Largest Capital Cities by Population
Beijing is the most populous national capital in our city dataset, with about 21,540,000 residents.
National capitals with available population data; 100 cities shown.
Top Cities Ranked by Population
| # | City | Country | Elevation | Population |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 🥇 | Beijing | China | 49 m | 21,540,000 |
| 🥈 | Dhaka | Bangladesh | 23 m | 21,000,000 |
| 🥉 | Cairo | Egypt | 23 m | 20,000,000 |
| 4 | Kinshasa | Democratic Republic of Congo | 281 m | 14,970,000 |
| 5 | Tokyo | Japan | 44 m | 13,960,000 |
| 6 | Moscow | Russia | 144 m | 12,500,000 |
| 7 | Jakarta | Indonesia | 16 m | 10,560,000 |
| 8 | Bangkok | Thailand | 12 m | 10,500,000 |
| 9 | Lima | Peru | 152 m | 9,750,000 |
| 10 | Seoul | South Korea | 38 m | 9,700,000 |
| 11 | Mexico City | Mexico | 2,240 m | 9,200,000 |
| 12 | Tehran | Iran | 1,178 m | 9,100,000 |
| 13 | London | United Kingdom | 25 m | 8,980,000 |
| 14 | Luanda | Angola | 73 m | 8,330,000 |
| 15 | Hanoi | Vietnam | 10 m | 8,000,000 |
| 16 | Bogota | Colombia | 2,582 m | 7,740,000 |
| 17 | Riyadh | Saudi Arabia | 612 m | 7,600,000 |
| 18 | Hong Kong | Hong Kong | 60 m | 7,500,000 |
| 19 | Hong Kong | Hong Kong | 60 m | 7,491,609 |
| 20 | Baghdad | Iraq | 41 m | 7,200,000 |
| 21 | Santiago | Chile | 556 m | 6,150,000 |
| 22 | Singapore | Singapore | 23 m | 5,680,000 |
| 23 | Singapore | Singapore | 23 m | 5,638,700 |
| 24 | Khartoum | Sudan | 381 m | 5,200,000 |
| 25 | Ankara | Türkiye | 850 m | 5,100,000 |
| 26 | Addis Ababa | Ethiopia | 2,405 m | 4,800,000 |
| 27 | Nairobi | Kenya | 1,684 m | 4,400,000 |
| 28 | Kabul | Afghanistan | 1,798 m | 4,273,000 |
| 29 | Amman | Jordan | 757 m | 4,000,000 |
| 30 | Yaounde | Cameroon | 726 m | 3,820,000 |
| 31 | Berlin | Germany | 74 m | 3,645,000 |
| 32 | Algiers | Algeria | 113 m | 3,415,000 |
| 33 | Madrid | Spain | 665 m | 3,300,000 |
| 34 | Brasilia | Brazil | 1,136 m | 3,055,000 |
| =35 | Santo Domingo | Dominican Republic | 24 m | 3,000,000 |
| =35 | Guatemala City | Guatemala | 1,508 m | 3,000,000 |
| =35 | Kuwait City | Kuwait | 16 m | 3,000,000 |
| =35 | Abuja | Nigeria | 476 m | 3,000,000 |
| =36 | Kyiv | Ukraine | 187 m | 2,900,000 |
| =36 | Caracas | Venezuela | 887 m | 2,900,000 |
| =36 | Sana'a | Yemen | 2,253 m | 2,900,000 |
| 37 | Buenos Aires | Argentina | 31 m | 2,891,000 |
| =38 | Rome | Italy | 20 m | 2,870,000 |
| =38 | Pyongyang | North Korea | 43 m | 2,870,000 |
| 39 | Taipei | Taiwan | 10 m | 2,600,000 |
| =40 | Accra | Ghana | 33 m | 2,500,000 |
| =40 | Bamako | Mali | 338 m | 2,500,000 |
| =40 | Tashkent | Uzbekistan | 424 m | 2,500,000 |
| =40 | Lusaka | Zambia | 1,277 m | 2,500,000 |
| 41 | Ouagadougou | Burkina Faso | 299 m | 2,450,000 |
| 42 | Doha | Qatar | 11 m | 2,380,000 |
| 43 | Brazzaville | Congo | 284 m | 2,300,000 |
| 44 | Baku | Azerbaijan | -23 m | 2,293,000 |
| 45 | Paris | France | 42 m | 2,140,000 |
| =46 | Phnom Penh | Cambodia | 20 m | 2,100,000 |
