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.
City | Country | Official population | Date | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
Istanbul [a] | Turkey | 15,655,924 [b] | 31 Dec 2023 | [1] |
Moscow [c] | Russia | 13,149,803 | 1 Jan 2024 | [2] |
London [d] | United Kingdom | 8,866,180 | 30 Jun 2022 | [3] |
Saint Petersburg | Russia | 5,597,763 | 1 Jan 2024 | [2] |
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 | 2,344,900 | 1 Jan 2024 | [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 | 1,719,958 | 1 Jan 2024 | [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 | [2] |
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 | [2] |
Ufa | Russia | 1,163,304 | 1 Jan 2024 | [2] |
Samara | Russia | 1,158,952 | 1 Jan 2024 | [2] |
Birmingham | United Kingdom | 1,157,603 | 30 Jun 2022 | [3] |
Rostov-on-Don | Russia | 1,140,487 | 1 Jan 2024 | [2] |
Krasnodar | Russia | 1,138,654 | 1 Jan 2024 | [2] |
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 | [2] |
Perm | Russia | 1,026,908 | 1 Jan 2024 | [2] |
Volgograd | Russia | 1,018,898 | 1 Jan 2024 | [2] |
Odesa | Ukraine | 1,010,537 | 1 Jan 2022 | [6] |
As of the 2021 census, the population of Russia was 147.2 million. It is the most populous country in Europe, and the ninth-most populous country in the world, with a population density of 8.5 inhabitants per square kilometre. As of 2020, the overall life expectancy in Russia at birth was 71.54 years.
A metropolitan area or metro is a region consisting of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories which share industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metropolitan area usually comprises multiple principal cities, jurisdictions and municipalities: neighborhoods, townships, boroughs, cities, towns, exurbs, suburbs, counties, districts and even states and nations in areas like the eurodistricts. As social, economic and political institutions have changed, metropolitan areas have become key economic and political regions.
Udmurtia, officially the Udmurt Republic, is a republic of Russia located in Eastern Europe. It is administratively part of the Volga Federal District. Its capital is the city of Izhevsk.
An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. This is the core of a metropolitan statistical area in the United States, if it contains a population of more than 50,000.
The Kurdish population is estimated to be between 30 and 45 million. Most Kurdish people live in Kurdistan, which today is split between Iranian Kurdistan, Iraqi Kurdistan, Turkish Kurdistan, and Syrian Kurdistan.
Domodedovo is a city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located 37 kilometers (23 mi) south of the capital Moscow. The population estimated in different years are 152,404 (2021 Census); 96,145 (2010 Census); 54,080 (2002 Census); 55,294 (1989 Soviet census).. The increase of population is due to the merger of three neighboring inhabited localities into the town in 2004.
A metropolis is a large city or conurbation which is a significant economic, political, and cultural area for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections, commerce, and communications.
The demographics of Poland constitute all demographic features of the population of Poland including population density, ethnicity, education level, the health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations, and other aspects of the population.
Armenian populations exist throughout the world. Although Armenian diaspora communities have existed since ancient times, most of the Armenians living outside of Armenia today are either descendants of Armenian genocide survivors or more recent immigrants from post-Soviet Armenia. According to various estimates, the total number of ethnic Armenians in the world is approximately 11 million, a majority of whom live outside of Armenia.
Throughout most of its history, Istanbul has ranked among the largest cities in the world. By 500 CE, Constantinople had somewhere between 400,000 and 500,000 people, edging out its predecessor, Rome, for world's largest city. Constantinople jostled with other major historical cities, such as Baghdad, Chang'an, Kaifeng and Merv for the position of world's most populous city until the 12th century. It never returned to being the world's largest, but remained Europe's largest city from 1500 to 1750, when it was surpassed by London.
Accurate or reliable data for historical populations of Armenians is scarce, but scholars and institutions have proposed estimates for different periods.