LARGEST CITIES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION BY POPULATION WITHIN CITY LIMITS


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 inner city administrative boundaries as opposed to urban areas or metropolitan 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.

Contents
100 most populous cities within administrative city limits
Notable cities
Candidate Countries
Croatia
Republic of Macedonia
Turkey
Officially recognized potential candidate countries
Albania
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Serbia

100 most populous cities within administrative city limits























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This list also includes 19 of the 55 global cities. Four of them are "alpha" global cities (London, Paris, Frankfurt and Milan), two of them are "beta" global cities (Brussels and Madrid), and thirteen are "gamma" global cities (Amsterdam, Düsseldorf, Prague, Rome, Stockholm, Warsaw, Barcelona, Berlin, Budapest, Copenhagen, Glasgow, Hamburg and Munich). It should be noted that "global cities" really are metro areas, while the figures expressed below are for populations within city limits.
Note: 'Cities in bold' are capital cities of their administrative countries.
Rank City and country Population Date of census/estimate
1. 'London', United Kingdom 7,512,400 July 1 2006 (official)
2. 'Berlin', Germany 3,402,312 January 1 2007 (official)
3. 'Madrid', Spain 3,187,062 January 1 2007 (official)
4. 'Rome', Italy 2,705,603 December 31 2006 (official)
5. 'Paris', France 2,153,600 January 1 2005 (official)
6. 'Bucharest', Romania 1,940,500 January 1 2007 (official)
7. Hamburg, Germany 1,757,030 March 31 2007 ( official)
8. 'Warsaw', Poland 1,703,198 March 31 2007 (official)
9. 'Budapest', Hungary 1,696,128 January 1 2007 (official)
10. 'Vienna', Austria 1,670,347 July 1 2007 (official)
11. Barcelona, Spain 1,605,602 January 1 2006 (official)
12. Munich, Germany 1,336,983 May 31 2007 (official)
13. Milan, Italy 1,305,808 March 31 2006 (official)
14. 'Sofia', Bulgaria 1,270,010 December 31 2006 (official)
15. 'Prague', Czech Republic 1,194,010 July 62007 (official)
16. Birmingham, United Kingdom 1,006,500 July 1 2006 (official)
17. Cologne, Germany 986,168 June 30 2006 (official)
18. Naples, Italy 981,353 March 31 2006 (official)
19. Turin, Italy 898,979 March 31 2006 (official)
20. Marseille, France 820,900 January 1 2005 (official)
21. Valencia, Spain 805,304 January 1 2006 (official)
22. 'Stockholm', Sweden 788,269 June 30 2007 (official)
23. Łódź, Poland 767,628 December 31 2005 (official)
24. Kraków, Poland 756,629 December 31 2005 (official)
25. Leeds, United Kingdom 750,200 July 1 2006 (official)
26. 'Athens', Greece 745,514 March 18 2001 (official)
27.'Amsterdam', Netherlands 743,393 December 31 2005 (official)
28. 'Riga', Latvia 727,578 January 1 2006 (official)
29. Sevilla, Spain 704,414 January 1 2006 (official)
30. Palermo, Italy 668,843 March 31 2006 (official)
31. Frankfurt, Germany 659,928 September 30 2006 (official)
32. Zaragoza, Spain 649,181 January 1 2006 (official)
33. Wrocław, Poland 635,932 December 31 2005 (official)
34. Genoa, Italy 618,438 March 31 2006 (official)
35. Stuttgart, Germany 591,528 April 30 2006 (official)
36. Rotterdam, Netherlands 588,718 December 31 2005 (official)
37. Dortmund, Germany 587,717 January 1 2006 (official)
38. Essen, Germany 583,892 June 30 2006 (official)
39. Glasgow, United Kingdom 580,700 July 1 2006 (official)
40. Düsseldorf, Germany 575,727 June 30 2006 (official)
