In today's world, List of urban areas in the European Union is a topic that has captured the attention of millions of people around the globe. Its relevance and impact have become the object of discussion and analysis in different areas, from politics to popular culture. As List of urban areas in the European Union continues to be a hot topic, its influence and repercussions continue to be the subject of research and debate. In this article, we will explore different perspectives on List of urban areas in the European Union, from its origins to its impact today, with the aim of shedding light on this fascinating phenomenon.
This is a list of urban areas in the European Union with over 500,000 inhabitants as of 2022. The data comes from Demographia and the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Demographia provides figures for urban areas (including conurbations), while the UN DESA figures are a mix agglomerations, cities proper and metropolitan areas. For comparison, Function Urban Area (FUA) population figures by Eurostat are also provided, however, these measure the wider metropolitan areas.
Rank | Urban area | Image | State | Population (2023) (urban areas; Demographia) | ESPON Population (Functional Urban Area) | Population (UN) | FUA population (metropolitan areas; Eurostat) | Density (per km2; Demographia) |
Annual growth rate (%) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Paris | France | 11,108,000 | 12,998,583 | 10,901,000 (agglomeration) | 13,125,142 (2020) | 3,893 | 1.83 | |
2 | Madrid | Spain | 6,798,000 | 5,263,000 | 6,497,000 (city proper) | 6,982,656 (2022) | 4,980 | ||
3 | Ruhr | Germany | 6,769,000 | 5,376,000 | N/A | N/A | 2,523 | ||
4 | Milan | Italy | 5,471,000 | 7,636,000 | 3,132,000 (metro) | 4,934,205 (2022) | 2,459 | ||
5 | Barcelona | Spain | 5,317,000 | 4,082,000 | 5,494,000 (city proper) | 5,093,585 (2022) | 4,959 | ||
6 | Berlin | Germany | 4,286,000 | 4,016,000 | 3,552,000 (city proper) | 4,979,867 (2021) | 3,134 | ||
7 | Naples | Italy | 3,653,000 | 3,714,000 | 2,198,000 (metro) | 3,303,711 (2022) | 3,544 | ||
8 | Athens | Greece | 3,309,000 | 3,761,000 | 3,156,000 (agglomeration) | 3,828,434 (2011) | 5,678 | ||
9 | Rome | Italy | 3,239,000 | 5,190,000 | 4,210,956 (metro) | 4,291,581 (2022) | 2,829 | ||
10 | Rotterdam–The Hague | Netherlands | 3,027,000 | 1,904,000 | N/A | 3,035,679 (2022) | 2,981 | ||
11 | Lisbon | Portugal | 2,832,000 | 2,591,000 | 2,927,000 (metro) | 3,049,222 (2023) | 2,979 | ||
12 | Budapest | Hungary | 2,407,000 | 2,523,000 | 1,759,00 (city proper) | 3,001,643 (2022) | 2,414 | ||
13 | Brussels | Belgium | 2,238,000 | 2,639,000 | 2,050,000 (metro) | 3,350,969 (2022) | 2,572 | 0.02 | |
14 | Cologne–Bonn | Germany | 2,218,000 | 3,070,000 | N/A | 3,005,728 (2021) | 2,845 | ||
15 | Stockholm | Sweden | 2,200,000 | 2,171,000 | 1,583,000 (agglomeration) | 2,308,143 (2018) | 2,598 | 0.58 | |
16 | Hamburg | Germany | 2,189,000 | 2,983,000 | 1,793,000 (city proper) | 3,421,692 (2021) | 2,753 | ||
17 | Munich | Germany | 2,112,000 | 2,665,000 | 1,504,000 (city proper) | 3,016,834 (2021) | 4,384 | 0.72 | |
18 | Bucharest | Romania | 2,097,000 | 2,064,000 | 1,821,000 (city proper) | 2,412,530 (2015) | 5,092 | 0.10 | |
