According to the standard classification, a city is a large settlement. As a rule, the labor activity of its inhabitants is in no way connected with agriculture, and the population is employed in other spheres of life. Previously, the city was called settlements around which there were defensive structures. Today, such a settlement has high-rise buildings, developed infrastructure and all kinds of establishments for providing services to the population.
Cities with a million-plus population are settlements where the number of inhabitants exceeds 1 million. In the last century there were about 220 such cities, today there are more than 300 of them.
The undisputed leader in this list is China, because about 1.5 billion people live in the country itself. The next country on the leaderboard is India, followed by Brazil and only then Russia, Indonesia and Nigeria. The United States is approximately in 7th place, since the country is dominated by a large number of small settlements, and there are only 9 million-plus cities.
Historical background
The very first city with a population of 1 million was Rome. The list also included the city of Alexandria, where such a number of people lived from about the 1st century toad. By the middle of the new era, the Chinese city of Chang'an, the modern name of Xi'an, became a millionaire. And by the end of the millennium, Baghdad emerged as a leader. In 1800, Tokyo was first on the list, after 50 years there were already 2 cities in the world, and by 1985 - 273 settlements.
Russia
There are 157 thousand settlements in the country. The state is in 9th place in terms of population in the world, total inhabitants - 146,880,432 people (statistics as of 01.01.18).
How many million-plus cities are there in Russia? Total 15.
Moscow. The undisputed leader in terms of population in the country and is second in the European list after Istanbul. Today, 12,506,468 people live in the capital. An interesting fact is that in 1871 only 602 thousand lived in the city.
St. Petersburg. The northern capital of Russia is the second in the list of million-plus cities in Russia, today it is home to 5,351,935 people. Compared to previous years, there has been a slight increase in residents, in 2010 there were 4,879,566 people.
Novosibirsk. A large center of Siberia, where 1,604,179 people live. And in 1897, there were only 8 thousand people in the city.
Yekaterinburg (1,455,904 people) and Nizhny Novgorod round out the top five with 1,264,075 inhabitants.
Other million-plus cities in Russia:
| Name | Quantity, in millions |
| Kazan | 1, 232 |
| Chelyabinsk | 1,199 |
| Omsk | 1, 178 |
| Samara | 1, 170 |
| Rostov-on-Don | 1, 125 |
| Ufa | 1, 116 |
| Krasnoyarsk | 1, 083 |
| Perm | 1, 048 |
| Voronezh | 1, 040 |
| Volgograd | 1, 016 |
Europe
This part of the world is washed by the waters of the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, located in the Northern Hemisphere of the planet. The area covered is approximately 10 million square kilometers. According to statistics for 2013, 742.5 million people live in Europe, that is, about 10% of the total number of all inhabitants of the planet.
List of million-plus cities:
| Name | Quantity, millions | Country |
| Istanbul | 14, 337 | Turkey |
| Moscow | 12, 506 | Russia |
| London | 8, 174 | UK |
| St. Petersburg | 5, 351 | Russia |
| Berlin | 3, 479 | Germany |
| Madrid | 3, 273 | Spain |
| Kyiv | 2, 815 | Ukraine |
| Rome | 2, 761 | Italy |
| Paris | 2, 243 | France |
| Minsk | 1, 938 | Belarus |
From the major capitals of the European part of the world, Budapest, Warsaw, Vienna and Bucharest can be distinguished, where 1.7 million people live.
Asia
This is the largest part of the world in terms of population and area. Together with Europe, it forms the mainland - Eurasia. The area occupied by Asia is about 43.4 million square kilometers, and the inhabitants are about 4.2 billion people, approximately 60.5% of the total population of the planet. It is in this part of our planet that the rapid development of the economy and industry is observed.
Cities with a population of over a million:
| Name | Quantity, millions | Country |
| Shanghai | 23, 416 | People's Republic of China |
| Beijing | 21, 009 | People's Republic of China |
| Karachi | 13, 205 | Pakistan |
| Mumbai | 12, 478 | India |
| Shenzhen | 12, 084 | People's Republic of China |
| Delhi | 11, 007 | India |
| Tianjin | 10, 920 | People's Republic of China |
| Seoul | 10, 388 | Republic of Korea |
| Dhaka | 9, 724 | Bangladesh |
| Jakarta | 9, 607 | Indonesia |
Next on the list are cities with a little over 8 million people. This is Tokyo, Tehran, Bangalore, Bangkok.
