City-proper counts, largest first. Shanghai leads at 24,256,800. China holds 24 of the 67. it gets crowded in Asia!
Top 10 by city-limits population. Bar length is share of Shanghai.
Count of cities over 3 million, city-proper. Bar length is share of China’s 24.
Exact city-proper figures. Year chips appear only when the source gave one. Delhi, Bengaluru and Chennai are still 2011 counts.
| # | City | Country | Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shanghai | China | 24,256,800 |
| 2 | Beijing | China | 21,516,000 |
| 3 | Karachi 2023 | Pakistan | 20,382,881 |
| 4 | Guangzhou 2020 | China | 18,676,605 |
| 5 | Mumbai 2024 | India | 17,673,000 |
| 6 | Shenzhen 2020 | China | 17,494,398 |
| 7 | Delhi 2011 | India | 16,787,941 |
| 8 | Istanbul | Turkey | 14,657,000 |
| 9 | Tokyo | Japan | 13,513,734 |
| 10 | Metro Manila | Philippines | 13,484,462 |
| 11 | Lahore 2023 | Pakistan | 13,004,135 |
| 12 | Suzhou | China | 10,650,501 |
| 13 | Bangkok | Thailand | 10,539,415 |
| 14 | Dhaka | Bangladesh | 10,295,786 |
| 15 | Jakarta | Indonesia | 10,075,310 |
| 16 | Seoul | South Korea | 10,010,784 |
| 17 | Ho Chi Minh City | Vietnam | 8,993,082 |
| 18 | Bengaluru 2011 | India | 8,443,675 |
| 19 | Dongguan | China | 8,220,207 |
| 20 | Chongqing | China | 8,189,800 |
| 21 | Nanjing | China | 8,187,828 |
| 22 | Tehran | Iran | 8,154,051 |
| 23 | Shenyang | China | 8,106,171 |
| 24 | Hanoi | Vietnam | 8,053,663 |
| 25 | Hong Kong | Hong Kong | 7,298,600 |
| 26 | Baghdad | Iraq | 7,180,889 |
| 27 | Changsha | China | 7,044,118 |
| 28 | Wuhan | China | 6,886,253 |
| 29 | Tianjin | China | 6,859,779 |
| 30 | Hyderabad | India | 6,809,970 |
| 31 | Faisalabad | Pakistan | 6,480,765 |
| 32 | Foshan | China | 6,151,622 |
| 33 | Zunyi | China | 6,127,009 |
| 34 | Chittagong | Bangladesh | 6,025,985 |
| 35 | Riyadh | Saudi Arabia | 5,676,621 |
| 36 | Ahmedabad | India | 5,570,585 |
| 37 | Singapore | Singapore | 5,535,000 |
| 38 | Shantou | China | 5,391,028 |
| 39 | Ankara | Turkey | 5,271,000 |
| 40 | Yangon | Myanmar | 5,214,000 |
| 41 | Chengdu | China | 4,741,929 |
| 42 | Chennai 2011 | India | 4,646,732 |
| 43 | Kolkata | India | 4,486,679 |
| 44 | Xi'an | China | 4,467,837 |
| 45 | Surat | India | 4,462,002 |
| 46 | Vadodara | India | 4,280,701 |
| 47 | Izmir | Turkey | 4,168,000 |
| 48 | Zhengzhou | China | 4,122,087 |
| 49 | New Taipei | Taiwan | 4,000,164 |
| 50 | Yokohama | Japan | 3,726,167 |
| 51 | Hangzhou | China | 3,560,391 |
| 52 | Xiamen | China | 3,531,347 |
| 53 | Quanzhou | China | 3,520,846 |
| 54 | Busan | South Korea | 3,510,833 |
| 55 | Rawalpindi | Pakistan | 3,510,000 |
| 56 | Jeddah | Saudi Arabia | 3,456,259 |
| 57 | Hyderabad | Pakistan | 3,429,471 |
| 58 | Kabul | Afghanistan | 3,414,100 |
| 59 | Hefei | China | 3,352,076 |
| 60 | Pyongyang | North Korea | 3,255,388 |
| 61 | Peshawar | Pakistan | 3,201,000 |
| 62 | Cebu | Philippines | 3,164,337 |
| 63 | Zhongshan | China | 3,121,275 |
| 64 | Pune | India | 3,115,431 |
| 65 | Jaipur | India | 3,073,350 |
| 66 | Wenzhou | China | 3,039,439 |
| 67 | Lucknow | India | 3,001,475 |
These are Wikipedia city-proper figures. Census years differ. Delhi, Bengaluru and Chennai are still 2011. Karachi and Lahore are 2023. Guangzhou and Shenzhen are 2020. Mumbai is 2024.
World Population Review’s 2026 urban cut is a different boundary. On that series Bengaluru, Chennai, Wuhan and Dongguan jump; Bangkok shrinks. Same names, not mixed in here.
Wikipedia, List of Asian cities by population within city limits — city-proper figures used for the ranking.
World Population Review, cities in Asia — 2026 urban snippets cited only as a boundary warning, not in the table.