15 Cities with Largest Population

A list of the 15 largest cities by population in the world from 1800 to 1970.

15 Most Populous Cities

(Including Adjacent Suburban Areas)

1800

1. Canton, China 1,500,000

2. Hangchow, China 1,000,000

2. Kingtehchen, China 1,000,000

2. Nanking, China 1,000,000

2. Tokyo, Japan 1,000,000

6. London, England 865,000

7. Peking, China 700,000

8. Istanbul, Turkey 598,000

9. Paris, France 548,000

10. Kyoto, Japan 530,000

11. Naples, Italy 331,000

12. Patna, India 312,000

13. Isfahan, Iran 300,000

13. Lucknow, India 300,000

13. Madras, India 300,000

1850

1. London, England 2,362,000

2. Soochow, China 2,000,000

3. Peking, China 1,649,000

4. Canton, China 1,236,000

5. Paris, France 1,227,000

6. Changchow, China 1,000,000

6. Kingtehchen, China 1,000,000

6. Sian, China 1,000,000

6. Siangtan, China 1,000,000

10. Wuhan, China 996,000

11. Istanbul, Turkey 900,000

12. Calcutta, India 795,000

13. Hangchow, China 700,000

14. Bombay, India 644,000

15. Foochow, China 600,000

1900

1. London, England 6,581,000

2. New York, U.S. 3,437,000

3. Paris, France 2,714,000

4. Berlin, Germany 1,889,000

5. Chicago, U.S. 1,699,000

6. Vienna, Austria 1,675,000

7. Wuhan, China 1,500,000

8. Tokyo, Japan 1,440,000

9. Philadelphia, U.S. 1,294,000

10. St. Petersburg, Russia 1,265,000

11. Constantinople, Turkey 1,125,000

12. Moscow, Russia 1,039,000

13. Sian, China 1,000,000

14. Calcutta, India 949,000

15. Canton, China 900,000

1930

1. London, England 8,216,000

2. New York, U.S. 6,930,000

3. Tokyo, Japan 4,971,000

4. Berlin, Germany 4,243,000

5. Chicago, U.S. 3,376,000

6. Shanghai, China 3,259,000

7. Paris, France 2,891,000

8. Osaka, Japan 2,454,000

9. Buenos Aires, Argentina 2,034,000

10. Moscow, U.S.S.R. 2,026,000

11. Philadelphia, U.S. 1,951,000

12. Vienna, Austria 1,875,000

13. Leningrad, U.S.S.R. 1,614,000

14. Detroit, U.S. 1,569,000

15. Peking, China 1,565,000

1950

1. New York, U.S. 12,296,000

2. London, England 8,348,000

3. Paris, France 6,436,000

4. Tokyo, Japan 6,277,000

5. Shanghai, China 6,204,000

6. Chicago, U.S. 4,921,000

7. Buenos Aires, Argentina 4,722,000

8. Calcutta, India 4,578,000

9. Moscow, U.S.S.R. 4,137,000

10. Los Angeles, U.S. 3,997,000

11. Berlin, Germany 3,336,000

12. Leningrad, U.S.S.R. 3,191,000

13. Mexico City, Mexico 3,050,000

14. Bombay, India 2,839,000

15. Peking, China 2,768,000

1960

1. New York, U.S. 14,115,000

2. Tokyo, Japan 9,124,000

3. London, England 8,172,000

4. Paris, France 7,369,000

5. Shanghai, China 6,977,000

6. Buenos Aires, Argentina 6,739,000

7. Los Angeles, U.S. 6,489,000

8. Chicago, U.S. 5,962,000

9. Moscow, U.S.S.R. 5,046,000

10. Mexico City, Mexico 4,871,000

11. Calcutta, India 4,405,000

12. Bombay, India 4,152,000

13. Peking, China 4,148,000

14. Sao Paulo, Brazil 3,825,000

15. Philadelphia, U.S. 3,635,000

Latest

1. New York, U.S. 16,207,000

2. Tokyo, Japan 11,324,000

3. Shanghai, China 11,000,000

4. Peking, China 10,000,000

5. Paris, France 9,251,000

6. Mexico City, Mexico 8,590,000

7. Buenos Aires, Argentina 8,353,000

8. Los Angeles, U.S. 8,351,000

9. Osaka, Japan 7,839,000

10. Sao Paulo, Brazil 7,693,000

11. London, England 7,418,000

12. Moscow, U.S.S.R. 7,300,000

13. Chicago, U.S. 7,049,000

14. Calcutta, India 7,031,000

15. Bombay, India 5,971,000