Largest cities of the European Union by population within city limits

Encyclopedia : L : LA : LAR : Largest cities of the European Union by population within city limits

---

Life in the European Union
Citizenship Culture Demographics Economy Education Enlargement Foreign relations	Geography History Languages Military Politics Sport Statistics

This list includes the most up-to-date official census figures or census estimates with regards to the population of the largest cities in the European Union. It deals exclusively with the areas within city boundaries as opposed to urban areas or metropolitan areas.

In some cases, the list of Largest urban areas of the European Union gives figures that better reflect common understanding of the different cities' sizes as the metropolitan areas also include non-urban and suburban areas and administrative borders for cities often cut across the urban areas.

The European Union statistics agency Eurostat does not gather information with regards to the population of cities within the member states, it is rather the task of national statistical agencies that gather such information every 5 to 10 years and that often make official estimates on the population of the cities. In some case the regional, local and municipal authorities also gather such information. This list exclusively includes official information from national agencies as well as official information from local government authorities.

Top 100 administrative units

National capitals are in bold.

Rank	City and country	Population	Census year
1.	London, United Kingdom	7,428,600	2004 ([official], June 30)
2.	Berlin, Germany	3,396,990	2005 ([official], November 30)
3.	Madrid, Spain	3,155,359	2005 ([official], January 1)
4.	Rome, Italy	2,547,932	2005 ([official], November 30)
5.	Paris, France	2,144,700	2004 ([official], July 1)
6.	Hamburg, Germany	1,744,215	2005 ([official], November 30)
7.	Warsaw, Poland	1,697,596	2005 ([official], December 31)
8.	Budapest, Hungary	1,697,343	2005 ([official], January 1)
9.	Vienna, Austria	1,651,437	2006 ([official], January 1)
10.	Barcelona, Spain	1,612,237	2005 ([official], June 30)
11.	Milan, Italy	1,307,864	2005 ([official], November 30)
12.	Munich, Germany	1,305.522	2006 ([official], May 31)
13.	Prague, Czech Republic	1,181,610	2005 ([official], December 31)
14.	Birmingham, United Kingdom	992,400	2004 ([official], June 30)
15.	Naples, Italy	983,797	2005 ([official], November 30)
16.	Cologne, Germany	975.907	2005 ([official], June 30)
17.	Turin, Italy	900,142	2005 ([official], November 30)
18.	Marseille, France	808,700	2004 ([official], July 1)
19.	Valencia, Spain	796,549	2005 ([official], January 1)
20.	Stockholm, Sweden	774,411	2006 ([official], March 31)
21.	Łódź, Poland	767,628	2005 ([official], December 31)
22.	Kraków, Poland	756,629	2005 ([official], December 31)
23.	Athens, Greece	745,514	2001 (Census)
24.	Amsterdam, Netherlands	743,393	2005 ([official], December 31)
25.	Riga, Latvia	731,762	2005 ([official], January 1)
26.	Sevilla, Spain	704,154	2005 ([official], January 1)
27.	Palermo, Italy	671,593	2005 ([official], November 30)
28.	Frankfurt, Germany	660,289	2005 ([official], September 30)
29.	Zaragoza, Spain	647,373	2005 ([official], January 1)
30.	Wrocław, Poland	635,932	2005 ([official], December 31)
31.	Glasgow, United Kingdom	629,501	2001 (Census)
32.	Genoa, Italy	614,058	2005 ([official], November 30)
33.	Stuttgart, Germany	591,528	2006 ([official], April 30)
34.	Rotterdam, Netherlands	588,500	2005 ([official], December 31)
