Moscow, the capital and largest city of Russia; is the largest metropolitan area in Europe.
Europe and some parts of Africa and Asia by night. Lights reveal the urbanized areas of Europe. It also shows Blue Banana megalopolis from north-west England to northern Italy, and Golden Banana urbanized area between Genoa and Valencia.

This list ranks metropolitan areas in Europe by their population according to three different sources; it includes metropolitan areas that have a population of over 1 million.

Sources

List includes metropolitan areas according only studies of ESPON, Eurostat, and OECD. For this reason some metropolitan areas, like the Italian Genoa Metropolitan Area (with a population over 1,510,000 as of 2012 according to "CityRailway" Official Report), are not included in this list, with data by other statistic survey institutes.

Figures in the first column come from the ESPON project, "Study on Urban Functions", which defines cities according to the concept of a functional urban area (core urban area defined morphologically on the basis of population density, plus the surrounding labour pool defined on the basis of commuting). Figures in the second column come from Eurostat's Urban Audit and correspond to Larger Urban Zones (LUZ). Figures in the fourth column come from the OECD Territorial Reviews and correspond to "metropolitan regions". Further information on how the areas are defined can be found in the source documents. These figures should be seen as an interpretation, not as conclusive fact.

Metropolitan areas

  Areas within the European Union
Metropolitan area name Country OECD
Metropolitan areas
(2020)[1]		 City Population
Urban Agglomeration
(2023)[2]		 Eurostat
Metropolitan region
(2019)[3]		 Eurostat
Metropolitan region
(2018)[3]		 ESPON
Functional Urban Area
(2006)[4]
Amsterdam metropolitan area  Netherlands 2,890,428 2,500,000 3,269,905 3,242,852 2,497,000[lower-alpha 1]
Antwerp  Belgium 1,146,565 1,230,000 985,332 1,047,030 1,406,000[lower-alpha 2]
Athens  Greece 3,526,887 3,550,000 3,561,750 3,576,590 3,761,000
Barcelona metropolitan area  Spain 5,105,991 4,950,000 5,575,204 5,514,881 4,082,000[lower-alpha 3]
Belgrade  Serbia — 1,440,000 — — —
Berlin  Germany 5,342,958 4,775,000 5,303,846 5,259,363 4,016,000
Bilbao  Spain 1,014,366 <1,000,000 1,137,191 1,134,848 947,000
Birmingham (West Midlands)  United Kingdom 2,926,915 3,225,000 3,558,916 2,545,475 4,483,000
Bordeaux  France 1,290,068 1,130,000 — —
Bremen  Germany 1,274,429 1,000,000 1,277,609 1,274,611 1,077,000
Bristol  United Kingdom 969,256 <1,000,000 1,157,937 1,147,017 1,041,000
Brussels  Belgium 2,500,251 2,750,000 2,548,941 2,528,996 2,639,000[lower-alpha 2]
Bucharest metropolitan area  Romania 2,219,341 2,200,000 2,315,173 2,301,255 2,064,000
Budapest metropolitan area  Hungary 3,012,001 2,650,000 3,031,160 3,011,598 2,523,000
