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The Middle East's largest cities, 1975 to 2050

Cairo is the Middle East's largest city at about 25.6 million in 2025, well ahead of Istanbul (15.0 million) and Tehran (9.2 million), by UN figures.

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What the data shows

  • In 2025, Cairo ranks #1 with 25.6M, ahead of Istanbul (15.0M) and Tehran (9.2M).
  • By 2050, on the UN's projections, Cairo is projected to rank #1 with 32.4M, ahead of Istanbul (16.3M) and Tehran (9.5M).
  • Cairo holds #1 for the whole period, 1975 to 2025.
  • Biggest climber: Riyadh, from #15 in 1980 to #4 in 2050.
  • Cairo grew 3.5× between 1975 and 2025.
  • Riyadh wasn't on the board in 1975 but is in the top 5 by 2050.

About this chart

Cairo has more than tripled since 1975, from about 7.44 million to about 25.57 million, and the UN projects 32.37 million by 2050. Istanbul is second at 15.01 million, up from 5.31 million, and Tehran third at 9.17 million. Alexandria (7.27 million), Riyadh (6.92 million), Amman (6.4 million) and Baghdad (6.39 million) make up the rest of the middle of the table, with Dubai ninth at 5.28 million.

Riyadh is the fastest riser: the data starts it at about 0.1 million in 1980, and the UN projects it to reach 9.15 million by 2050, enough to pass Alexandria's 9.02 million. Figures use the UN's Degree of Urbanization, which counts contiguous dense areas, so they differ from city-proper or metro counts. Values through 2025 are estimates and 2030 to 2050 are projections.

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.

The Middle East's largest cities, Population in millions, 1975 to 2050, 1975–2050
Date🇪🇬 Cairo🇹🇷 Istanbul🇮🇷 Tehran🇪🇬 Alexandria🇸🇦 Riyadh🇯🇴 Amman🇮🇶 Baghdad🇮🇷 Mashhad🇦🇪 Dubai🇸🇾 Damascus🇸🇦 Jeddah🇪🇬 Luxor🇹🇷 Ankara🇸🇾 Aleppo🇹🇷 Izmir🇱🇧 Beirut
19757.4M5.3M4.3M2.6M0.8M2.0M1.3M1.2M0.2M0.1M1.3M0.6M1.6M1.8M
19808.5M6.2M5.1M3.1M0.1M1.1M2.5M1.7M0.2M1.5M0.3M0.1M1.4M0.8M1.8M1.9M
19859.8M7.5M6.0M3.5M0.7M1.4M2.9M2.3M0.4M1.8M0.6M0.1M1.7M1.0M2.1M1.7M
199011.7M8.8M6.7M3.8M1.4M1.7M3.3M2.9M0.6M2.1M1.0M0.1M2.0M1.2M2.4M1.4M
199513.9M9.8M6.8M4.1M2.0M2.3M3.7M3.1M0.8M2.3M1.4M0.1M2.2M1.5M2.5M1.3M
200015.7M10.6M7.0M4.5M2.6M2.6M4.3M3.5M1.3M2.5M1.7M0.2M2.4M1.9M2.6M1.4M
200517.5M11.8M7.2M4.9M3.5M3.0M4.4M3.9M2.2M2.9M2.3M0.4M2.6M2.3M2.6M1.6M
201019.5M13.0M7.7M5.4M4.5M3.7M4.8M4.4M2.3M3.3M2.7M0.9M2.9M3.8M2.7M1.7M
201521.6M13.8M8.1M5.9M5.7M4.7M5.4M4.8M3.7M3.3M3.4M1.9M3.1M1.1M2.6M1.8M
202024.0M14.6M8.9M6.9M6.3M6.2M6.1M5.2M4.4M3.4M3.9M3.6M3.5M2.4M2.6M1.7M
202525.6M15.0M9.2M7.3M6.9M6.4M6.4M5.4M5.3M4.3M4.3M4.2M3.6M2.9M2.7M1.8M
203027.2M15.4M9.3M7.7M7.5M6.8M6.7M5.5M5.6M5.0M4.6M4.8M3.7M3.4M2.7M1.9M
203528.7M15.7M9.4M8.1M7.9M7.2M6.9M5.6M5.9M5.4M4.9M5.5M3.8M3.7M2.7M1.9M
204030.2M16.0M9.5M8.4M8.4M7.7M7.1M5.6M6.2M5.8M5.2M6.1M3.9M3.9M2.7M2.0M
204531.4M16.2M9.5M8.7M8.7M8.1M7.3M5.7M6.5M6.1M5.5M6.9M3.9M4.1M2.7M2.0M
205032.4M16.3M9.5M9.0M9.2M8.4M7.5M5.7M6.9M6.3M5.8M7.6M4.0M4.3M2.7M2.1M

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Frequently asked questions

What is the largest city in the Middle East?

In 2025, Cairo ranks #1 with 25.6M, followed by Istanbul (15.0M) and Tehran (9.2M). 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 the Middle East?

Cairo is the largest city in the Middle East in 2025, with about 25.57 million people under the UN's Degree of Urbanization definition. Istanbul is second at about 15.01 million and Tehran third at about 9.17 million.

Is Istanbul or Cairo bigger?

Cairo is bigger in this data: about 25.57 million against about 15.01 million for Istanbul in 2025. The UN projects Cairo at about 32.37 million and Istanbul at about 16.3 million in 2050. Istanbul has still grown from about 5.31 million in 1975.

Why do these numbers differ from the metro populations I have seen?

The UN counts each city as a contiguous dense urban area, not an administrative city or an official metro region. That makes the figures consistent across countries but different from local statistics. Check the definition before comparing with another source.

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.

Can I turn this chart into a video?

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