35.	Dortmund, Germany	587,830	2005 ([official], June 30)
36.	Essen, Germany	586,382	2005 ([official], June 30)
37.	Düsseldorf, Germany	577,416	2005 ([official], December 31)
38.	Poznań, Poland	567,882	2005 ([official], December 31)
39.	Helsinki, Finland	560,905	2005 ([official], December 31)
40.	Málaga, Spain	558,287	2005 ([official], January 1)
41.	Vilnius, Lithuania	553,528	2006 ([official], January 1)
42.	Bremen, Germany	547,193	2005 ([official], December 1)
43.	Lisbon, Portugal	529,485	2004 ([estimate])
44.	Sheffield, United Kingdom	516,100	2004 ([official], June 30)
45.	Hannover, Germany	515,772	2005 ([official], June 30)
46.	Duisburg, Germany	502,522	2005 ([official], June 30)
47.	Leipzig, Germany	502,300	2005 ([official], December 31)
48.	Copenhagen, Denmark	501,612	2005 ([official], December 31)
49.	Nuremberg, Germany	499,354	2006 ([official], March 31)
50.	Dublin, Ireland	495,781	2002 (Census)
51.	Dresden, Germany	495,300	2005 ([official], December 31)
52.	Gothenburg, Sweden	487,028	2006 ([official], March 31)
54.	The Hague, Netherlands	475,197	2005 ([official], December 31)
53.	Liverpool, United Kingdom	469,017	2001
55.	Edinburgh, United Kingdom	457,830	2005 (estimate)
56.	Gdańsk, Poland	457,404	2005 (estimate)
57.	Antwerp, Belgium	455,148	2004 (estimate)
58.	Lyon, France	445,452	1999 (census)
59.	Leeds, United Kingdom	443,247	2001 (census)
60.	Manchester, United Kingdom	437,000	2004 (estimate)
61.	Bratislava, Slovakia	428,672	2001
62.	Bristol, United Kingdom	420,556	2001 (census)
63.	Szczecin, Poland	413,638	2005 (estimate)
64.	Murcia, Spain	409,810	2005 ([official], January 1)
65.	Tallinn, Estonia	400,378	2000
66.	Toulouse, France	390,350	1999 (census)
67.	Bochum, Germany	387,283	2003 (estimate)
68.	Las Palmas, Spain	378,628	2005 ([official], January 1)
69.	Palma de Mallorca, Spain	375,773	2005 ([official], January 1)
70.	Kaunas, Lithuania	373,669	2003 (estimate)
71.	Bologna, Italy	373,539	2004 ([official], January 1)
72.	Brno, Czech Republic	369,559	2004 (estimate)
73.	Bydgoszcz, Poland	368,845	2005 (estimate)
74.	Florence, Italy	367,259	2004 ([official], January 1)
75.	Thessaloniki, Greece	363,987	2001
76.	Wuppertal, Germany	362,137	2003 (estimate)
77.	Lublin, Poland	357,167	2005 (estimate)
78.	Bilbao, Spain	353,173	2005 ([official], January 1)
79.	Nice, France	342,738	1999(census)
80.	Bari, Italy	328,458	2004 ([official], December 31)
81.	Bielefeld, Germany	328,452	2003 (estimate)
82.	Córdoba, Spain	321,164	2005 ([official], January 1)
83.	Valladolid, Spain	321,001	2005 ([official], January 1)
84.	Alicante, Spain	319,380	2005 ([official], January 1)
85.	Katowice, Poland	318,588	2005 (estimate)
86.	Cardiff, United Kingdom	315,100	2003 (estimate)
87.	Ostrava, Czech Republic	313,088	2003 (estimate)
88.	Bonn, Germany	312,295	2005 (estimate)
89.	Mannheim, Germany	307,721	2005 (estimate)
90.	Catania, Italy	305,671	2005 ([link], May 1)
91.	Coventry, United Kingdom	303,475	2001 (census)
92.	Kingston upon Hull, United Kingdom	301,416	2001 (census)
93.	Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal	300,868	2004 ([estimate])
94.	Arhus, Denmark	295,512	2006 (estimate)
95.	Białystok, Poland	294,072	2005 (estimate)
96.	Vigo, Spain	293,725	2005 ([official], January 1)
97.	Bradford, United Kingdom	293,717	2003 (estimate)
98.	Karlsruhe, Germany	283,959	2005 (local authority estimate)([link])
99.	Leicester, United Kingdom	280,000	2001 (local authority estimate) ([link])
100.	Belfast, United Kingdom	277,391	2001 (estimate)

