Cities of outstanding global importance are designated as cosmopolitan cities. A cosmopolitan city is of central importance in a political, economic or cultural area. In contrast to the sometimes synonymously related term metropolis, which can also be used in relation to a specific region or function, the global city system uses the earth’s entire urban system as the frame of reference and comparison. The international presence of a cosmopolitan city is reflected in its high level of awareness, which suggests a recurring media distribution. The level of awareness of a cosmopolitan city is also derived from its historical significance. “Ancient Rome”, “ancient Athens”, or “divided Berlin” are terms used in historiography around the world.
Here is the list of top 100 largest cities in the world by population:
Largest Cities on the Earth by Population
Ranking | City | Country | Continent | Population |
1 | Tokyo | Japan | Asia | 37,393,239 |
2 | Delhi | India | Asia | 30,291,047 |
3 | Shanghai | China | Asia | 27,058,591 |
4 | Sao Paulo | Brazil | South America | 22,043,139 |
5 | Mexico City | Mexico | North America | 21,782,489 |
6 | Dhaka | Bangladesh | Asia | 21,005,971 |
7 | Cairo | Egypt | Africa | 20,900,715 |
8 | Beijing | China | Asia | 20,462,721 |
9 | Mumbai | India | Asia | 20,411,385 |
10 | Osaka | Japan | Asia | 19,165,451 |
11 | Karachi | Pakistan | Asia | 16,093,897 |
12 | Chongqing | China | Asia | 15,872,290 |
13 | Istanbul | Turkey | Asia | 15,190,447 |
14 | Buenos Aires | Argentina | South America | 15,153,840 |
15 | Kolkata | India | Asia | 14,850,177 |
16 | Lagos | Nigeria | Africa | 14,368,443 |
17 | Kinshasa | Democratic Republic of the Congo | Africa | 14,342,550 |
18 | Manila | Philippines | Asia | 13,923,563 |
19 | Tianjin | China | Asia | 13,589,189 |
20 | Rio De Janeiro | Brazil | South America | 13,458,186 |
21 | Guangzhou | China | Asia | 13,301,643 |
22 | Lahore | Pakistan | Asia | 12,642,534 |
23 | Moscow | Russia | Europe | 12,538,065 |
24 | Shenzhen | China | Asia | 12,356,931 |
25 | Bangalore | India | Asia | 12,326,643 |
26 | Paris | France | Europe | 11,017,341 |
27 | Bogota | Colombia | South America | 10,978,471 |
28 | Chennai | India | Asia | 10,971,219 |
29 | Jakarta | Indonesia | Asia | 10,770,598 |
30 | Lima | Peru | South America | 10,719,299 |
31 | Bangkok | Thailand | Asia | 10,539,526 |
32 | Hyderabad | India | Asia | 10,004,255 |
33 | Seoul | South Korea | Asia | 9,963,563 |
34 | Nagoya | Japan | Asia | 9,552,243 |
35 | London | United Kingdom | Europe | 9,304,127 |
36 | Chengdu | China | Asia | 9,135,879 |
37 | Tehran | Iran | Asia | 9,134,819 |
38 | Nanjing | China | Asia | 8,847,483 |
39 | Ho Chi Minh City | Vietnam | Asia | 8,602,428 |
40 | Wuhan | China | Asia | 8,365,088 |
41 | Luanda | Angola | Africa | 8,329,909 |
42 | New York City City | United States | North America | 8,323,451 |
43 | Ahmedabad | India | Asia | 8,059,552 |
44 | Xi An Shaanxi | China | Asia | 8,001,076 |
45 | Kuala Lumpur | Malaysia | Asia | 7,996,941 |
46 | Hangzhou | China | Asia | 7,642,258 |
47 | Hong Kong | Hong Kong | Asia | 7,547,763 |
48 | Dongguan | China | Asia | 7,407,963 |
49 | Foshan | China | Asia | 7,326,963 |
50 | Riyadh | Saudi Arabia | Asia | 7,231,558 |
51 | Shenyang | China | Asia | 7,220,215 |
52 | Surat | India | Asia | 7,184,701 |
53 | Baghdad | Iraq | Asia | 7,144,371 |
54 | Suzhou | China | Asia | 7,070,103 |
55 | Santiago | Chile | South America | 6,767,334 |
56 | Dar Es Salaam | Tanzania | Africa | 6,701,761 |
57 | Pune | India | Asia | 6,629,458 |
58 | Madrid | Spain | Europe | 6,617,624 |
59 | Haerbin | China | Asia | 6,387,306 |
60 | Toronto | Canada | North America | 6,196,842 |
61 | Belo Horizonte | Brazil | South America | 6,084,541 |
62 | Singapore | Singapore | Asia | 5,935,164 |
63 | Khartoum | Sudan | Africa | 5,828,969 |
64 | Johannesburg | South Africa | Africa | 5,782,858 |
65 | Qingdao | China | Asia | 5,620,088 |
66 | Dalian | China | Asia | 5,617,960 |
67 | Barcelona | Spain | Europe | 5,585,667 |
68 | Fukuoka | Japan | Asia | 5,528,743 |
69 | Saint Petersburg | Russia | Europe | 5,467,919 |
70 | Ji Nan Shandong | China | Asia | 5,360,296 |
71 | Yangon | Myanmar | Asia | 5,331,911 |
72 | Zhengzhou | China | Asia | 5,322,807 |
73 | Alexandria | Egypt | Africa | 5,280,775 |
74 | Abidjan | Ivory Coast | Africa | 5,202,873 |
75 | Guadalajara | Mexico | North America | 5,179,590 |
76 | Ankara | Turkey | Asia | 5,117,714 |
77 | Chittagong | Bangladesh | Asia | 5,019,935 |
78 | Melbourne | Australia | Oceania | 4,967,844 |
79 | Sydney | Australia | Oceania | 4,926,098 |
80 | Monterrey | Mexico | North America | 4,874,206 |
81 | Addis Ababa | Ethiopia | Africa | 4,793,810 |
82 | Nairobi | Kenya | Africa | 4,734,992 |
83 | Hanoi | Vietnam | Asia | 4,678,309 |
84 | Brasilia | Brazil | South America | 4,645,954 |
85 | Cape Town | South Africa | Africa | 4,617,671 |
86 | Jiddah | Saudi Arabia | Asia | 4,610,287 |
