Demographia

Mumbai & Sao Paulo Now
4th & 5th Largest World Municipalities

Mumbai (Bombay) has emerged as the largest non-Chinese municipality in the world as a result of data recently released from the 2001 Census of India. The municipality now has a population of 11.914 million, up 20 percent from the 1991 census figure of 9.926 million. Central Mumbai, roughly corresponding to the pre-1958 borders of the city gained approximately five percent, to 3.327 million, reversing a loss in the 1981-1991 period. Only the Chinese municipalities of Chongquing, Shanghai and Beijing are larger than Mumbai.

Brazil's 2000 census shows the Sao Paulo municipality at 10.406 million, which places it above Seoul as the world's fifth largest municipality.

Rank Municipality Population Area: Square Miles Population per Square Mile Population per Square Kilometer Date of Estimate or Census   Notes  
1 Chongquing 30,904,000 31,815 971 375 1998   Municipality contains large rural areas 30,904
2 Shanghai 14,735,000 2,561 5,754 2,220 1998   Municipality contains large rural areas 14,735
3 Beijing 12,620,000 6,486 1,946 751 1998   Municipality contains large rural areas 12,620
4 Mumbai 11,914,000 239 49,849 19,232 2001     11,914
5 Sao Paulo 10,406,000 576 18,066 6,970 2000   Municipality contains rural areas 10,406
6 Seoul 10,323,000 233 44,227 17,063 1999   Municipality contains rural areas 10,323
7 Tianjin 9,665,000 2,184 4,425 1,707 1998   Municipality contains large rural areas 9,665
8 Jakarta 9,113,000 228 39,969 15,420 1995     9,113
9 Mexico City 8,591,000 579 14,838 5,724 2000   Municipality contains rural areas 8,591
10 Moscow 8,405,000 339 24,794 9,565 1997     8,405
11 Istanbul 8,260,000 98 84,286 32,518 1997     8,260
12 New York 8,008,000 309 25,916 9,998 2000     7,428
13 London 7,187,000 632 11,372 4,387 1998   Reconstituted as municipality in 2000 7187
Notes: Tokyo's 23 wards are often considered a municipality, but there is no Tokyo municipality. It was merged with Tokyo prefecture during World War II. New Delhi was formerly shown on this list, but is not a municipality, but rather a Union Territory

(c) 2001 www.demographia.com --- Wendell Cox Consultancy --- Permission granted to use with attribution.
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