The United Nations reports that Jakarta, capital of Indonesia, is the world's largest urban area. Almost 42 million people live there, according to its research, more than the 37m living in Dhaka, Bangladesh or the 33m in Tokyo, which was largest when the survey was last performed 25 years ago.

Asian cities fill all but one spot in the top 10, with New Delhi and Shanghai each having 30m residents, followed by Guangzhou (28m), Cairo (26m), Manila (25), Kolkata (23m) and Seoul (22m).

Dhaka is expected to become the world's largest city by 2050, while Tokyo's population is projected to decline over the next 25 years — reflecting Japan's shrinking ageing population.

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You can read the report here: World Urbanization Prospects 2025.

The largest cities in the western hemisphe

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