Countries With the Most Cities Over a Million: Ranked

China has the most cities with populations over one million — more than 100 such cities, far more than any other country. India ranks second with roughly 60, followed by Brazil, Russia, the United States, Japan, Indonesia, and Mexico.

Introduction

A city of one million people was once a rarity; in 1900 only a handful existed anywhere on Earth. Today there are well over 500 cities that cross that threshold, and the number keeps climbing as the world urbanises. But these million-plus cities are not spread evenly. Two countries — China and India — account for a huge share of them, thanks to their vast populations and decades of rapid rural-to-urban migration.

This guide ranks the countries with the most cities over one million people and explains why sheer population size combined with fast urbanisation puts China and India in a class of their own. (Exact counts vary by source depending on whether city-proper or metropolitan-area boundaries are used.)

Top Countries by Number of Million-Plus Cities

The Asian Leaders

• China: More than 100 cities over one million, by far the most of any country. Beyond famous megacities like Shanghai, Beijing, and Guangzhou, China has dozens of less internationally known cities such as Foshan, Zhengzhou, and Dongguan that each exceed several million residents.
• India: Around 60 cities over one million, reflecting both its enormous population and rapid urban growth. Mumbai, Delhi, and Bengaluru are the giants, but scores of state capitals and industrial hubs have crossed the million mark.
• Indonesia: Roughly 15 cities over one million, led by the sprawling capital region of Jakarta, one of the largest urban areas on Earth.
• Japan: About 12 cities over one million, anchored by Tokyo — the world's largest metropolitan area — along with Osaka, Nagoya, and others.

The Americas and Russia

• Brazil: Around 17 cities over one million, the most in the Southern Hemisphere. São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro lead a highly urbanised nation where more than 85% of people live in cities.
• Russia: About 15 cities over one million, spread across its vast territory from Moscow and Saint Petersburg to Novosibirsk and Yekaterinburg in Siberia and the Urals.
• United States: Roughly 10 cities over one million by city-proper population, including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston — though many more US metropolitan areas exceed a million when suburbs are counted.
• Mexico: Around 12 cities over one million, led by the giant Mexico City metropolitan area, one of the most populous in the Western Hemisphere.

The contrast at the top is stark. China alone has more million-plus cities than the United States, Japan, Russia, and Mexico combined, and China plus India together hold a large fraction of all such cities on the planet.

Why China and India Lead

Two forces explain the dominance of China and India. The first is population: each has over 1.4 billion people, so even a modest urbanisation rate produces enormous cities in large numbers. The second is the pace of urbanisation. China moved hundreds of millions of people from farms to cities in just a few decades, creating new metropolises at a speed unmatched in history. India is now in the midst of its own urban surge, with its urban population projected to keep growing rapidly through mid-century.

By comparison, richly developed countries like the United States and Japan urbanised earlier and have more stable or slowly growing city numbers. Their million-plus cities are large but relatively few, whereas China keeps adding new entrants to the list almost every year.

Good to Know

Which country has the most cities over one million people?

China has the most, with more than 100 cities over one million residents — far ahead of any other nation. India is second with roughly 60 such cities.

Does the United States have many cities over a million?

By city-proper population the US has around 10 cities over a million, such as New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. The number is much higher — dozens — if you count entire metropolitan areas including suburbs.

Why do counts of million-plus cities vary between sources?

Different sources define city limits differently. A "city proper" count uses administrative boundaries, while a metropolitan-area count includes surrounding suburbs and satellite towns, which can produce very different totals for the same place.