This article lists the largest human settlements in the world (by population) over time, as estimated by historians, from 7000 BC when the largest populated place in the world was a proto-city in the Ancient Near East with a population of about 1,000–2,000 people, to the year 2000 when the largest urban area was Tokyo with 26 million. Alexandria, Rome, or Baghdad may have been the first city to have 1,000,000 people, as early as 100 BC or as late as 925 AD. They were later surpassed by Constantinople, Chang'an, Kaifeng, Hangzhou, Jinling, Beijing,

Edo Edo ( ja, , , "bay-entrance" or "estuary"), also romanized as Jedo, Yedo or Yeddo, is the former name of Tokyo. Edo, formerly a ''jōkamachi'' (castle town) centered on Edo Castle located in Musashi Province, became the ''de facto'' capital of ...

, London (the first city to reach 2 million), and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

(the first to top 10 million), among others, before Tokyo took the crown in the mid-20th century. As of 2020, the Greater Tokyo Area is the most populous

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...

in the world, with more than 37.393 million residents. Many of the figures are uncertain, especially in ancient times. Estimating population sizes before censuses were conducted is a difficult task.

List of the most populous human settlements over time

The following table lists the most populous human settlements by estimated population at specified points in history according to three sources: Ian Morris, George Modelski and Tertius Chandler. City names are in bold where all three sources agree. It shows the evolution of the largest settlement from proto-city to

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

to urban area to

References

External links

Top Ten Cities Through History
animation showing the ten largest cities throughout history according to Chandler
Top 20 Most Populated Cities in The World 1500 to 2100 (History + Projection)
{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Largest Cities Throughout History Urban geography Historical geography Lists of cities by population Lists of cities (worldwide) by population Largest cities Demographic history Cities-related lists of superlatives History-related lists of superlatives Largest things

List of the most populous human settlements over time

See also

References

External links