Demographia

Selected International Historical Core Municipalities
with Declining Population
Ranked by Annual Loss Rate

This page is under continuous development. Demographia would appreciate any additional information. At the bottom of the table is a revision date.

CAUTIONARY NOTE:
The list includes cities as defined as municipalities or local government areas. It does not include urban areas or metropolitan areas.
For urban terms definitions see Urban Terms Defined.

      Peak Population Latest Population    
Rank Nation City Year Population Year Population Change from Peak Annual Rate
1 US St. Louis 1950 857,000 2000 348,000 -59.4% -1.786%
2 Latvia Riga 1990 910,000 2001 757,000 -16.8% -1.660%
3 Estonia Talinn 1990 479,000 2001 400,000 -16.5% -1.625%
4 Slovenia Maribor 1991 108,000 2002 92,000 -14.8% -1.447%
5 US Pittsburgh 1950 677,000 2000 335,000 -50.5% -1.397%
6 US Buffalo 1950 580,000 2000 293,000 -49.5% -1.356%
7 US Detroit 1950 1,850,000 2000 951,000 -48.6% -1.322%
8 US Cleveland 1950 915,000 2000 478,000 -47.8% -1.290%
9 Italy Milano 1971 1,687,000 2001 1,183,000 -29.9% -1.176%
10 Portugal Porto 1981 330,000 2001 263,000 -20.3% -1.128%
11 Italy Genova 1971 844,000 2001 604,000 -28.4% -1.109%
12 UK Belfast 1951 444,000 1991 295,000 -33.6% -1.017%
13 Ukraine Kharkov 1991 1,623,000 2001 1,470,000 -9.4% -0.985%
14 Ukraine Donetsk 1991 1,121,000 2001 1,016,000 -9.4% -0.979%
15 Portugal Lisboa 1961 818,000 2001 557,000 -31.9% -0.956%
16 Italy Torino 1971 1,142,000 2001 857,000 -25.0% -0.952%
17 UK Liverpool 1931 857,000 2001 439,000 -48.8% -0.951%
18 UK Manchester 1931 766,000 2001 393,000 -48.7% -0.949%
19 Italy Bologna 1971 487,000 2001 370,000 -24.0% -0.912%
20 Phillipines Manila 1995 1,655,000 2000 1,581,000 -4.5% -0.911%
21 UK Glasgow 1931 1,088,000 2001 579,000 -46.8% -0.897%
22 Italy Firenze 1971 456,000 2001 352,000 -22.8% -0.859%
23 Greece Athens 1981 886,000 2001 746,000 -15.8% -0.856%
24 US Cincinnati 1950 504,000 2000 331,000 -34.3% -0.837%
25 Denmark Kobenhavn 1950 768,000 2001 501,000 -34.8% -0.834%
26 Italy Napoli 1971 1,267,000 2001 993,000 -21.6% -0.809%
27 Georgia Tblisi 1989 1,260,000 2001 1,144,000 -9.2% -0.802%
28 Spain Barcelona 1981 1,753,000 2001 1,504,000 -14.2% -0.763%
29 US Baltimore 1950 950,000 2000 651,000 -31.5% -0.753%
30 Bulgaria Sofia 1990 1,190,000 2001 1,096,000 -7.9% -0.745%
31 Hungary Budapest 1981 2,060,000 2001 1,775,000 -13.8% -0.742%
32 France Marseilles 1982 901,000 1999 798,000 -11.4% -0.712%
33 Italy Roma 1981 2,831,000 2001 2,460,000 -13.1% -0.700%
34 Ukraine Odessa 1991 1,101,000 2001 1,027,000 -6.7% -0.693%
35 Germany Duisburg 1980 592,000 2001 512,000 -13.5% -0.689%
36 US Newark 1930 442,000 2000 274,000 -38.0% -0.681%
37 US Washington 1950 802,000 2000 572,000 -28.7% -0.674%
38 Poland Lodz 1989 852,000 2000 793,000 -6.9% -0.650%
39 Slovenia Ljubjiana 1991 276,000 2002 257,000 -6.9% -0.646%
40 Romania Bucharest 1991 2,064,000 2002 1,922,000 -6.9% -0.646%
41 Netherlands Hague 1960 605,000 2001 464,000 -23.3% -0.645%
42 US New Orleans 1960 628,000 2000 485,000 -22.8% -0.644%
43 US Philadelphia 1950 2,072,000 2000 1,518,000 -26.7% -0.620%
44 UK Leeds 1961 511,000 1991 424,000 -17.0% -0.620%
45 US Minneapolis 1950 522,000 2000 383,000 -26.6% -0.617%
46 US Boston 1950 801,000 2000 589,000 -26.5% -0.613%
47 Germany Leipzig 1939 707,000 2001 493,000 -30.3% -0.580%
48 Belgium Brussels 1950 183,000 2001 137,000 -25.1% -0.566%
49 UK Coventry 1981 337,000 2001 301,000 -10.7% -0.563%