Cardiff  United Kingdom 928,101 <1,000,000 1,140,165 1,135,795 1,097,000
Copenhagen metropolitan area  Denmark 1,945,157 1,760,000 2,045,259 2,030,718 2,350,000[5][6][lower-alpha 4]
Donetsk  Ukraine — 1,420,000 — — —
Dnipro  Ukraine — 1,340,000[lower-alpha 5] — — —
Dresden  Germany 1,343,747 — — — —
Dublin Metropolitan Area  Ireland 2,110,459 1,510,000 2,107,749 2,069,386 1,477,000
Frankfurt/Rhine-Main Region  Germany 2,729,936 3,275,000 2,710,127 2,693,115 2,764,000[lower-alpha 6]
Gdańsk (Tricity)  Poland 1,170,990 <1,000,000 — 1,317,517 993,000
Gothenburg  Sweden 1,051,345 <1,000,000 1,021,831 1,015,974 759,000
Greater Glasgow  United Kingdom 1,847,200 1,690,000 1,861,315 1,854,866 1,395,000
The Hague  Netherlands 1,116,798 3,375,000[lower-alpha 7] 1,103,368 1,093,212 1,404,000[lower-alpha 1]
Hamburg Metropolitan Region  Germany 3,328,679 2,900,000 3,327,940 3,309,215 2,983,000
Hannover  Germany 1,316,006 1,150,000 — — —
Helsinki Metropolitan Area  Finland 1,526,778 1,510,000 1,671,024 1,655,624 1,285,000
Istanbul[lower-alpha 8]  Turkey 13,719,061 16,100,000 — — —
Katowice metropolitan area  Poland 2,486,510 2,250,000 2,695,148 2,705,106 3,029,000[lower-alpha 9]
Kazan metropolitan area  Russia — 1,570,000 — — —
Kharkiv  Ukraine — 1,600,000[lower-alpha 10] — — —
Kryvyi Rih metropolitan area  Ukraine — — 1,170,953[7] — —
Kyiv metropolitan area  Ukraine — 3,475,000[lower-alpha 11] — — —
Kraków metropolitan area  Poland 1,423,235 <1,000,000 1,491,811 1,480,803 1,236,000
Leipzig  Germany 1,049,342 — — — —
Lille  France 1,505,093 1,310,000 2,594,456 2,597,774 1,379,000[lower-alpha 12]
Lisbon metropolitan area  Portugal 3,035,487 2,500,000 2,846,332 2,833,679 2,591,000
Liverpool/Birkenhead  United Kingdom 1,548,752 1,890,000 1,784,475 2,042,955 2,241,000
Łódź metropolitan area  Poland 903,719 <1,000,000 1,070,544 1,074,374 1,165,000
Wrocław metropolitan area  Poland 883,468 <1,000,000 638,659 636,050 861,000
London metropolitan area  United Kingdom 12,451,423 14,800,000 14,372,596 14,257,962 11,203,000
Lyon  France 2,129,101 2,025,000 1,865,534 1,867,275 1,669,000
Madrid metropolitan area  Spain 7,005,286 6,850,000 6,641,649 6,549,520 5,263,000
Greater Manchester  United Kingdom 3,399,018 3,125,000 3,712,997 3,695,071 2,556,000
Mannheim-Ludwigshafen  Germany 1,191,766 1,580,000 — — —
Marseille  France 1,278,124[lower-alpha 13] 1,690,000 3,100,329 3,100,110 1,530,000
Milan metropolitan area  Italy 4,985,668 6,100,000 4,354,448 4,336,121 7,636,000[lower-alpha 14]
Minsk  Belarus — 2,050,000 — — —
Moscow metropolitan area  Russia — 18,800,000 — — —
Munich  Germany 2,926,802 2,275,000 2,908,664 2,883,373 2,665,000[lower-alpha 15]
Nantes  France 1,003,395 — — — —
Naples metropolitan area  Italy 3,349,233 4,050,000 3,084,890 3,101,002 3,714,000[8]
Nice  France 1,020,879 <1,000,000 1,080,815 1,082,139 1,082,000
Nizhny Novgorod  Russia — 1,660,000 — — —