87 | Changsha | China | Asia | 4,577,834 |
88 | Kunming | China | Asia | 4,443,297 |
89 | Changchun | China | Asia | 4,425,872 |
90 | Xinbei | Taiwan | Asia | 4,398,494 |
91 | Urumqi | China | Asia | 4,368,976 |
92 | Shantou | China | Asia | 4,327,427 |
93 | Rome | Italy | Europe | 4,257,167 |
94 | Hefei | China | Asia | 4,241,625 |
95 | Kabul | Afghanistan | Asia | 4,221,643 |
96 | Montreal | Canada | North America | 4,220,677 |
97 | Tel Aviv | Israel | Asia | 4,181,590 |
98 | Porto Alegre | Brazil | South America | 4,137,528 |
99 | Recife | Brazil | South America | 4,127,202 |
100 | Ningbo | China | Asia | 4,116,320 |
Criteria
A cosmopolitan city has or was of central importance for large parts of the world in the political, economic and / or cultural area. In addition, it is required that a cosmopolitan city dominate its own limited world economy.
Political importance
World cities in the political sense are and were the centers of power of the great world empires and influential economies. Historically important world cities were Alexandria, Rome, Madrid, Constantinople, London, Berlin, Moscow or Lisbon and Vienna, which exercised their power on several continents. The most important political centers of today are mostly the capitals of the major economies such as Washington, Paris, Berlin, Tokyo or Beijing. The seat of government of a state is also the location of various embassies and consulates. It is not infrequently the seat of national associations, non-governmental organizations and lobby groups at the same time; this increases its global relevance.
As the headquarters of the most important international institution, the United Nations (UN), New York can, with some restrictions, also be regarded as a global political center. A number of UN specialized agencies and other international institutions are based in Geneva and Vienna.
Brussels, the seat of the European Commission and NATO, is also of international political importance, especially since these institutions act and are recognized not only within Europe or the transatlantic area, but also worldwide.
Economical meaning
World cities in the economic sense are predominantly metropolises with a large number of globally active companies. They are mostly centers of the most varied branches of industry and especially of the highly paid finance and service industries. An above-average per capita economic performance in the national and international comparison framework is an indication of this.
The three largest economic regions of the highly developed world (East Asia, Europe, North America) have each developed a leading metropolis (Tokyo, London and New York).
Complementary financial centers that are still of paramount international importance are Hong Kong, Taipei, Singapore, Seoul and Sydney in the Pacific region; Frankfurt am Main, Paris, Milan, Madrid, Amsterdam and Zurich in Europe and Chicago and Toronto in North America.
Important financial centers have also developed in emerging economies, but with the exception of Mexico City and Shanghai, their stock exchange trading volumes have not yet reached that of the established metropolises such as Mumbai, Moscow, Istanbul, Bangkok or São Paulo.
Due to the great mutual interdependence of the world economy, the financial metropolises are usually also important transport hubs, especially in air traffic.
Cultural significance
World cities in the cultural sense are much more difficult to identify objectively because there are few quantifiable indicators (such as government or corporate leadership, passenger numbers or the trading volume of the stock exchange). Cultural metropolises have z. B. central functions for the circulation area of a world language such as London, New York and Los Angeles for large parts of the Anglophone world, Mexico City, Buenos Aires and Madrid for Latin America, Paris for large parts of Francophone Africa and Cairo for the Arab world.
World cities with a cultural focus are points of attraction for artists and cultural workers such as Berlin and Vienna, places of high tourist attraction and locations of important institutions (museums, theaters, annual festivals, etc.) of paramount importance or pioneers of cultural developments.
Metropolises of global importance often have a high concentration of colleges, universities and research institutions.
Cities with a cultural focus also include centers in which cultural goods such as fashion, film, music, art, architecture or video games are produced. Milan as a fashion center or Mumbai as a film city (Bollywood) can be named as examples. General sporting events such as the Olympic Games and World Championships as well as local sports clubs of international importance (Real Madrid, Los Angeles Lakers) contribute to the cultural reputation of a city.
Religious centers of worldwide importance such as Jerusalem, Rome and Mecca form a special group.