50 Japan Osaka 1965 3,156,000 2000 2,599,000 -17.6% -0.553%
51 US Milwaukee 1960 741,000 2000 597,000 -19.4% -0.539%
52 Russia Nizhni Novgorod 1989 1,403,000 2002 1,311,000 -6.6% -0.520%
53 Canada Montreal 1971 1,214,000 2001 1,040,000 -14.3% -0.514%
54 Spain Bilbao 1970 410,000 2001 349,972 -14.6% -0.509%
55 Germany Essen 1960 729,000 2001 592,000 -18.8% -0.506%
56 Germany Dusseldorf 1960 702,000 2001 571,000 -18.7% -0.502%
57 Netherlands Rotterdam 1961 731,000 2001 599,000 -18.1% -0.497%
58 Belgium Antwerp 1984 488,000 2001 449,000 -8.0% -0.489%
59 France Lyon 1950 536,000 1999 422,000 -21.3% -0.487%
60 US Kansas City 1970 507,000 2000 442,000 -12.8% -0.456%
61 US Chicago 1950 3,621,000 2000 2,896,000 -20.0% -0.446%
62 Germany Dresden 1939 630,000 2001 479,000 -24.0% -0.441%
63 Czech Rep. Praha 1991 1,212,000 2001 1,162,000 -4.1% -0.420%
64 UK Sheffield 1981 558,000 2001 513,000 -8.1% -0.420%
65 Netherlands Amsterdam 1961 868,000 2001 735,000 -15.3% -0.415%
66 Switzerland Zurich 1960 428,200 2000 364,000 -15.0% -0.405%
67 France Paris 1921 2,906,000 1999 2,125,000 -26.9% -0.400%
68 Germany Berlin 1939 4,339,000 2001 3,388,000 -21.9% -0.398%
69 Germany Wuppertal 1960 425,000 2001 365,000 -14.1% -0.371%
70 South Korea Seoul 1990 10,613,000 2000 10,231,000 -3.6% -0.366%
71 Germany Bremen 1970 606,000 2001 541,000 -10.7% -0.365%
72 Italy Palermo 1981 702,000 2001 653,000 -7.0% -0.361%
73 Spain Madrid 1981 3,159,000 2001 2,939,000 -7.0% -0.360%
74 Canada Toronto 1971 713,000 1996 653,000 -8.4% -0.351%
75 Germany Munchen 1980 1,315,000 2001 1,228,000 -6.6% -0.325%
76 UK Cardiff 1981 282,000 1991 273,000 -3.2% -0.324%
77 Russia Samara 1989 1,206,000 2002 1,158,000 -4.0% -0.312%
78 UK Bristol 1951 444,000 2001 381,000 -14.2% -0.306%
79 Russia Perm 1989 1,040,000 2002 1,000,000 -3.8% -0.301%
80 Austria Vienna 1910 2,031,000 2001 1,550,000 -23.7% -0.297%
81 UK London 1939 8,615,000 2001 7,172,000 -16.7% -0.295%
82 Ireland Dublin 1969 545,000 2002 495,000 -9.2% -0.291%
83 UK Birmingham 1951 1,113,000 2001 977,000 -12.2% -0.260%
84 Japan Kitakyushu 1980 1,065,000 2000 1,011,000 -5.1% -0.260%
85 Germany Hanover 1960 574,000 2001 516,000 -10.1% -0.259%
86 Japan Tokyo 1965 8,893,000 2000 8,130,000 -8.6% -0.256%
87 Germany Bochum 1990 401,000 2001 390,000 -2.7% -0.253%
88 Poland Warsaw 1989 1,655,000 2000 1,610,000 -2.7% -0.250%
89 Germany Dortmund 1960 652,000 2001 589,000 -9.7% -0.248%
90 Germany Stuttgart 1960 649,000 2001 587,000 -9.6% -0.245%
91 Germany Koln 1980 1,014,000 2001 968,000 -4.5% -0.221%
92 Russia Chelyabinsk 1989 1,107,000 2002 1,078,000 -2.6% -0.204%
93 Spain Valencia 1991 753,000 2001 738,000 -2.0% -0.201%
94 Tajikistan Dushanbe 1989 595,000 2001 582,000 -2.2% -0.184%
95 Germany Hamburg 1960 1,855,000 2001 1,726,000 -7.0% -0.176%
96 Germany Frankfurt 1960 683,000 2001 641,000 -6.1% -0.155%
97 Sweden Stockholm 1960 808,000 2002 758,000 -6.2% -0.152%
98 Argentina Buenos Aires 1950 2,981,000 2001 2,769,000 -7.1% -0.145%
99 Mexico Mexico City 1980 8,831,000 2000 8,605,000 -2.6% -0.130%
100 Poland Wroclaw 1989 642,000 2000 634,000 -1.2% -0.114%
101 UK Edinburgh 1951 475,000 2001 449,000 -5.5% -0.113%
102 Ukraine Kyev 1991 2,635,000 2001 2,611,000 -0.9% -0.091%
103 Germany Nurnburg 1980 499,000 2001 491,000 -1.6% -0.077%
104 Poland Krakow 1989 748,000 2000 742,000 -0.8% -0.073%
105 Moldova Chisinau 1991 665,000 2001 662,000 -0.5% -0.045%

2003.07

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