Nottingham-Derby  United Kingdom 935,049[lower-alpha 16] 1,370,000 331,297 329,448[lower-alpha 17] 1,534,000
Nuremberg Metropolitan Region  Germany 1,352,002 1,100,000 1,349,848 1,340,886 1,443,000
Odesa  Ukraine — 1,100,000[lower-alpha 18] — — —
Greater Oslo  Norway 1,420,926 1,230,000 1,305,122 1,287,495 1,037,000
Paris metropolitan area  France 12,997,058 11,400,000 12,244,807 12,183,893 11,175,000
Perm  Russia — 1,090,000 — — —
Porto Metropolitan Area  Portugal 1,785,248 1,550,000 1,722,374 1,719,702 1,245,000[lower-alpha 19]
Portsmouth-Southampton  United Kingdom 542,048[lower-alpha 20] 1,150,000 806,001 802,162 1,547,000
Poznań metropolitan area  Poland 993,656 <1,000,000 — 1,186,164 919,000
Prague  Czech Republic 2,267,817 1,460,000 2,677,964 2,647,308 1,669,000
Rhein-Nord[lower-alpha 21] (Düsseldorf - Neuss)  Germany 1,557,269 See Rhein-Sud 1,555,985 1,552,097 3,073,000[lower-alpha 22]
Rhein-Süd[lower-alpha 21] (Cologne - Bonn)  Germany 2,004,984 4,975,000 2,003,046 1,994,524 3,070,000[lower-alpha 22]
Riga  Latvia 927,924 <1,000,000 1,003,203 1,005,237 1,195,000
Rome metropolitan area  Italy 4,325,591 3,450,000 4,342,212 4,355,725 5,190,000
Rostov-on-Don  Russia — 1,400,000 — — —
Rotterdam  Netherlands 1,876,165 3,375,000[lower-alpha 23] 1,846,933 1,835,354 1,904,000[lower-alpha 1]
Ruhr[lower-alpha 21]  Germany 5,115,617 5,650,000 5,111,530 5,113,487 5,376,000[lower-alpha 22]
Saarbrücken - Forbach  Germany/
 France		 797,110 — — 802,664 1,102,000
Saint Petersburg metropolitan area  Russia — 6,400,000 — — —
Samara  Russia — 1,370,000 — — —
Saratov  Russia — 1,200,000 — — —
Seville  Spain 1,558,006 1,310,000 1,949,640 1,945,236 1,180,000[lower-alpha 24]
Sofia  Bulgaria 1,551,056 1,240,000 1,678,041 1,679,413 1,174,000
Metropolitan Stockholm  Sweden 2,377,081 2,250,000 2,344,124 2,308,143 2,171,000
South Yorkshire (Sheffield)  United Kingdom 1,204,485 1,530,000 584,028 580,108 1,869,000
Stuttgart Metropolitan Region  Germany 2,794,283 2,400,000 2,787,724 2,778,591 2,289,000
Thessaloniki metropolitan area  Greece 1,049,937 <1,000,000 1,104,690 1,105,663 1,052,000
Toulouse  France 1,445,789 1,120,000 — — —
Turin metropolitan area  Italy 1,728,714 1,590,000 2,259,523 2,269,120 1,601,000[lower-alpha 25]
Newcastle-Sunderland  United Kingdom 1,192,598 1,460,000 1,177,704 1,172,580 1,599,000
Ufa  Russia — 1,220,000 — — —
Valencia  Spain 1,768,205 1,900,000 2,540,588 2,531,187 1,398,000[lower-alpha 26]
Vienna  Austria 3,004,660 2,275,000 2,853,903 2,838,558 2,584,000
Volgograd  Russia — 1,090,000 — — —
Warsaw metropolitan area  Poland 3,209,784 2,475,000 3,053,104 3,025,034 2,785,000
West Yorkshire (Leeds - Bradford)  United Kingdom 2,655,815 2,225,000 1,750,276 1,741,298 2,302,000
Zagreb metropolitan area  Croatia 1,219,858 <1,000,000 1,240,433 1,240,310 —
Zürich metropolitan area   Switzerland 1,401,783 1,480,000 1,520,968 1,504,346 1,615,000

