Megacity in the context of "Johannesburg"

New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States. It is located at the southern tip of New York State on New York Harbor, one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive with its respective county. It is the geographical and demographic center of both the Northeast megalopolis and the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the United States by both population and urban area. New York is a global center of finance and commerce, culture, technology, entertainment and media, academics and scientific output, the arts and fashion, and, as home to the headquarters of the United Nations, international diplomacy.

With an estimated population in July 2024 of 8,478,072, distributed over 300.46 square miles (778.2 km), the city is the most densely populated major city in the United States. New York City has more than double the population of Los Angeles, the country's second-most populous city. Over 20.1 million people live in New York City's metropolitan statistical area and 23.5 million in its combined statistical area as of 2020, both the largest in the U.S. New York City is one of the world's most populous megacities. The city and its metropolitan area are the premier gateway for legal immigration to the United States. An estimated 800 languages are spoken in New York City, making it the most linguistically diverse city in the world. The New York City metropolitan region is home to the largest foreign-born population of any metropolitan region in the world, approximately 5.9 million as of 2023.

The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, officially designated Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Texas and the Southern U.S., encompassing 11 counties. Its historically dominant core cities are Dallas and Fort Worth. It is the economic and cultural hub of North Texas. Residents of the area also refer to it as DFW (the code for Dallas Fort Worth International Airport) or the Metroplex. The Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area's population was 7,637,387 according to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2020 census, making it the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the U.S. and the eleventh-largest in the Americas. In 2016, the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex had the highest annual population growth in the United States. By 2023, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area's population had increased to 8,100,037, with the highest numerical growth of any metropolitan area in the United States. By 2025, NCTCOG estimated that the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area's population had increased to around 8,578,654 million residents, making the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area around 1.42 million residents from becoming a megacity.

The metropolitan region's economy, also referred to as Silicon Prairie, is primarily based on banking, commerce, insurance, telecommunications, technology, energy, healthcare, medical research, transportation, manufacturing, and logistics. As of 2022, Dallas–Fort Worth is home to 23 Fortune 500 companies, the 4th-largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies in the United States behind New York City (62), Chicago (35), and Houston (24). In 2016, the metropolitan economy surpassed Houston, the second largest metro area in Texas, to become the fourth-largest in the U.S. The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex boasted a GDP of just over $620.6 billion in 2020 (although both metropolitan regions have switched places multiple times since GDP began recording). If the Metroplex were a sovereign state, it would have the twentieth largest economy in the world as of 2019. In 2015, the conurbated metropolitan area would rank the ninth-largest economy if it were a U.S. state. In 2020, Dallas–Fort Worth was recognized as the 36th best metropolitan area for STEM professionals in the U.S.

This is a list showing the most populous cities in Pakistan as of the 2023 Census of Pakistan. City populations found in this list only refer to the population found within the city's defined limits and any adjacent cantonment, if exists (except for Gujranwala and Okara). The census totals below come from the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics for the four provinces of Pakistan and the Islamabad Capital Territory, and from the Planning and Development Department of Azad Jammu Kashmir (PND AJK) for cities of Azad Kashmir.

As of the 2023 Pakistani census, there are two megacities, ten million-plus cities, in Pakistan. Overall 127 cities of the country, have a population of over 100,000. Of these 127 cities, 81 are located in the country's most populous province, Punjab, 22 in Sindh, 13 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 8 in Balochistan, two in Azad Kashmir, and one is the Islamabad Capital Territory itself. It is unknown whether Gilgit-Baltistan has any city with over 100,000 people or not, as 2017 census results issued by the Government of Gilgit–Baltistan do not give figures for the population of cities in Gilgit–Baltistan. As in the previous census in 1998, the largest city of Gilgit-Baltistan was Gilgit, with 56,701 inhabitants.

A secondary city is an urban hub that fills specific regional and local needs related to governance, economics, finance, education, trade, transportation. A secondary city is defined by population, area, function, and economic status, but also by their relationship to neighboring and distant cities and their socio-economic status. A secondary city may emerge from a cluster of smaller cities in a metropolitan region or may be the capital city of a province, state, or second-tier administrative unit within a country. Secondary cities are the fastest-growing urban areas in lower- and middle-income countries, experiencing unplanned growth and development. By 2030, there will be twice as many medium-size cities as there were in 1990, outnumbering the total number of megacities. According to the World Bank, secondary cities make up almost 40% of the world cities population. Many secondary cities in the Global South are expected to undergo massive expansions in the next few decades comparable to city growth in Europe and North America over the past two centuries. These cities are unique environments that generally have limited data and information on infrastructure, land tenure, and planning.