In this part of the world today there are 4 cities with a population of 7 million and they are all in the People's Republic of China: Wuhan, Chengdu, Hangzhou and Chongqing. The list of large Asian settlements closes the Iraqi city of Sulaymaniyah, where 1 million people live.
Australia and Oceania
This part of the world consists of mainland Australia and nearby islands included in Oceania. This is the smallest part of the world in terms of area - 8.51 million square kilometers. Australia and Oceania have the fewest people at just 24.2 millionman.
Cities with a population of over a million:
| Name | Quantity, millions | Country |
| Sydney | 4, 800 | Australia |
| Melbourne | 4, 250 | |
| Perth | 1, 832 | |
| Auckland | 1, 303 | New Zealand |
| Adelaide | 1, 225 | Australia |
| Brisbane | 1, 041 |
Africa
This is the second largest continent on the planet after Eurasia. There are 55 states here, that is, more than on any other continent. The total occupied area, together with the islands, is 30.3 million square kilometers, which is approximately 6% of the entire earth's land. About 1 billion people live in these territories.
Major cities located in this part of the world with more than 3 million people:
| Name | Quantity, millions | Country |
| Cairo | 17, 856 | Egypt |
| Lagos | 11, 547 | Nigeria |
| Kinshasa | 10, 076 | Democratic Republic of the Congo |
| Johannesburg | 6, 267 | South Africa |
| Sudan | 5, 274 | Sudan |
| Luanda | 5, 204 | Angola |
| Alexandria | 4, 256 | Egypt |
| Kano | 3, 848 | Nigeria |
| Abidjan | 3, 802 | Ivory Coast |
| Cape Town | 3, 497 | South Africa |
| Durban | 3, 468 | South Africa |
| Casablanca | 3, 356 | Morocco |
| Nairobi | 3, 138 | Kenya |
| Gizeh | 3, 087 | Egypt |
| Addis Ababa | 3, 041 | Ethiopia |
North America
Under these lands, 24.25 million square kilometers are occupied, together with the islands, located in the northern part of the Western Hemisphere of the planet. On this continent there are about 500 millioninhabitants, that is, about 7% of all living on the planet. A unique feature of the mainland is that all the countries that are located here have access to the sea.
Cities with a population of over 2 million in this part of the world:
| Name | Quantity, millions | Country |
| Mexico City | 8, 851 | Mexico |
| New York | 8, 363 | United States of America |
| Los Angeles | 3, 792 | |
| Chicago | 2, 862 | |
| Toronto | 2, 503 | Canada |
| Havana | 2, 350 | Cuba |
| Houston | 2, 099 | USA |
| Santo Domingo | 2, 023 | Dominican Republic |
South America
The total area of the mainland is 17.84 million kilometers, which is only 4th place among other continents. There are many islands around the mainland. In total, about 387 million people live here.
Cities with a million people:
| Name | Quantity, millions | Country |
| Sao Paulo | 11, 152 | Brazil |
| Lima | 7, 605 | Peru |
| Bogota | 7, 307 | Colombia |
| Rio de Janeiro | 6, 136 | Brazil |
| Santiago | 5, 428 | Chile |
| Medellin | 3, 312 | Colombia |
| Buenos Aires | 3, 080 | Argentina |
| Caracas | 3, 051 | Venezuela |
| El Salvador | 2, 892 | Brazil |
| Guayaquil | 2, 600 | Ecuador |
| Brazil | 2, 455 | Brazil |
| Fortapeza | 2, 431 | |
| Belo Horizonte | 2, 412 | |
| Kali | 2, 375 | Colombia |
| Quito | 1, 856 | Quito |
| Curitiba | 1, 797 | Brazil |
| Barranquilla | 1, 694 | Colombia |
| Manaus | 1, 646 | Brazil |
| Recife | 1, 533 | |
| Santa Cruz de la Sierra | 1, 529 | Bolivia |
The rest of the list consists of 9 cities, the last in the list is the city of Barquisimeto (Venezuela), where only 1,018 people live.
Some interesting facts
Scientists are confident that by 2025 approximately 60% of the total population will live in cities. And in 1800 the figure was only at the level of 2%, and after 180 years the number of urban population increased to 40%. By the same year, more than 90 super-megacities will appear, that is, huge cities where more than 5 million people will live.
Some countries have satellite cities. Roughly speaking, these are "safety valves" of millionaires. In the satellites, people live and work in the metropolis. For example, in the same China, to get into the capital, you need a special permit.
