![Largest Cities In The World By Area [2026]](https://img.jagranjosh.com/images/2026/06/16/article/image/list-of-largest-cities-in-the-world-by-area-1781593736356.jpg)
Have you ever wondered how many cities exist on our planet? There are actually over 4,000 cities worldwide housing 8.3 billion people. When we talk about popular ones, places like London, Paris, and Tokyo instantly come to mind. But if we talk about numbers, Jakarta takes the crown as the largest city by population right now. But what about the physical size? A city might have fewer citizens but spread across a massive piece of land. In this article, we'll take a look at the massive urban centres that dominate our planet not by their crowds, but by their borders.
List of 10 Largest Cities In The World By Area [2026]
Urban areas are growing faster than ever before. Measuring a city by its geographic footprint gives us a very unique perspective on global urbanisation and development trends this year. Here's the list of the 10 largest cities in the world, based on official administrative land area:
| Rank | City | Country | Area (km²) | Population (2026) |
| 1 | Chongqing | China | 82,400 | ~32,000,000 |
| 2 | Beijing | China | 16,411 | ~21,570,000 |
| 3 | Sydney | Australia | 12,368 | ~4,975,000 |
| 4 | Tianjin | China | 11,920 | ~14,930,000 |
| 5 | Melbourne | Australia | 9,992 | ~5,465,000 |
| 6 | Kinshasa | Dem. Rep. of the Congo | 9,965 | ~18,500,000 |
| 7 | Shanghai | China | 6,340 | ~24,720,000 |
| 8 | Istanbul | Turkey | 5,343 | ~15,820,000 |
| 9 | Karachi | Pakistan | 3,780 | ~21,240,000 |
| 10 | Cairo | Egypt | 3,085 | ~10,120,000 |
Quick Comparison: Largest City By Population vs Largest City By Area
Jakarta is the world's largest city by population (42 million), while Chongqing is the largest city by area (82,400 km²). These two megacities represent completely different ways to measure "biggest": one by people, one by land area.
| Aspect | Jakarta (Indonesia) | Chongqing (China) |
| Population | 42 million | 32.1 million |
| Land Area | 1,089 km² | 82,400 km² |
| Population Density | ~38,570 people/km² | ~392 people/km² |
| GDP (Economy) | ~$485 billion (urban agglomeration) | ~$485 billion (city proper / municipality) |
| Primary Industries | Services, finance, manufacturing, trade | Manufacturing, automotive, electronics, heavy industry |
| City Type | Urban agglomeration (contiguous built-up area) | Administrative municipality (city proper) |
| Capital Status | Former capital of Indonesia (moving to Nusantara) | Provincial-level municipality, not a capital |
| Geographic Feature | Coastal city on Java island | Mountainous, inland river city (Yangtze) |
| Urban Challenge | Flooding, sinking ground, overcrowding | Massive rural-urban split within the municipality |
Conclusion
So here's the bottom line: figuring out this list meant getting real about what counts as a city. We didn't chase after every patch of concrete or endless suburbs. Instead, we stuck to the official lines on the map, the ones local governments actually use. And by that measure, Chongqing wins by a landslide. Its territory is so massive, 82,400 square kilometres, that you could lose whole countries inside it. It's a wild mix of skyscrapers, villages, and open countryside, all rolled into one giant city.