19 | Frankfurt | Germany | 2,055,000 | 2,764,000 | n/a | 2,678,557 (2021) | 3,112 | ||
20 | Vienna | Austria | 2,030,000 | 2,584,000 | 1,901,000 (city proper) | n/a | 6,029 | 1.04 | |
21 | Warsaw | Poland | 2,028,000 | 2,785,000 | 1,768,000 (city proper) | 3,374,742 (2022) | 3,711 | ||
22 | Katowice | Poland | 1,903,000 | 3,029,000 | N/A | 2,417,386 (2022) | 2,615 | ||
23 | Amsterdam | Netherlands | 1,736,000 | 2,497,000 | 1,132,000 (agglomeration) | 2,915,114 (2022) | 3,565 | ||
24 | Copenhagen | Denmark | 1,650,000 | 2,350,000 | 1,321,000 (metro) | n/a | 2,922 | ||
25 | Valencia | Spain | 1,547,000 | 1,398,000 | N/A | 1,775,845 (2022) | 3,930 | 0.29 | |
26 | Turin | Italy | 1,492,000 | 1,601,000 | 1,786,000 (metro) | 1,712,372 (2022) | 3,919 | −0.16 | |
27 | Lyon | France | 1,424,000 | 1,669,000 | 1,690,000 (agglomeration) | 2,280,845 (2019) | 3,089 | 0.50 | |
28 | Marseille | France | 1,406,000 | 1,530,000 | 1,599,000 (agglomeration) | 1,879,601 (2020) | 2,041 | 0.46 | |
29 | Stuttgart | Germany | 1,397,000 | 2,289,000 | N/A | 2,531,040 (2020) | 2,931 | ||
30 | Dublin | Ireland | 1,386,000 | 1,477,000 | 1,201,000 (agglomeration) | 1,793,902 (2011) | 3,006 | 1.14 | |
31 | Porto | Portugal | 1,364,000 | 1,245,000 | 1,307,000 (agglomeration) | 1,316,989 (2023) | 1,715 | ||
32 | Lille | France, Belgium | 1,315,000 | 1,379,000 | 1,054,000 (agglomeration) | 1,515,061 (2020) | 2,489 | 0.50 | |
33 | Prague | Czech Republic | 1,240,000 | 1,669,000 | 1,292,000 (city proper) | 2,216,746 (2022) | 4,023 | −0.07 | |
34 | Helsinki | Finland | 1,146,000 | 1,285,000 | 1,279,000 (agglomeration) | 1,551,959 (2022) | 2,223 | 0.81 | |
35 | Seville | Spain | 1,138,000 | 1,180,000 | N/A | 1,556,975 (2022) | 4,185 | ||
36 | Sofia | Bulgaria | 1,087,000 | 3,174,000 | 1,272,000 (agglomeration) | 1,531,867 (2022) | 5,246 | 0.78 | |
37 | Antwerp | Belgium | 1,070,000 | 1,406,000 | 1,032,000 (metro) | 1,157,068 (2022) | 1,608 | 0.05 | |
38 | Toulouse | France | 946,000 | 832,000 | N/A | 1,470,899 (2020) | 1,864 | 0.72 | |
39 | Utrecht | Netherlands | 907,000 | 692,000 | N/A | 895,000 (2022) | 2,894 | ||
40 | Gdańsk | Poland | 874,000 | 993,000 | N/A | 1,223,884 (2021) | 2,909 | ||
41 | Nice | France | 871,000 | 1,082,000 | N/A | 618,489 (2019) | 1,868 | 0.52 | |
42 | Thessaloniki | Greece | 844,000 | 1,052,000 | N/A | 973,997 (2011) | 3,910 | 0.39 | |
43 | Bordeaux | France | 827,000 | 918,000 | N/A | 1,376,375 (2020) | 1,104 | 0.60 | |
44 | Łódź | Poland | 798,000 | 1,165,000 | N/A | 893,083 (2021) | 2,751 | ||
45 | Bilbao | Spain | 782,000 | 947,000 | N/A | 1,041,059 (2022) | 5,297 | ||
46 | Florence | Italy | 764,000 | 645,000 | N/A | 784,279 (2022) | 3,352 | ||
47 | Palermo | Italy | 747,000 | 861,000 | N/A | 986,721 (2022) | 4,241 | 0.12 | |
48 | Kraków | Poland | 744,000 | 1,236,000 | N/A | 1,489,912 (2021) | 3,503 | ||
49 | Hanover | Germany | 742,000 | 997,000 | N/A | 1,289,320 (2021) | 2,558 | ||
50 | Nuremberg | Germany | 720,000 | 1,443,000 | N/A | 1,181,541 (2021) | 3,055 | ||
51 | Zaragoza | Spain | 707,000 | 639,000 | N/A | 770,370 (2022) | 4,789 | ||
52 | Dresden | Germany | 698,000 | 882,000 | N/A | 965,353 (2021) | 2,567 | ||
53 | Málaga | Spain | 692,000 | 944,000 | N/A | 887,146 (2022) | 5,138 | ||
