![The 20 Largest Cities in the World: 2021 Edition - Image 1 of 21](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/607e/e6b9/b58d/cc27/4524/6627/newsletter/shutterstock-157099034.jpg?1618929376)
According to the United Nations’ latest report on populations in cities, by 2030, “urban areas are projected to house 60 percent of people globally and one in every three people will live in cities with at least half a million inhabitants”. Growing in both size and number, cities are hubs of government, commerce, and transportation, and in 2021, the world’s 20 largest cities are home to half a billion people. In fact, one in five people worldwide lives in a city with more than 1 million inhabitants.
Below, we have rounded up the top 20 megacities in the world of 2021, according to the number of people that live in their metropolitan area. While Tokyo is the largest city on a global level, with a total of more than 37 million residents, the majority of the most populous cities in the world are in the two most populated countries, China and India. Among these, we have 5 metropolises in China, Shanghai, Beijing, Chongqing, Tianjin, and Guangzhou, and 3 in India, Delhi, Mumbai, and Kolkata. The largest city in the American continent is Sao Paulo in Brazil with 22 million people, followed by Mexico City and Buenos Aires in Argentina. Istanbul takes the 13th position with one part of the city lying in Europe and the other part in Asia.
Read on below for the full results.
1- Tokyo, Japan
Population: 37,339,804
![The 20 Largest Cities in the World: 2021 Edition - Image 13 of 21](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5bfc/2115/08a5/e566/ee00/09b0/newsletter/Tokyo_shutterstock_552100717.jpg?1543250174)
2- Delhi, India
Population: 31,181,376
![The 20 Largest Cities in the World: 2021 Edition - Image 12 of 21](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5bfc/1c30/08a5/e566/ee00/0996/newsletter/Delhi_shutterstock_1196037019.jpg?1543248927)
3- Shanghai, China
Population: 27,795,702
![The 20 Largest Cities in the World: 2021 Edition - Image 6 of 21](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5bfc/1c71/08a5/e51c/3500/04ac/newsletter/Shanghai_shutterstock_1239377482.jpg?1543248992)
4- Sao Paulo, Brazil
Population: 22,237,472
![The 20 Largest Cities in the World: 2021 Edition - Image 7 of 21](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5bfc/1cc5/08a5/e51c/3500/04ae/newsletter/Sao_Paulo_shutterstock_1225383205.jpg?1543249077)
5- Mexico City, Mexico
Population: 21,918,936
![The 20 Largest Cities in the World: 2021 Edition - Image 8 of 21](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5bfc/1cdb/08a5/e51c/3500/04af/newsletter/Mexico_shutterstock_1239590488.jpg?1543249099)
6- Dhaka, Bangladesh
Population: 21,741,090
![The 20 Largest Cities in the World: 2021 Edition - Image 10 of 21](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5bfc/1d04/08a5/e51c/3500/04b0/newsletter/Dhaka_shutterstock_1161331864.jpg?1543249140)
7- Cairo, Egypt
Population: 21,322,750
![The 20 Largest Cities in the World: 2021 Edition - Image 20 of 21](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/6081/4357/f91c/81e5/ea00/0015/newsletter/shutterstock_666797164.jpg?1619084091)
8- Beijing, China
Population: 20,896,820
![The 20 Largest Cities in the World: 2021 Edition - Image 2 of 21](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5bfc/1cb1/08a5/e566/ee00/0999/newsletter/Beijing_shutterstock_1196943205.jpg?1543249055)
9- Mumbai, India
Population: 20,667,656
![The 20 Largest Cities in the World: 2021 Edition - Image 5 of 21](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5bfc/1c85/08a5/e566/ee00/0998/newsletter/Mumbai_shutterstock_1238064772.jpg?1543249011)
10- Osaka, Japan
Population: 19,110,616
![The 20 Largest Cities in the World: 2021 Edition - Image 11 of 21](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5bfc/1d19/08a5/e51c/3500/04b1/newsletter/Osaka_shutterstock_1234028482.jpg?1543249161)
11- Karachi, Pakistan
Population: 16,459,472
![The 20 Largest Cities in the World: 2021 Edition - Image 14 of 21](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/607e/ddb8/e6cf/df01/65ee/1355/newsletter/shutterstock-1458308810.jpg?1618927736)
12- Chongqing, China
Population: 16,382,376
![The 20 Largest Cities in the World: 2021 Edition - Image 17 of 21](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/607e/dd61/e6cf/df01/65ee/1354/newsletter/shutterstock-782159620.jpg?1618927605)
13- Istanbul, Turkey
Population: 15,415,197
![The 20 Largest Cities in the World: 2021 Edition - Image 19 of 21](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/607e/dc53/e6cf/df01/65ee/1353/newsletter/shutterstock-310551701.jpg?1618927324)
14- Buenos Aires, Argentina
Population: 15,257,673
![The 20 Largest Cities in the World: 2021 Edition - Image 4 of 21](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5bfc/1d93/08a5/e51c/3500/04b3/newsletter/Buenos_Aires_shutterstock_458538094.jpg?1543249281)
15- Kolkata, India
Population: 14,974,073
![The 20 Largest Cities in the World: 2021 Edition - Image 9 of 21](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5bfc/1da8/08a5/e566/ee00/099f/newsletter/Kolkata_shutterstock_1223177599.jpg?1543249303)
16- Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo
Population: 14,970,460
![The 20 Largest Cities in the World: 2021 Edition - Image 16 of 21](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/607e/db6e/e6cf/df01/65ee/1352/newsletter/shutterstock-1586713069.jpg?1618927058)
17- Lagos, Nigeria
Population: 14,862,111
![The 20 Largest Cities in the World: 2021 Edition - Image 18 of 21](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/607e/da9b/e6cf/df01/65ee/1351/newsletter/shutterstock-1183969021.jpg?1618927461)
18- Manila, Philippines
Population: 14, 158,573
![The 20 Largest Cities in the World: 2021 Edition - Image 21 of 21](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/6082/8679/5497/ce01/64ab/df17/newsletter/shutterstock-220033192.jpg?1619166865)
19- Tianjin, China
Population: 13,794,450
![The 20 Largest Cities in the World: 2021 Edition - Image 15 of 21](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/607e/da1d/f91c/81ce/b700/0043/newsletter/shutterstock_549135316.jpg?1618926087)
20- Guangzhou, China
Population: 13,635,397
![The 20 Largest Cities in the World: 2021 Edition - Image 3 of 21](https://images.adsttc.com/media/images/5bfc/1cf0/08a5/e566/ee00/099a/newsletter/Guangzhou_shutterstock_1231509661.jpg?1543249119)