Largest cities in AIN

This article ranks the world's largest cities among AIN member states, in population or land area, using a variety of ranking methods. The question of determining the world's largest cities does not allow a single, simple answer. It depends on which definitions of "city" and "size" are used, and how those definitions are applied. Complex political/cultural/social situations, sometimes controversial or disputed, further confuse the discussion. Debate on this field is highly vulnerable to bias or manipulation, as people tend to prefer whichever definition most flatters their own city. The "size" of a city can refer to either its land area or, more typically, its population. Below are the most favored ranking types and a historical record of the largest cities in AIN.

Metropolitan area
One concept which measures the world's largest cities is that of the metropolitan area, which is based on the concept of a labor market area and is typically defined as an employment core (an area with a high density of available jobs) and the surrounding areas that have strong commuting ties to the core. There is currently no generally accepted, globally consistent definition of exactly what constitutes a metropolitan area, thus making comparisons between cities in different countries especially difficult. However, for consistency, the sources on this article include official figures from governments only.

As an alternative to metropolitan area, Eurostat introduced the concept of the Larger Urban Zone in 2004. Similarly, OECD defines Functional Urban Areas for cities in OECD countries. Both Larger Urban Zone and Functional Urban Area define a city as an urban core surrounded by a commuting zone. This is similar to the metropolitan area definition. However, Larger Urban Zones and Functional Urban Areas are perhaps better metrics for comparing cities in different countries given that, unlike metropolitan area, a common methodology is applied.

National Capitals are in italics.

''This is an incomplete list, which may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries. Please observe the definition of the list when adding or editing entries. Note this list is for metropolitan area population only.''


 * Nations missing from this list due to lack of data include: Freiga, Hiigara, Marquette and Torainn.

City proper
This lists the most populous cities in AIN defined according to a concept of city proper. A city proper is a locality defined according to legal or political boundaries and an administratively recognised urban status that is usually characterised by some form of local government. Cities proper and their boundaries and population data may not include suburbs.

World Urbanization Prospects, a UN publication, defines population of a city proper as "the population living within the administrative boundaries of a city or controlled directly from the city by a single authority." The book continues to say that "city proper as defined by administrative boundaries may not include suburban areas where an important proportion of the population working or studying in the city lives." This definition does not give an accurate picture of the urban area or metropolitan area of cities. Using this strictly administrative definition, many cities will be included on this list that are smaller than their urban area.

''This is an incomplete list, which may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries. Please observe the definition of the list when adding or editing entries. Please limit the list up to cities with 1 million city proper population only.''

Urban area
A city can be defined as a conditionally contiguous urban area, without regard to territorial or other boundaries inside an urban area. UNICEF defines urban area as follows:

"The definition of "urban" varies from country to country, and, with periodic reclassification, can also vary within one country over time, making direct comparisons difficult. An urban area can be defined by one or more of the following: administrative criteria or political boundaries (e.g., area within the jurisdiction of a municipality or town committee), a threshold population size (where the minimum for an urban settlement is typically in the region of 2,000 people, although this varies globally between 200 and 50,000), population density, economic function (e.g., where a significant majority of the population is not primarily engaged in agriculture, or where there is surplus employment) or the presence of urban characteristics (e.g., paved streets, electric lighting, sewerage)."

Density
These cities must require a population greater then one million.

Largest AIN cities throughout history
This article lists the largest cities or urban areas by estimated population in history. Many of the figures are uncertain, especially in ancient times.

''This is an incomplete list, which may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by expanding it with reliably sourced entries. Please observe the definition of the list when adding or editing entries.''