| =46 | Havana | Cuba | 41 m | 2,100,000 |
| =46 | Mogadishu | Somalia | 12 m | 2,100,000 |
| 47 | Minsk | Belarus | 222 m | 2,020,000 |
| 48 | Beirut | Lebanon | 40 m | 2,000,000 |
| 49 | Sanaa | Yemen | 2,253 m | 1,937,451 |
| 50 | Vienna | Austria | 171 m | 1,911,000 |
| 51 | Quito | Ecuador | 2,854 m | 1,900,000 |
| =52 | Kuala Lumpur | Malaysia | 56 m | 1,800,000 |
| =52 | Manila | Philippines | 13 m | 1,800,000 |
| =52 | Bucharest | Romania | 83 m | 1,800,000 |
| 53 | Warsaw | Poland | 113 m | 1,790,000 |
| 54 | Budapest | Hungary | 104 m | 1,750,000 |
| 55 | Damascus | Syria | 701 m | 1,700,000 |
| 56 | Kampala | Uganda | 1,223 m | 1,680,000 |
| =57 | Conakry | Guinea | 13 m | 1,600,000 |
| =57 | Harare | Zimbabwe | 1,494 m | 1,600,000 |
| 58 | Abu Dhabi | United Arab Emirates | 6 m | 1,480,000 |
| =59 | N'Djamena | Chad | 299 m | 1,400,000 |
| =59 | Ulaanbaatar | Mongolia | 1,284 m | 1,400,000 |
| =59 | Kathmandu | Nepal | 1,317 m | 1,400,000 |
| =59 | Muscat | Oman | 14 m | 1,400,000 |
| 60 | N'Djamena | Chad | 299 m | 1,359,526 |
| =61 | Prague | Czechia | 202 m | 1,300,000 |
| =61 | Antananarivo | Madagascar | 1,274 m | 1,300,000 |
| =61 | Niamey | Niger | 206 m | 1,300,000 |
| =61 | Montevideo | Uruguay | 34 m | 1,300,000 |
| 62 | Sofia | Bulgaria | 562 m | 1,240,000 |
| =63 | Brussels | Belgium | 28 m | 1,200,000 |
| =63 | Port-au-Prince | Haiti | 27 m | 1,200,000 |
| 64 | Belgrade | Serbia | 120 m | 1,160,000 |
| 65 | Tegucigalpa | Honduras | 944 m | 1,150,000 |
| 66 | Nur-Sultan | Kazakhstan | 358 m | 1,130,000 |
| =67 | Tbilisi | Georgia | 491 m | 1,100,000 |
| =67 | Tripoli | Libya | 15 m | 1,100,000 |
| =67 | Maputo | Mozambique | 70 m | 1,100,000 |
| =67 | Naypyidaw | Myanmar | 122 m | 1,100,000 |
| =67 | Islamabad | Pakistan | 579 m | 1,100,000 |
| =67 | Kigali | Rwanda | 1,542 m | 1,100,000 |
| =67 | Dakar | Senegal | 12 m | 1,100,000 |
| 68 | Yerevan | Armenia | 994 m | 1,080,000 |
| =69 | Managua | Nicaragua | 108 m | 1,050,000 |
| =69 | Freetown | Sierra Leone | 38 m | 1,050,000 |
| =70 | Bishkek | Kyrgyzstan | 767 m | 1,000,000 |
| =70 | Monrovia | Liberia | 32 m | 1,000,000 |
| =70 | Nouakchott | Mauritania | 10 m | 1,000,000 |
Methodology: Population, coordinates and elevation come from the Time.now geographic city index; population figures use city boundaries rather than metro areas.
Why Are These Capital Cities So Large?
Capital-city population comparisons depend strongly on administrative boundaries. These figures use the population attached to each capital city in our geographic dataset rather than a separately estimated metropolitan-area population.
Frequently Asked Questions: Largest Capital Cities by Population
Which capital city has the largest population?
By the city population figures used here, Beijing leads with about 21,540,000 residents.
Why do capital population rankings differ?
Sources may compare city proper, continuous urban area or the wider metropolitan region; those boundaries can produce very different totals.