41. Poznań, Poland 567,882 December 31 2005 (official)
42. 'Helsinki', Finland 564 521 December 31 2006 (official)
43. Málaga, Spain 560,631 January 1 2006 (official)
44. 'Vilnius', Lithuania 553,553 January 1 2006 (official)
45. Bremen, Germany 546,852 December 31 2005 (official)
46. 'Lisbon', Portugal 529,485 2004 (official)
47. Sheffield, United Kingdom 525,800 July 1 2006 (official)
48. Hannover, Germany 515,559 June 30 2006 (official)
49. 'Dublin', Ireland 505,739 April 23 2006 (official)
50. Leipzig, Germany 505,069 June 30 2006 (official)
51. 'Copenhagen', Denmark 503,699 January 1 2007 (official)
52. Nuremberg, Germany 500,967 February 28 2007 (official)
53. Duisburg, Germany 500,142 June 30 2006 (official)
54. Dresden, Germany 500,068 June 30 2006 (official)
55. Bradford, United Kingdom 493,100 July 1 2006 (official)
56. Gothenburg, Sweden 490,961 June 30 2007 (official)
57. The Hague, Netherlands 475,197 December 31 2005 (official)
58. Lyon, France 466,400 January 1 2005 (official)
59. Edinburgh, United Kingdom 463,500 July 1 2006 (official)
60. Antwerp, Belgium 461,496 January 1 2006 (official)
61. Gdańsk, Poland 458,053 December 31 2005 (official)
62. Manchester, United Kingdom 452,000 July 1 2006 (official)
63. Liverpool, United Kingdom 436,100 July 1 2006 (official)
64. Toulouse, France 435,000 January 1 2005 (official)
65. 'Bratislava', Slovakia 425,459 December 31 2005 (official)
66. Murcia, Spain 416,996 January 1 2006 (official)
67. Szczecin, Poland 411,119 December 31 2005 (official)
68. Bristol, United Kingdom 410,500 July 1 2006 (official)
69. 'Tallinn', Estonia 396,193 January 1 2006 (official)
70. Bochum, Germany 384,492 June 30 2006 (official)
71. Las Palmas, Spain 377,056 January 1 2006 (official)
72. Palma de Mallorca, Spain 375,048 January 1 2006 (official)
73. Bologna, Italy 374,142 March 31 2006 (official)
74. Florence, Italy 367,268 March 31 2006 (official)
75. Brno, Czech Republic 366,680 December 31 2006 (official)
76. Bydgoszcz, Poland 366,074 December 31 2005 (official)
77. Thessaloniki, Greece 363,987 March 18 2001 (official)
78. Kaunas, Lithuania 360,637 January 1 2006 (official)
79. Wuppertal, Germany 358,746 June 30 2006 (official)
80. Lublin, Poland 354,967 December 31 2005 (official)
81. Bilbao, Spain 354,145 January 1 2005 (official)
82. Nice, France 347,900 January 1 2005 (official)
83. Plovdiv, Bulgaria 343,662 December 312006 (official)
84. Bari, Italy 326,333 March 31 2006 (official)
85. Bielefeld, Germany 326,268 June 30 2006 (official)
86. Córdoba, Spain 322,867 January 1 2006 (official)
87. Alicante, Spain 322,431 January 1 2006 (official)
88. Wakefield, United Kingdom 321,200 July 1 2006 (official)
89. Valladolid, Spain 319,943 January 1 2006 (official)
90. Cardiff, United Kingdom 317,500 July 1 2006 (official)
91. Katowice, Poland 317,220 December 31 2005 (official)
92. Bonn, Germany 312,996 June 30 2006 (official)
93. Varna, Bulgaria 311,465 December 31 2006 (official)
94. Cluj-Napoca, Romania 311,400 January 1 2007 (official)
95. Ostrava, Czech Republic 309,098 December 31 2006 (official)
96. Timişoara, Romania 308,100 January 1 2007 (official)
97. Mannheim, Germany 307,772 June 30 2006 (official)
98. Coventry, United Kingdom 306,600 July 1 2006 (official)
99. Constanţa, Romania 304,900 January 1 2007 (official)
100. Iaşi, Romania 304,000 January 1 2007 (official)

Notable cities



★ Since this table covers only the European Union, large European cities in non-member countries are omitted, such as, for instance, Moscow, Oslo and Zürich.

