Record #00283Human Society archive
World's Most Populous City
Under the harmonized city definition in the UN World Urbanization Prospects 2025, Jakarta, Indonesia, ranked first worldwide with an estimated 41.914 million residents on 1 July 2025.
ARCHIVE VISUAL / 01
NOT TO SCALE
Current Record
41.914 millionpeople
Current record value
- Holder
- Jakarta
- Location
- Jakarta, Indonesia
- Start date
- 2025-07-01
- Record status
- Verified · currentReport an issue
Overview
Archive NoteThe UN Population Division adopted a consistent geospatial city definition in its 2025 urbanization revision to improve international comparability. On this basis, Jakarta became the most populous city in 2025, ahead of Dhaka and Tokyo.
Annex table A4 estimates Jakarta's population at 25.592 million in 2000 and 41.914 million in 2025. Tokyo's comparable figures are 30.303 million and 33.413 million. Tokyo was ranked first in 2000 while Jakarta was second, illustrating a change in the leading city over time.
The geographic extent of the measured city differs from the administrative population of Jakarta Province. City, urban agglomeration and municipal boundaries may not align, so comparisons must retain the same UN revision and classification.
Record history
2 Milestones2025-07-01 record
41.914 million people
- Holder
- Jakarta
- Achievement date
- 2025-07-01
- Record holding period
- 2025-07-01 — Present
Entry notes
UN WUP 2025 table A4, 41,914 thousand. This refers to the harmonized geospatial city, not administrative Jakarta. Tokyo led in 2000 with 30.303 million; a historical Entry will require a subsequent record-change candidate after publication.
Evidence
2000-07-01 record
30.303 million people
- Holder
- Tokyo
- Achievement date
- 2000-07-01
- Record holding period
- 2000-07-01 — —
Entry notes
Estimated population on 1 July 2000. UN WUP 2025 Annex Table A4 reports Tokyo at 30,303 thousand, ranked first for 2000. This is a retrospective estimate under the 2025 geospatial city definition, not the date of a documented leadership change.
Evidence
Sources
Evidence & ReferencesThe record value on this page is organized from the public sources above. Measurement methods may differ; JiLuDB follows the unified method described for each entry.
Public feedbackFound a data issue?If a fact has changed, the data is incorrect, or you know a more authoritative source, submit feedback.Submit feedback
Help keep the archive accurate
If a fact has changed, a value is incorrect, or you know a more authoritative source, leave a note. Feedback enters an administrator review workflow and never edits a record directly.