Honestly, if you think Tokyo is still the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world's cities, you’ve basically been looking at old news. For decades, the Japanese capital was the default answer to what are the largest cities in the world, but things changed fast. By the start of 2026, a massive reshuffle in how we measure "urban agglomerations"—basically the city plus its sprawling suburbs—has flipped the script.
Jakarta and Dhaka are now the ones to beat.
It's sorta wild when you think about it. We used to define a city by where the tax man stops collecting, but people don't live their lives based on administrative lines on a map. They live in these massive, breathing "built-up areas" that bleed into each other. If you go by the latest UN World Urbanization Prospects data, the Indonesian capital of Jakarta has ballooned to nearly 42 million people. That’s more than the entire population of Canada living in one metro area.
The New Big Three: Jakarta, Dhaka, and Tokyo
For years, Tokyo sat on the throne. But the 2025-2026 data shows a clear plateau in Japan. Meanwhile, South Asia is exploding.
- Jakarta, Indonesia (Approx. 41.9 Million): It’s not just the sheer number of people; it’s the density. Jakarta is the beating heart of Southeast Asia, though it's literally sinking under its own weight, which is why the government is trying to build a new capital, Nusantara.
- Dhaka, Bangladesh (Approx. 36.6 Million): Dhaka is growing at a staggering rate of nearly 5% annually. It's expected to become the world's most populous city by 2050.
- Tokyo, Japan (Approx. 33.4 Million): Tokyo is still a titan, but its population is actually shrinking slightly as Japan ages. It's the only city in the top five that's losing people rather than gaining them.
New Delhi follows closely behind at about 30.2 million. The Indian capital is a massive sprawl that just keeps pushing further into neighboring states.
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Why the Numbers Always Seem Wrong
You've probably seen lists where Shanghai is #1 or New York is in the top three. It’s confusing. The reason is that there are three ways to measure a city, and people mix them up all the time.
First, there's the City Proper. This is just the legal boundary. If you use this, Shanghai often wins with about 25 million people.
Then you have the Metropolitan Area. This includes the city and the commuter belt.
Finally, there’s the Urban Agglomeration. This is the one the UN likes because it measures the continuous "built-up" area. This is how Jakarta suddenly jumped to 42 million—it’s counting the "Jabodetabek" region (Jakarta, Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi) as one single urban entity.
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Africa’s Rise and the Growth of Cairo
While Asia dominates the top spots, Africa is the region to watch for the next decade. Cairo is currently the only non-Asian city in the global top ten, sitting at roughly 25.6 million people.
It’s a massive desert metropolis that just doesn't stop.
But look at Lagos, Nigeria, or Kinshasa in the DRC. Lagos has around 12.8 million people, and Kinshasa is right behind it at 11 million. These cities are adding hundreds of thousands of people every year. The experts at Visual Capitalist and the UN suggest that by the time we hit 2050, the list of the largest cities in the world will be dominated by African and South Asian names we’re only just starting to talk about today.
The Land Area Perspective
If you measure by square kilometers instead of people, the list looks totally different. New York City, which doesn't even make the top 10 for population anymore (it's around 8.3 million in the city proper and 19 million in the metro), is the largest city in the world by land area.
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The New York metro area covers over 11,000 square kilometers.
Compare that to Dhaka, where 36 million people are packed into a much smaller footprint. Living in NYC feels spacious compared to the sheer, kinetic energy of a South Asian megacity.
What This Means for Your Next Trip
If you’re planning to visit these giants, you have to prepare for the "Megacity Effect." In Jakarta or Manila, traffic isn't just a nuisance; it’s a way of life. You might spend three hours going ten miles.
On the flip side, these places are where the world's culture is being rewritten.
- Public Transport: Tokyo and Seoul (around 22 million) are the gold standards. You don't need a car. In Jakarta or Cairo, you’re basically relying on ride-share apps or local "micro-buses" unless you want to get very brave with the rail systems.
- Cost of Living: Cities like Mumbai and Dhaka are incredibly affordable for Western travelers, but the sheer volume of humanity can be overwhelming if you’re used to the quiet streets of Europe or North America.
- The Future: Keep an eye on Dar es Salaam and Addis Ababa. They’re currently under 10 million, but they’re growing so fast they’ll be "megacities" before the end of the decade.
The reality of what are the largest cities in the world is that the map is shifting south and east. The old dominance of the West is a memory. To see where the 21st century is actually happening, you have to look at the sprawl of Jakarta or the high-rises of Shanghai.
If you're interested in exploring these urban giants, your next step is to research the visa requirements for Indonesia or Bangladesh, as these "emerging" megacities are becoming the new hubs for global business and tourism.