★ 'Brussels' – the capital city of Belgium and unofficially referred to as the capital of the European Union is nowhere near the top 100 list, as the small municipality has a total population of only 141,312 (Census estimate 2004). The greater Brussels-Capital Region has a population of over 1 million.

★ 'Copenhagen', the capital of Denmark has a relatively small municipality compared to other European cities and even the inner city area of Frederiksberg (92,235 inhabitans) is not included in the list above. The greater city of Copenhagen has 1,084,885 inh. and the metropolitan area app. 1,8 million.

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. Population within the city proper: 230,600 (January 1, 2005).

★ '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).

Nantes, France – the city in Brittany is not on the list because most people in the Nantes Metropolitan Area live in the suburbs, outside of the city limits. Population within the city proper: 281,800 (January 1, 2005).

★ 'Nicosia' – the capital of Cyprus has a population of 355,000 (Total 2004). It is the 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. Population within the city proper: 225,100 (January 1, 2005).

Nottingham, United Kingdom, 286,400 (mid-2006 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 which are tightly drawn.

Belfast, United Kingdom, 267,400 (mid-2006 est.) - the capital of Northern Ireland

★ 'Paris' - the capital of France has approximately 12 million inhabitants in the metropolitan area but only about 15% of that number in the city area.

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 over 500,000 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 January 1, 2005 estimate suggests that it is now closer with a population of 272,700.

★ '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 7000 citizens in comparison to 2002. The city may be back in the top 100 soon. Its current population is 980,663. There are efforts to bring the population to 1,000,000 in the next couple of years by adding on to the city and making a large urban neighborhood on the north side of the city. This area will become a major tourist and business site. It is also going to add a new look to the city and there will be large baricades to hold out the high tides that often occur. There are also plans for a renovation of St. Marks square. The cathedral will be given a new look as it is repainted; the columns will also be replaced. There will be a new hedquarters for Ferrari in Venice and it is projected to be the largest office building at 60 stories high. There will also be a U.S. embassy put in the new area with the expectation of improved U.S. and Italian connections.

Cork, Ireland - the second city of the republic of Ireland with a population of 119,143(2006). The Cork City limits are very restrictive.The Greater Cork area is currently 370,000 and predicted to grow to 450,000 by 2020.

Almere, Netherlands - did not have a population until 1976, has a pop. of 176,000 in 2006 and is forecast to have a pop. of 214,000 by 2010.

Košice, Slovakia - the second largest city in Slovakia with population of 234,871 (2005 census) and with city of Prešov it is a part of second biggest Slovak metropolitan area with total population of some 350,000.

Debrecen, Hungary - the second largest city in Hungary has 204,297 inhabitants according to the 2005 census.

Candidate Countries


Croatia


★ 'Zagreb' 779,724 Census 2001

Split 188 694
Republic of Macedonia


★ 'Skopje' 506,926 Census 2002

Bitola Metro Area 122,173

Kumanovo 105,484
Turkey


Istanbul 8,803,468

★ 'Ankara' 3,203,362

İzmir 2,232,265

Bursa 1,194,687

Adana 1,130,710

Gaziantep 853,513

Konya 742,690

Antalya 603,190

Diyarbakır 545,983

Mersin 537,842

Kayseri 536,392

Eskişehir 482,793

Şanlıurfa 385,588

Malatya 381,081

Samsun 363,180

Erzurum 361,235

Kahramanmaraş 326,198

Van 284,464

Adapazarı 283,752

Denizli 275,48
(only Istanbul is (partially) geographically in Europe, other cities are part of Asia. Nevertheless, Istanbul would displace London as the largest city in the EU if Turkey were admitted.)

Officially recognized potential candidate countries


Albania


★ 'Tirana' 585,756 2005 estimate
Bosnia and Herzegovina


★ 'Sarajevo' 414,246 2006 estimate
Serbia


★ 'Belgrade' 1,576,124 (Census 2002 data)

Priština 564,800 (2000 estimate)

Novi Sad Metro Area 301,405 (Census 2002 data)

Nis Metro Area 300,545 (Local Census 2006)

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