Polycentric metropolitan areas in the European Union

Rank Area State Population[9]
1 Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region  Germany 12,190,000
2 Randstad  Netherlands 8,219,380
3 Upper Silesian metropolitan area  Poland/  Czech Republic 5,294,000
4 Flemish Diamond  Belgium 5,103,000
5 Vienna-Bratislava metropolitan region  Austria/  Slovakia 4,600,000

See also

Regional and country-specific lists

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 Part of the Randstad polycentric urban region consisting of the metropolitan areas of Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague, and Utrecht (982,000). The total population of the region is 7,100,000.
  2. 1 2 The Flemish Diamond metropolitan region, which consists of the metropolitan areas of Brussels, Antwerp, Gent, and Leuven, has a total population of 5,103,000.
  3. ↑ Total population is 4,251,000 if the metropolitan area of Mataro (169,000) is included.
  4. ↑ Part of the wider Öresund region, which includes the Swedish metropolitan area of Malmö (961,000). The total regional population is 2,842,000.
  5. ↑ Doesn't consider the impact of the Russian invasion
  6. ↑ Part of the Rhein-Main metropolitan region with a total population of 4,149,000, which additionally includes the metropolitan areas of Darmstadt (501,000), Wiesbaden (453,000), and Mainz (431,000).
  7. ↑ Including Rotterdam
  8. ↑ 65% of the population lives on the European part
  9. ↑ Part of the polycentric Upper Silesian urban region with a total population of 5,294,000. The region additionally includes the metropolitan areas of Ostrava (1,046,000), Bielsko-Biala (584,000) and Rybnik (526,000).
  10. ↑ Doesn't consider the impact of the Russian invasion
  11. ↑ Doesn't consider the impact of the Russian invasion
  12. ↑ Part of the wider Lille-Bassin Minier region with a total population of 3,115,000.
  13. ↑ Does not include Aix-en-Provence, which OECD, unlike INSEE, considers as a separate metropolitan area, with a population of 352,097 in 2020.
  14. ↑ Part of a wider polycentric urban region with a population of 8,311,000.
  15. ↑ When combined with the Augsburg metropolitan area (606,000), the region has a total population of 3,271,000.
  16. ↑ Does not include Derby, which OECD considers as a separate metropolitan area, with a population of 495,159 in 2020.
  17. ↑ just Nottingham (Derby 257,101)
  18. ↑ Doesn't consider the impact of the Russian invasion
  19. ↑ Part of a wider polycentric urban region with a population of 1,778,000.
  20. ↑ Does not include Southampton, which OECD considers as a separate metropolitan area, with a population of 695,204 in 2020.
  21. 1 2 3 Polycentric metropolitan area
  22. 1 2 3 Part of the polycentric urban region of Rhein-Ruhr, which has a total population of 12,190,000.
  23. ↑ Including The Hague
  24. ↑ Total population is 1,262,000 if the metropolitan area of Utrera (82,000) is included.
  25. ↑ Total population is 1,716,000 if the metropolitan of Pinerolo is included.
  26. ↑ Total population is 1,499,000 if the metropolitan area of Sagunto is included.

References

  1. ↑ "OECD - Metropolitan areas - Population, all ages". OECD. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  2. ↑ "Major Agglomerations of The World". citypopulation.de. 1 January 2023. Retrieved 10 April 2023.
  3. 1 2 "Database". ec.europa.eu. Eurostat. Retrieved 20 Jun 2020. click General and regional statistics / Regional statistics by typology / Metropolitan regions / Demography statistics by metropolitan regions / Population on 1 January by broad age group, sex and metropolitan regions (met_pjanaggr3)
  4. ↑ "Study on Urban Functions (Project 1.4.3)]" (PDF). European Spatial Planning Observation Network. March 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015., Final Report, Chapter 3
  5. ↑ OECD: Territorial Review Copenhagen, 2009, p. 34, ISBN 9789264060029
  6. ↑ also obtainable through
  7. ↑ "Чисельність наявного населення України на 1 січня 2019" (PDF).(in Ukrainian)
  8. ↑ "Principal Agglomerations of the World". Citypopulation. January 2017.
  9. ↑ European Spatial Planning Observation Network, Study on Urban Functions (Project 1.4.3) Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine, Final Report, Chapter 3, (ESPON, 2007) page 241-243
  • Geopolis: research group, university of Paris-Diderot, France - Population of urban areas of 10,000 or more
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