54 | Zagreb | Croatia | 691,000 | 1,153,255 | N/A | 1,161,259 (2022) | 3,706 | ||
55 | Catania | Italy | 687,000 | 707,000 | N/A | 643,274 (2022) | 2,550 | ||
56 | Gothenburg | Sweden | 629,000 | 759,000 | N/A | 1,021,831 (2018) | 2,198 | ||
57 | Poznań | Poland | 680,000 | 919,000 | N/A | 1,051,414 (2021) | 2,004 | ||
58 | Bergamo | Italy | 660,000 | 662,000 | N/A | 310,020 (2022) | 2,022 | ||
59 | Mannheim | Germany | 658,000 | 683,000 | N/A | n/a | 2,920 | ||
60 | Leipzig | Germany | 636,000 | 842,000 | N/A | 956,290 (2021) | 2,506 | ||
61 | Wrocław | Poland | 635,000 | 861,000 | N/A | 963,311 (2021) | 2,636 | ||
62 | Las Palmas | Spain | 619,000 | 640,000 | N/A | 630,900 (2022) | 2,879 | ||
63 | Riga | Latvia | 603,000 | 1,195,000 | N/A | 917,351 (2022) | 2,217 | ||
64 | Bremen | Germany | 599,000 | 1,077,000 | N/A | 1,046,897 (2021) | 2,161 | ||
65 | Nantes | France | 578,000 | 708,000 | N/A | 1,022,775 (2020) | 2,277 | ||
66 | Aachen | Germany | 571,000 | 672,000 | N/A | 594,324 (2020) | 2,080 | ||
67 | Vilnius | Lithuania | 550,000 | 680,000 | N/A | 716,856 (2021) | 1,966 | ||
68 | Genoa | Italy | 546,000 | 694,000 | N/A | 681,459 (2022) | 7,027 | ||
69 | Palma | Spain | 522,000 | 433,000 | N/A | 709,091 (2020) | 3,359 | ||
70 | Santa Cruz | Spain | 510,000 | N/A | 520,728 (2021) | 4,688 |
Urban area | Image | State | ESPON Population (Functional Urban Area) | FUA population (metropolitan areas; Eurostat) |
---|---|---|---|---|
Aarhus | Denmark | 845,971 | ||
Oviedo–Gijón–Avilés | Spain | 844,000 | ||
Alicante–Elche–Elda | Spain | 793,000 | ||
Ostrava | Czech Republic | 709,768 | 713,812 (2017) | |
Bologna | Italy | 690,000 | 785,941 (2021) | |
Malmö | Sweden | 658,050 | 669,741 (2018) | |
Grenoble | France | 555,000 | 717,469 (2019) | |
Douai-Lens | France | 550,000 | ||
Toulon | France | 518,000 | 573,230 (2019) | |
Charleroi | Belgium | 489,264 | ||
Odense | Denmark | 485,672 | ||
Granada | Spain | 440,000 | 571,447 (2020) | |
Vigo | Spain | 413,000 | 547,151 (2020) | |
Montpellier | France | 801,595 (2019) | ||
Eindhoven | Netherlands | 771,263 (2021) | ||
Rennes | France | 755,668 (2019) | ||
Brno | Czech Republic | 727,759 (2017) | ||
Bari | Italy | 727,549 (2021) | ||
Heidelberg | Germany | 709,840 (2020) | ||
Rouen | France | 705,627 (2019) | ||
Augsburg | Germany | 684,705 (2020) | ||
Bratislava | Slovakia | 669,592 (2020) | ||
Kiel | Germany | 649,578 (2020) | ||
Murcia | Spain | 646,099 (2020) | ||
Catania | Italy | 640,088 (2021) | ||
Tallinn | Estonia | 609,515 (2021) | ||
Ghent | Belgium | 605,956 (2018) | ||
Venice | Italy | 552,414 (2021) | ||
Groningen | Netherlands | 543,707 (2021) | ||
Plovdiv | Bulgaria | 542,407 (2020) | ||
Padua | Italy | 535,922 (2021) | ||
Münster | Germany | 535,879 (2020) | ||
Erfurt | Germany | 524,565 (2020) | ||
Tours | France | 519,778 (2019) | ||
Verona | Italy | 517,271 (2021) | ||
Nancy | France | 510,306 (2019) | ||
Clermont-Ferrand | France | 507,479 (2019) |
Country | No. of cities |
---|---|
Germany | 19 |
France | 17 |
Spain | 15 |
Italy | 14 |
Poland | 7 |
Netherlands | 5 |
Belgium | 5 |
Czech Republic | 3 |
Portugal | 2 |
Sweden | 2 |
http://www.demographia.com/db-worldua.pdf