Long gone are the days when the vast majority of people on Earth lived freely in nature: in small villages and villages. Since the end of the XIX century. our planet has been seized by universal urbanization. The rapid development of civilization and the equally rapid increase in the world's population have led to the widespread growth of huge urban settlements. The largest modern cities of the world, probably, would have seemed to the time traveler, who arrived from the Middle Ages, huge, unreal, fantastic worlds. However, for residents of small provincial towns scattered abundantly across Mother Russia today, huge megalopolises also seem surprising and unusual. And there are many such giant world centers on our planet.
The largest cities in the world
The population of the largest cities in the world is simply amazing! Now we will see which settlements are the largest in terms of the number of people living in them. Take the top ten leaders.
- Strangely enough, New York takes 10th place. It’s strange that it’s only the 10th ... The population of this American metropolis exceeds today 21.5 million people.
- 9th place was given to Manila, 21.8 million Filipinos live there.
- The 8th place rightfully belongs to the largest port city of Pakistan, Karachi - 22,100,100 residents.
- 7th place is occupied by Indian Delhi - 23.5 million inhabitants.
- 6th place was captured by the capital of Mexico, Mexico City - 23.5 million inhabitants.
- 5th place belongs to the Korean city of Seoul - 25.6 million inhabitants.
- Shanghai takes the 4th place - 25.8 million inhabitants.
And finally, we got to the top three!
3 most populated cities of the planet
Here are the largest cities in the world in terms of population (increasing): 3rd place - Jakarta (25.8 million inhabitants), 2nd place - Canton (26.3 million inhabitants) and 1st place - Tokyo (34.6 million inhabitants ) Each of these three megacities of the Earth should be described in more detail.
Jakarta
It is the capital of Indonesia, located on the island of Java. Jakarta is the most populated city in all of Southeast Asia. At this point, various cultures of the entire Indonesian archipelago are closely intertwined. An interesting fact is that during the day the number of inhabitants of the capital increases by several million, due to the arrival of residents from the suburbs at work. The largest ethnic groups that inhabit Jakarta are Javanese, Sund, Chinese, Madurians, Arabs, and Indians.
Despite the fact that Jakarta is one of the largest and most populous cities on Earth, in order to see all its sights, tourists will need only one, maximum a couple of days. First of all, guests of the capital are advised to visit the so-called old city, which has preserved ancient architecture and identity. For travelers to Southeast Asia, Jakarta is more likely a transit point on the way to the beauties of Indonesia.
Canton
The list, which includes the largest cities in the world, of course, could not do without one of the megacities of China. Indeed, the Celestial Empire is the most populous and densely populated country in the world. The city of Canton or, as it is called in another way, Guangzhou, is one of the most famous historical cultural settlements in China. At the same time, it is a major industrial and commercial center of the DPRK, as well as the country's trading port.
Canton (or Guangzhou) is called the city of flowers: thanks to the subtropical humid climate, this place is literally surrounded by lush greenery all year round. The history of Guangzhou has more than two thousand years. Once upon a time, the famous Silk Road began here.
Tokyo
Well, our story about the largest cities in the world is drawing to a close and ends with a short description of the absolute champion in terms of population - the Japanese capital of Tokyo. So far, this is the only metropolis on the planet in which the number of inhabitants exceeded the figure of 30 million. True, Tokyo cannot be considered a city in the usual sense of the word. This is a prefecture consisting of 26 separate cities, 7 villages and 8 villages. Surprisingly, the area of Tokyo is not large at all - only 2156.8 square meters. km, which makes this place of the Earth the most densely populated.
In the largest city on the planet, modernity, stuffed with electronic innovations, multi-tiered automobile overpasses and fantastic skyscrapers, and antiquity with ancient Buddhist temples, beautiful rotundas and traditional gardens and squares are surprisingly combined with each other. At any time of the year it is full of tourists. So to the number of permanent locals you can also add a noisy crowd of discordant travelers arriving daily in Tokyo from all over the globe.
According to scientists, the population of the largest cities in the world will continue to grow in the future, as, indeed, the population of our planet. Forbes magazine recently published research results that say that by 2025 Tokyo will maintain its leading position as the largest city in terms of population.