kinshasa | 11,587,000 | RD Congo | 583 | 19,900 |
| 28 | Tianjin, TJ | 10,920,000 | Chine | 2,007 | 5,400 |
| 29 | Paris | 10,858,000 | France | 2,845 | 3,800 |
| 30 | Lima | 10,750,000 | Pérou | 919 | 11,700 |
| 31 | Chengdu, SC | 10,376,000 | Chine | 1,541 | 6,700 |
| 32 | London | 10,236,000 | Royaume-Uni | 1,738 | 5,900 |
| 33 | Nagoya | 10,177,000 | Japon | 3,885 | 2,600 |
| 34 | Lahore | 10,052,000 | Pakistan | 790 | 12,700 |
| 35 | Bangalore, KA | 9,807,000 | Inde | 1,166 | 8,400 |
| 36 | Chennai, TN | 9,714,000 | Inde | 971 | 10,000 |
| 37 | Chicago, IL-IN-WI | 9,156,000 | États-Unis | 6,856 | 1,300 |
| 38 | Bogota | 8,991,000 | Colombie | 492 | 18,300 |
| 39 | Ho Chi Minh City | 8,957,000 | Viêt Nam | 1,489 | 6,000 |
| 40 | Hyderabad, AP | 8,754,000 | Inde | 1,230 | 7,100 |
| 41 | Dongguan, GD | 8,442,000 | Chine | 1,619 | 5,200 |
| 42 | Johannesburg-East Rand | 8,432,000 | Afrique du Sud | 2,590 | 3,300 |
| 43 | Wuhan, HUB | 7,509,000 | Chine | 1,166 | 6,400 |
| 44 | Taipei | 7,438,000 | Taïwan | 1,140 | 6,500 |
| 45 | Hangzhou, ZJ | 7,275,000 | Chine | 1,217 | 6,000 |
| 46 | Hong Kong | 7,246,000 | Hong Kong | 275 | 26,400 |
| 47 | Chongqing, CQ | 7,217,000 | Chine | 932 | 7,700 |
| 48 | Ahmadabad, GJ | 7,186,000 | Inde | 350 | 20,600 |
| 49 | Kuala Lumpur | 7,088,000 | Malaisie | 1,943 | 3,600 |
| 50 | Quanzhou, FJ | 6,710,000 | Chine | 1,528 | 4,400 |
| 51 | Essen-Dusseldorf | 6,679,000 | Allemagne | 2,655 | 2,500 |
| 52 | Baghdad | 6,625,000 | Irak | 673 | 9,800 |
| 53 | Toronto, ON | 6,456,000 | Canada | 2,287 | 2,800 |
| 54 | Santiago | 6,225,000 | Chili | 984 | 6,300 |
| 55 | Dallas-Fort Worth, TX | 6,174,000 | États-Unis | 5,175 | 1,200 |
| 56 | Madrid | 6,171,000 | Espagne | 1,321 | 4,700 |
| 57 | Nanjing, JS | 6,155,000 | Chine | 1,269 | 4,800 |
| 58 | Shenyang, LN | 6,078,000 | Chine | 1,010 | 6,000 |
| 59 | Xi'an, SAA | 5,977,000 | Chine | 932 | 6,400 |
| 60 | San Francisco-San Jose, CA | 5,929,000 | États-Unis | 2,797 | 2,100 |
| 61 | Luanda | 5,899,000 | Angola | 894 | 6,600 |
| 62 | Qingdao, SD | 5,816,000 | Chine | 1,489 | 3,900 |
| 63 | Houston, TX | 5,764,000 | États-Unis | 4,644 | 1,200 |
| 64 | Miami, FL | 5,764,000 | États-Unis | 3,209 | 1,800 |
| 65 | Bandung | 5,695,000 | Indonésie | 466 | 12,200 |
| 66 | Riyadh | 5,666,000 | Arabie saoudite | 1,502 | 3,800 |
| 67 | Pune, MH | 5,631,000 | Inde | 479 | 11,800 |
| 68 | Singapore | 5,624,000 | Singapour | 518 | 10,900 |
| 69 | Philadelphia, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 5,570,000 | États-Unis | 5,131 | 1,100 |
| 70 | Surat, GJ | 5,447,000 | Inde | 233 | 23,400 |
| 71 | Milan | 5,257,000 | Italie | 1,891 | 2,800 |
| 72 | Suzhou, JS | 5,246,000 | Chine | 1,127 | 4,700 |
| 73 | St. Petersburg | 5,126,000 | Russie | 1,347 | 3,800 |
| 74 | Khartoum | 5,125,000 | Soudan | 932 | 5,500 |
