List of European cities by population within city limits

Cityscape of Istanbul

This list ranks European cities by population within city limits. The largest cities in Europe have official populations of over one million inhabitants within their city boundaries. These rankings are based on populations contained within city administrative boundaries, as opposed to urban areas or metropolitan areas, which necessarily have larger populations than the cities at their core.

The limits of a city proper can differ greatly from the size of the city's urban area, so the figures in this list may not give an accurate view of the comparative population of different urban areas and should be treated with caution. For example, the Paris metropolitan area is the second most populous in Europe, but the strict definition of the administrative limits of the City of Paris results in a far lower population.

Largest cities

  Capital cities
City Country Population
within Europe 		Date Ref.
Moscow[a]  Russia 13,149,803 1 Jan 2024 [1]
Istanbul[b]  Turkey 10,030,990[c] 31 Dec 2023 [2]
London[d]  United Kingdom 8,866,180 30 Jun 2022 [3]
Saint Petersburg  Russia 5,597,763 1 Jan 2024 [1]
Berlin  Germany 3,755,251 31 Dec 2022 [4]
Madrid  Spain 3,332,035 1 Jan 2023 [5]
Kyiv  Ukraine 2,952,301 1 Jan 2022 [6]
Rome  Italy 2,754,719 1 Jan 2024 [7]
Baku[e]  Azerbaijan 2,336,600 1 Jan 2023 [8]
Paris  France 2,087,577 1 Jan 2024 [9]
Vienna  Austria 2,018,653 1 Jul 2024 [10]
Minsk  Belarus 1,992,862 1 Jan 2024 [11]
Hamburg  Germany 1,892,122 31 Dec 2022 [4]
Warsaw  Poland 1,861,644 30 Jun 2023 [12]
Bucharest  Romania 1,739,297 1 Jan 2023 [13]
Belgrade  Serbia 1,683,229 1 Jan 2023 [14]
Budapest  Hungary 1,671,004 1 Jan 2023 [15]
Barcelona  Spain 1,660,122 1 Jan 2023 [5]
Munich  Germany 1,512,491 31 Dec 2022 [4]
Kharkiv  Ukraine 1,421,225 1 Jan 2022 [6]
Prague  Czech Republic 1,384,732 1 Jan 2024 [16]
Milan  Italy 1,371,850 1 Jan 2024 [7]
Kazan  Russia 1,318,604 1 Jan 2024 [1]
Sofia  Bulgaria 1,286,965 31 Dec 2023 [17]
Tbilisi[e]  Georgia 1,241,709 1 Jan 2023 [18]
Nizhny Novgorod  Russia 1,204,985 1 Jan 2024 [1]
Ufa  Russia 1,163,304 1 Jan 2024 [1]
Samara  Russia 1,158,952 1 Jan 2024 [1]
Birmingham  United Kingdom 1,157,163 30 Jun 2022 [3]
Rostov-on-Don  Russia 1,140,487 1 Jan 2024 [1]
Krasnodar  Russia 1,138,654 1 Jan 2024 [1]
Yerevan[e]  Armenia 1,127,000 1 Jul 2024 [19]
Cologne  Germany 1,084,831 31 Dec 2022 [4]
Voronezh  Russia 1,046,425 1 Jan 2024 [1]
Perm  Russia 1,026,908 1 Jan 2024 [1]
Volgograd  Russia 1,018,898 1 Jan 2024 [1]
Odesa  Ukraine 1,010,537 1 Jan 2022 [6]

Map

See also

  • mapEurope portal

Notes

  1. ^ Moscow is the most populous city entirely within Europe.
  2. ^ Istanbul is a transcontinental city, with its commercial and historical centre and two-thirds of the population in Europe, the rest in Asia (see Districts of Istanbul for details).
  3. ^ Istanbul total (2023) = 15,655,924
    Europe (25 districts) = 10,030,990
    Asia (14 districts) = 5,624,934
  4. ^ Greater London, not the City of London
  5. ^ a b c Continental placement may vary depending on geographic convention being followed.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Численность постоянного населения Российской Федерации по муниципальным образованиям на 1 января 2024 года" (in Russian). Russian Federal State Statistics Service. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
  2. ^ "The Results of Address Based Population Registration System, 2023". Turkish Statistical Institute. 6 February 2024. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  3. ^ a b "Estimates of the population for the UK, England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland". Office for National Statistics. 26 March 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d "Städte (Alle Gemeinden mit Stadtrecht) nach Fläche, Bevölkerung und Bevölkerungsdichte am 31.12.2022" (in German). Federal Statistical Office of Germany. 21 September 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Municipal breakdown". Instituto Nacional de Estadística. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  6. ^ a b c "Number of Present Population of Ukraine, as of January 1" (PDF). State Statistics Service of Ukraine. 2022. pp. 35–47. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  7. ^ a b "Resident population on 1st January". Italian National Institute of Statistics. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  8. ^ "Population: Administrative – territorial divisions, number and structure of population". State Statistics Committee. 28 November 2023. Retrieved 23 March 2024.
  9. ^ "Estimation de la population au 1er janvier 2024" (in French). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques. 16 January 2024. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
  10. ^ "Population at beginning of year/quarter". Statistics Austria. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
  11. ^ "Численность населения на 1 января 2024 г. и среднегодовая численность населения за 2023 год по Республике Беларусь в разрезе областей, районов, городов, поселков городского типа" (in Russian). National Statistical Committee of the Republic of Belarus. 28 March 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  12. ^ "Population. Size and structure and vital statistics in Poland by territorial division in 2022. As of 30 June (Table III)". Statistics Poland. 16 October 2023. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  13. ^ "POP105A - Populația rezidentă la 1 Ianuarie pe grupe de vârste, sexe și medii de rezidență, macroregiuni, regiuni de dezvoltare și județe" (in Romanian). National Institute of Statistics. 5 September 2023. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  14. ^ "Estimates of population: Estimated population, 2023". Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  15. ^ "Population by type of settlement, 1 January". Hungarian Central Statistical Office. Retrieved 24 October 2023.
  16. ^ "Population of Municipalities – 1 January 2024". Czech Statistical Office. 17 May 2024.
  17. ^ "Population by districts, municipalities, place of residence and sex". National Statistical Institute. 29 April 2024. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
  18. ^ "Population: Population by cities and boroughs, as of 1 January". National Statistics Office of Georgia. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  19. ^ "Number of De Jure Population of the Republic of Armenia as of July 1, 2024" (in English and Armenian). Statistical Committee of Armenia. p. 4. Retrieved 6 August 2024.