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Special project
of the Analytical Center
Megacities of the world

We compare 20 of the largest cities
by key economic and other indicators.
Learn more
A "real" city is an urbanized area. The key criterion for defining a real city is a continuous expanse of urban development.
Source: Calculations by Moscow Analytical Center.
Population of the urban area
1 Tokyo
37,8million people
2 Delhi
31,2million people
3 Shanghai
24,0million people
4 Seoul
23,2million people
5 Cairo
22,7million people
6 Mexico City
21,9million people
7 São Paulo
21,5million people
8 New York
21,4million people
9 Beijing
18,9million people
10 Moscow
17,9million people
11 Los Angeles
15,6million people
12 Istanbul
14,4million people
13 Paris
11,1million people
14 London
10,8million people
15 Toronto
6,8million people
16 Singapore
5,9million people
17 Dubai
4,9million people
18 Sydney
4,8million people
19 Berlin
4,3million people
20 Rome
3,2million people
GDP or Gross Domestic Product is the value of all goods and services produced in a year in all sectors of the economy within a specific city's territory. For a correct assessment of the difference in the cost of the same set of goods and services in different countries, the GDP volume is calculated considering purchasing power parity (PPP).
Source: Calculations by Moscow Analytical Center.
GDP
1 New York
2 336,7 billion USD
2 Tokyo
2 093,3 billion USD
3 Shanghai
1 336,4 billion USD
4 Moscow
1 335,2 billion USD
5 Los Angeles
1 312,0 billion USD
6 Seoul
1 267,9 billion USD
7 Paris
1 220,2 billion USD
8 London
1 217,9 billion USD
9 Cairo
1 158,4 billion USD
10 Istanbul
1 055,0 billion USD
11 Beijing
1 037,3 billion USD
12 Delhi
885,7 billion USD
13 Singapore
777,6 billion USD
14 São Paulo
757,5 billion USD
15 Mexico City
584,9 billion USD
16 Toronto
502,5 billion USD
17 Sydney
369,0 billion USD
18 Berlin
343,4 billion USD
19 Rome
321,6 billion USD
20 Dubai
279,3 billion USD
The International Labour Organization (ILO) defines unemployed persons as individuals who do not have a job, are actively seeking employment within the last four weeks, and are available to start work within the next two weeks. The unemployment rate, according to the ILO, is the proportion of such individuals in the total labor force.
Source: Calculations by Moscow Analytical Center.
Unemployment rate
1 Dubai
0,8%
2 Moscow
1,8%
3 Singapore
2,0%
4 Tokyo
2,5%
5 Delhi
2,9%
6 Shanghai
3,0%
7 Seoul
3,3%
8 Sydney
3,9%
9 New York
4,2%
10 Berlin
4,7%
11 Los Angeles
5,1%
12 Beijing
5,2%
13 Mexico City
5,5%
14 London
5,6%
15 Toronto
6,9%
16 Rome
7,3%
17 Paris
7,6%
18 São Paulo
9,2%
19 Istanbul
10,9%
20 Cairo
11,0%
The proportion of the population in the megacity aged 15+ who have completed a master's degree, specialist degree, or bachelor's degree.
Source: Calculations by Moscow Analytical Center.
Higher education coverage
1 New York
50 %
2 Toronto
47 %
3 Tokyo
46 %
4 Sydney
44 %
5 Los Angeles
44 %
6 Beijing
42 %
7 Dubai
42 %
8 Moscow
39 %
9 Paris
38 %
10 Berlin
38 %
11 London
38 %
12 Seoul
36 %
13 Shanghai
30 %
14 Rome
24 %
15 Delhi
23 %
16 Mexico City
21 %
17 São Paulo
19 %
18 Istanbul
19 %
19 Cairo
17 %
20 Singapore
n/a
The percentage of the city's total area that is covered by green spaces. In Russia, this includes both planted and natural urban forests, green zones and forest parks, boulevards, squares, gardens, lawns, city and district parks, recreational areas, stadiums, cemeteries, and neighborhood greenery.
Source: Calculations by Moscow Analytical Center.
Share of green spaces
1 Moscow
35,8 %
2 Rome
35,8 %
3 Beijing
30,4 %
4 Seoul
27,9 %
5 Berlin
27,0 %
6 Delhi
21,9 %
7 Singapore
21,4 %
8 Toronto
16,0 %
9 London
15,0 %
10 Paris
15,0 %
11 New York
14,0 %
12 Sydney
14,0 %
13 Los Angeles
13,0 %
14 Tokyo
7,5 %
15 São Paulo
6,0 %
16 Mexico City
4,0 %
17 Istanbul
2,2 %
18 Dubai
2,0 %
19 Cairo
0,3 %
20 Shanghai
n/a
Learn more
Moscow
We’re comparing the 20 most economically developed cities worldwide across various factors:
economic, social, and environmental. Which city is experiencing the fastest economic growth and
has the lowest unemployment? Which one leads in higher education, and where has the largest green space coverage?
You can explore all of this in the interactive special project by the Moscow Analytical Center.
For more detailed information on these cities, check out the Urban Data section.