Greater Los Angeles is the most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. state of California, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino County and Riverside County in the east, with the city of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County at its center, and Orange County to the southeast. The Los Angeles–Long Beach combined statistical area (CSA) covers 33,954 square miles (87,940 km), making it the largest metropolitan region in the United States by land area. The contiguous urban area is 2,281 square miles (5,910 km), whereas the remainder mostly consists of mountain and desert areas. With an estimated population of over 18.3 million (U.S. Census Bureau, 2023), it is the second-largest metropolitan area in the country, behind New York, as well as one of the largest megacities in the world.

In addition to being the nexus of the global entertainment industry, including films, television, and recorded music, Greater Los Angeles is also an important center of international trade, education, media, business, tourism, technology, and sports. It is the third-largest metropolitan area by nominal GDP in the world with an economy exceeding $1 trillion in output, behind New York City and Tokyo.

New Delhi is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan (Presidential Palace), Sansad Bhavan (Parliament House), and the Supreme Court. New Delhi is a municipality within the NCT, administered by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), which covers mostly Lutyens' Delhi and a few adjacent areas. The municipal area is part of a larger administrative district, the New Delhi district.

Although colloquially Delhi and New Delhi are used interchangeably to refer to the National Capital Territory of Delhi, both are distinct entities, with the municipality and the New Delhi district forming a relatively small part within the megacity of Delhi. The National Capital Region is an even larger entity, comprising the entire NCT along with adjoining districts in the two neighbouring states forming a continuously built-up area with it, including Ghaziabad, Noida, Greater Noida, Meerut, YEIDA City, Gurgaon, and Faridabad.

As of 2023, the five largest cities in China by population are Chongqing (31.91 million), Shanghai (24.87 million), Beijing (21.86 million), Chengdu (21.403 million) and Guangzhou (18.827 million). As of 2024, there are 18 megacities (cities with a population of over 10 million), including Chongqing, Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Wuhan, Tianjin, Xi'an, Suzhou, Zhengzhou, Hangzhou, Shijiazhuang, Linyi, Dongguan, Qingdao, Changsha and Hefei.

Among them, the total permanent population of Chongqing, Shanghai, Beijing and Chengdu is above 20 million. Shanghai is China's most populous urban area, while Chongqing is its largest city proper, the only city in China with the largest permanent population of over 30 million.

Lagos (/ˈleɪɡɒs/ LAY-goss; Yoruba: Èkó [èkó]), or Lagos City, is a large metropolitan city in southwestern Nigeria. As of November 2025, the size of the city's population has been estimated to stand between 17 and 21 million residents, making Lagos the largest city in Nigeria, the most populous urban area on the African continent, and one of the fastest-growing megacities in the world. Lagos was the national capital of Nigeria until the government's December 1991 decision to relocate its capital to Abuja, in the centre of the country. Apart from serving as a major African financial center, Lagos has also played a significant role in the national economy, serving as the economic hub of Lagos State and the entire country of Nigeria. The city has a significant influence on commerce, entertainment, technology, education, politics, tourism, art, and fashion in Africa. Lagos is also among the top ten of the world's fastest-growing cities and urban areas. A megacity, it has the second-highest GDP in Africa, and houses one of the largest and busiest seaports on the continent. Due to the large urban population and port traffic volumes, Lagos is classified as a Medium-Port Megacity.

Lagos emerged as a home to the Awori people, an Ijebu subgroup of the Yoruba of West Africa, in the 15th century, which is contained across the present-day Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Lagos Island, Eti-Osa, Amuwo-Odofin, and Apapa. Before the 15th century, the Awori settled on a farmstead along the coastal line, in and around which they worked and lived. Farmstead translates to Ereko in Yoruba, from which comes the Lagos indigenous name Eko. The lands are separated by creeks, fringing the southwest mouth of Lagos Lagoon, while being protected from the Atlantic Ocean by barrier islands and long sand spits such as Bar Beach, which stretch up to 100 km (62 mi) east and west of the mouth. Due to rapid urbanisation, the city expanded to the west of the lagoon to include areas in the present-day Lagos Mainland, Ajeromi-Ifelodun, and Surulere. This led to the classification of Lagos into two main areas: the Island, which was the original city of Lagos, and the Mainland, which it has since expanded into. This city area was governed directly by the Federal Government through the Lagos City Council until the creation of Lagos State in 1967, which led to the splitting of Lagos city into the present-day seven Local Government Areas (LGAs), and the addition of other towns (which now make up 13 LGAs) from the then Western Region to form the state.