| 75 | Atlanta, GA | 5,015,000 | États-Unis | 6,851 | 700 |
| 76 | Zhengzhou, HEN | 4,942,000 | Chine | 829 | 6,000 |
| 77 | Washington, DC-VA-MD | 4,889,000 | États-Unis | 3,424 | 1,400 |
| 78 | Surabaya | 4,881,000 | Indonésie | 673 | 7,200 |
| 79 | Harbin, HL | 4,815,000 | Chine | 570 | 8,500 |
| 80 | Abidjan | 4,800,000 | Côte d'Ivoire | 324 | 14,800 |
| 81 | Yangon | 4,800,000 | Myanmar | 544 | 8,800 |
| 82 | Nairobi | 4,738,000 | Kenya | 557 | 8,500 |
| 83 | Barcelona | 4,693,000 | Espagne | 1,075 | 4,400 |
| 84 | Alexandria | 4,689,000 | Égypte | 293 | 16,000 |
| 85 | Kabul | 4,635,000 | Afghanistan | 259 | 17,900 |
| 86 | Guadalajara | 4,603,000 | Mexique | 751 | 6,100 |
| 87 | Ankara | 4,538,000 | Turquie | 660 | 6,900 |
| 88 | Belo Horizonte | 4,517,000 | Brésil | 1,088 | 4,200 |
| 89 | Boston, MA-NH-RI | 4,478,000 | États-Unis | 5,325 | 800 |
| 90 | Xiamen, FJ | 4,420,000 | Chine | 583 | 7,600 |
| 91 | Kuwait | 4,283,000 | Koweït | 712 | 6,000 |
| 92 | Dar es Salaam | 4,219,000 | Tanzanie | 570 | 7,400 |
| 93 | Phoenix, AZ | 4,194,000 | États-Unis | 3,196 | 1,300 |
| 94 | Dalian, LN | 4,183,000 | Chine | 777 | 5,400 |
| 95 | Accra | 4,145,000 | Ghana | 971 | 4,300 |
| 96 | Monterrey | 4,083,000 | Mexique | 894 | 4,600 |
| 97 | Berlin | 4,069,000 | Allemagne | 1,347 | 3,000 |
| 98 | Sydney | 4,036,000 | Australie | 2,037 | 2,000 |
| 99 | Fuzhou | 3,962,000 | Chine | 440 | 9,000 |
| 100 | Medan | 3,942,000 | Indonésie | 479 | 8,200 |
| 101 | Dubai | 3,933,000 | Émirats arabes unis | 1,347 | 2,900 |
| 102 | Melbourne | 3,906,000 | Australie | 2,543 | 1,500 |
| 103 | Rome | 3,906,000 | Italie | 1,114 | 3,500 |
| 104 | Busan | 3,906,000 | Corée du Sud | 401 | 9,700 |
| 105 | Cape Town | 3,812,000 | Afrique du Sud | 816 | 4,700 |
| 106 | Jinan | 3,789,000 | Chine | 725 | 5,200 |
| 107 | Ningbo | 3,753,000 | Chine | 738 | 5,100 |
| 108 | Hanoi | 3,715,000 | Viêt Nam | 466 | 8,000 |
| 109 | Naples | 3,706,000 | Italie | 1,023 | 3,600 |
| 110 | Taiyuan | 3,702,000 | Chine | 518 | 7,100 |
| 111 | Jeddah | 3,677,000 | Arabie saoudite | 842 | 4,400 |
| 112 | Detroit | 3,672,000 | États-Unis | 3,463 | 1,100 |
| 113 | Hefei | 3,665,000 | Chine | 725 | 5,100 |
| 114 | Changsha | 3,657,000 | Chine | 622 | 5,900 |
| 115 | Kunming | 3,649,000 | Chine | 712 | 5,100 |
| 116 | Wuxi | 3,597,000 | Chine | 738 | 4,900 |
| 117 | Medellín | 3,568,000 | Colombie | 228 | 15,700 |
| 118 | Faisalabad | 3,560,000 | Pakistan | 181 | 19,600 |
| 119 | Aleppo | 3,560,000 | Syrie | 259 | 13,700 |
| 120 | Kano | 3,550,000 | Nigéria | 251 | 14,100 |
| 121 | Montréal | 3,536,000 | Canada | 1,546 | 2,300 |
| 122 | Dakar | 3,520,000 | Sénégal | 194 | 18,100 |
| 123 | Athens | 3,484,000 | Grèce | 583 | 6,000 |
Source : Demographia World Urban Areas : 11e édition annuelle : 2015.01 (Zones urbaines bâties ou agglomérations mondiales)