Other notable cities

• Brussels – the capital city of Belgium is nowhere near the top 100 list, as the municipality has a total population of only 141,312 (Census estimate 2004). The greater Brussels-Capital Region has a population of almost 1 million, which would place it 14th on this list.
• Bordeaux, France – the city in Aquitaine is not on the list because most people in the Bordeaux Metropolitan Area live in the suburbs, outside of the city limits.
• Ljubljana – the Slovenian capital has a total population of 258,873 and its population is currently declining.
• Luxembourg - the capital city of Luxembourg has a total population of 77,325 (Census Estimate 2004).
• Nicosia – the capital of Cyprus has a population of 47,832 (Census 2001). It is the third largest municipality in Cyprus.
• Lille, France – the city in French Flanders is not on the list because most people in the Lille Metropolitan Area live in the suburbs, outside of the city limits.
• Nottingham, United Kingdom, 273,863 (2003 est.) – the famous English city lost over 20,000 of its inhabitants between 1991 and 2001, owing mostly to migration from the inner city to suburbs outside the city limits.
• Porto, Portugal - 263,131 (2001 est.) - the second city in Portugal. One of the biggest metropolitan areas on the European Atlantic coast. Plans of an union with Vila Nova de Gaia could mean the formation of a city with 400,000 inhabitants.
• Strasbourg, France – another important city in terms of the European Union is just short of the list, with a population of 264,115 as of 1999, but the 2004 estimate suggests that it is now closer with a population of 273,100. The area has a total population of around 450,000.
• Valletta, Malta – the capital city has a total population of only 7,199 (Census Estimate 2001). The largest city in Malta is Birkirkara, with a population just under 25,000.
• Venice, Italy – the famous Italian city was constantly losing population for over 20 years until 2003 when the influx of immigrant population gave Venice a net gain of 3417 citizens in comparison to 2002. The city may be back in the top 100 soon. Its current population is 271,663 (Census Estimate 2004-01-01).

Cities likely to enter the top 100 in the near future

• L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain - the EU's biggest suburb currently has a total population of 250,536 and growing. The Catalan city is likely to enter the top 100 within five years.
• Malmö, Sweden - with a total population of 272,634 ([official], March 31 2006) and a fast and steady growth the 3rd largest Swedish city is virtually assured to be on the top 100 list within one year.
• Nantes, France - this city is already 103rd on the list and given its healthy gains of population is likely to enter the top 100 in less than two years. Nantes's attractive business climate and low crime rate encourages a further growth of the city.
• Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain - this city in the Canary Islands had a net gain of population of over 7 000 people between 2001 and 2005 according to Spanish Census estimates. This gain is due to a large influx of population from other EU countries. As of 2005 the city had a total population of 221,567 and with such growth the city is likely to crack the top 100 within the next decade.
• Utrecht, the Netherlands. Utrecht has a population of 276,000 at this moment and is about to get a new area Leidsche Rijn, in which around 80,000 people can live.

Cities likely to lose their top 100 status in the future

• Bari and Catania, Italy - massive population losses for all Italian cities are especially large in the cities of southern part of Italy like these two.
• Belfast, United Kingdom - contrary to popular perceptions, Northern Ireland's migration rate has shown a net increase since 1995 - but this is countered by population movement from Belfast into the suburbs outside the city boundary. However, the planned reorganization of local government boundaries in Northern Ireland in 2009 should see the city limits extended and take the population back above 300,000, and back into the top 100.
• Wuppertal, Germany as other industrial cities in the Ruhr area has had a declining population for many years, and looking at the current demographic tendency it is all but certain that some of them will disappear from the top 100 list in the farer future as did another Ruhr area city Gelsenkirchen which was included in the top 100 until 2004.
• Katowice, Poland - this industrial city is losing its population quickly. In three years the city is unlikely to figure among the 100 largest EU cities.

Future member countries

Bulgaria and Romania are scheduled to become members of the European Union in 2007 or 2008. Other candidate countries include Croatia, Macedonia and Turkey. Potential candidates for EU membership are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Serbia. The cities that would currently make the top 100 from these countries are:

Bulgaria

• Sofia 1,208,930 (Census 2003 data)[link]
• Plovdiv 340,638
• Varna 314,539

Romania

• Bucharest 2,082,000
• Iaşi 321,580
• Cluj-Napoca 318,027
• Timişoara 317,651
• Constanţa 310,526
• Craiova 302,622
• Galaţi 298,584
• Braşov 283,901

Croatia

• Zagreb 973,667 (Census 2005 data)

Macedonia

• Skopje 506,926 (Census 2002 data)

Turkey

• Istanbul 8,803,469

(only Istanbul is geographically in Europe, other cities are part of Asia, although these will be in the EU if and when Turkey joins)

Albania

• Tirana 353,400 (Census 2003 data)

Bosnia and Herzegovina

• Sarajevo 429,677 (2004 estimate)

Serbia

• Belgrade 1,119,642 (Census 2002 data)
• Priština 564,800 (2000 estimate)

 

---

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.

Search Titles

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

S

T

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

?