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Asia's largest cities, 1975 to 2050

Jakarta is Asia's largest city at about 41.9 million people in 2025, ahead of Dhaka (36.6 million) and Tokyo (33.4 million), by UN figures.

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What the data shows

  • In 2025, Jakarta ranks #1 with 41.9M, ahead of Dhaka (36.6M) and Tokyo (33.4M).
  • By 2050, on the UN's projections, Dhaka is projected to rank #1 with 52.1M, ahead of Jakarta (51.8M) and Shanghai (34.9M).
  • Back in 1975, Tokyo was #1 with 24.3M.
  • The top spot changed hands once: Jakarta in 2015.
  • Biggest climber: Dhaka, from #11 in 1975 to #1 in 2050.
  • Jakarta grew 3.6× between 1975 and 2025.

About this chart

Tokyo led Asia in 1975 with about 24.3 million people, more than double Jakarta's 11.7 million. By 2025 the order has changed: the UN puts Jakarta first at about 41.9 million, Dhaka second at 36.6 million and Tokyo third at 33.4 million. Tokyo peaked at 33.7 million in 2020 and is projected to slip to 30.7 million by 2050, while Dhaka is projected to climb to 52.1 million and pass Jakarta's 51.8 million.

These figures follow the UN's Degree of Urbanization, which counts a city as one contiguous dense area. That is why they differ from city-proper or metro numbers you may know. Values through 2025 are estimates, and 2030 to 2050 are UN projections. Karachi (21.4 million in 2025, projected 32.6 million in 2050) and Guangzhou (1.6 million in 1975, 27.6 million in 2025) show how fast some cities have grown.

The data

Source: UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects: The 2025 Revision (File 21), city population, millions, 1975–2050 (projected after 2025). Retrieved November 4, 2026. Cities as defined by the Degree of Urbanization (contiguous dense areas), so figures differ from city-proper or metro counts.

Asia's largest cities, Population in millions, 1975 to 2050, 1975–2050
Date🇮🇩 Jakarta🇧🇩 Dhaka🇯🇵 Tokyo🇮🇳 New Delhi🇨🇳 Shanghai🇨🇳 Guangzhou🇵🇭 Manila🇮🇳 Kolkata🇰🇷 Seoul🇵🇰 Karachi🇮🇳 Mumbai🇹🇷 Istanbul🇯🇵 Osaka🇯🇵 Nagoya
197511.7M5.0M24.3M6.1M4.5M1.6M8.3M10.5M10.1M4.6M8.3M5.3M14.4M5.4M
198014.2M6.4M25.9M7.4M4.9M2.1M9.9M11.8M12.2M5.8M9.8M6.2M14.7M5.8M
198516.8M8.4M27.2M9.2M6.3M2.7M11.7M13.2M14.4M6.8M11.2M7.5M14.8M5.9M
199019.7M11.0M28.6M11.6M7.8M4.1M13.9M14.8M16.9M8.0M12.8M8.8M15.0M6.2M
199522.4M13.7M29.2M14.5M10.6M9.1M16.3M16.3M17.8M9.5M14.4M9.8M15.1M6.6M
200025.6M17.4M30.3M18.0M14.0M19.0M17.8M18.4M19.0M10.8M16.0M10.6M14.5M6.5M
200528.9M21.0M31.4M20.7M17.1M22.3M19.3M19.5M19.9M12.2M16.8M11.8M14.2M6.7M
201032.6M24.6M32.6M23.2M20.5M24.2M21.1M20.5M20.5M14.0M17.7M13.0M14.2M6.8M
201536.1M28.3M33.1M26.1M23.8M25.3M22.7M21.3M21.5M15.8M18.3M13.8M13.8M7.0M
202039.1M32.6M33.7M29.1M27.7M26.5M24.0M22.0M22.2M19.3M19.3M14.6M13.5M7.3M
202541.9M36.6M33.4M30.2M29.6M27.6M24.7M22.5M22.5M21.4M20.2M15.0M13.0M7.1M
203044.6M40.8M33.0M31.3M31.3M28.4M25.5M23.0M22.6M23.6M21.1M15.4M12.4M7.0M
203547.0M44.4M32.5M32.2M32.6M28.9M26.2M23.5M22.6M25.9M21.8M15.7M11.9M6.8M
204049.0M47.4M31.9M32.9M33.8M29.3M26.7M23.6M22.3M28.2M22.4M16.0M11.4M6.7M
204550.6M49.8M31.3M33.5M34.4M29.3M27.0M23.8M21.8M30.4M22.8M16.2M10.9M6.5M
205051.8M52.1M30.7M33.9M34.9M29.2M27.1M23.8M21.2M32.6M23.1M16.3M10.4M6.3M

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Frequently asked questions

What is the largest city in Asia?

In 2025, Jakarta ranks #1 with 41.9M, followed by Dhaka (36.6M) and Tokyo (33.4M). Source: UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects: The 2025 Revision (File 21), city population, millions, 1975–2050 (projected after 2025).

What is the largest city in Asia?

Jakarta is the largest city in Asia in 2025, with about 41.9 million people under the UN's Degree of Urbanization definition. Dhaka is second at 36.6 million and Tokyo third at 33.4 million. Tokyo was the largest in 1975, at about 24.3 million.

Which city in Asia will be the largest in 2050?

The UN projects Dhaka to be the largest Asian city in 2050, at about 52.1 million people, just ahead of Jakarta at 51.8 million. Shanghai (34.9 million), New Delhi (33.9 million) and Karachi (32.6 million) follow. Projections are a scenario, not a forecast guarantee.

Why are these numbers different from city population figures I have seen?

The UN counts each city as a contiguous dense urban area, not as a city-proper boundary or a metro region. A city-proper count for Tokyo or Shanghai is usually much smaller, and a metro count can differ again. Always check which definition a figure uses before comparing.

Where does this data come from?

UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects: The 2025 Revision (File 21), city population, millions, 1975–2050 (projected after 2025). Retrieved November 4, 2026. Cities as defined by the Degree of Urbanization (contiguous dense areas), so figures differ from city-proper or metro counts. You can download the full table as a CSV from this page.

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