A 'primate city' is a major city that works as the financial, political, and population center of a country and is not rivaled in any of these aspects by any other city in that country. Normally, a primate city must be at least twice as populous as the second largest city in the country. The presence of a primate city in a country usually indicates an imbalance in development — usually a progressive core, and a lagging periphery, on which the primate city depends for labor and other resources.
[1] Not all countries have primate cities (
Germany,
India, and the
People's Republic of China for example), but in those that do, the rest of the country depends on it for cultural, economic, political, and major transportation needs. Among the best known examples of primate cities are
alpha world cities London,
Paris, and
Tokyo. Other major primate cities include
Seoul,
Mexico City,
Vienna,
Cairo,
Buenos Aires,
Bangkok,
Tehran,
Baghdad, and
Athens.
Some examples of nations without a primate city would include
India, with the four main cities of
Delhi,
Mumbai,
Kolkata and
Chennai;
Brazil, whose capital and political centre,
Brasilia, is dwarfed in size and culture by both
São Paulo and
Rio de Janeiro;
Australia, whose largest city is
Sydney, but with a number of other large cities, including the political centre,
Canberra; and the
United States, whose financial and cultural centres are widely dispersed throughout the country in cities such as
New York City,
Chicago, and
Los Angeles and whose political centre is located in
Washington, D.C..
Germany's political center is
Berlin, though its financial center is
Frankfurt and cultural center split between
Berlin,
Munich,
Dresden and smaller cities. Additionally,
Mumbai,
São Paulo,
Sydney, and
Frankfurt have close competitors as their countries' largest cities (
Delhi,
Rio de Janeiro,
Melbourne, and
Munich respectively).
Some countries, such as the United States, Australia and
Canada, have regional and/or provincial/state primate cities, such as
Atlanta, Georgia,
Winnipeg, Manitoba, and
Perth in
Western Australia (and the other state capitals: in no mainland Australian state does any city begin to rival the capital).
List of primate cities
Africa
★
Accra,
Ghana
★
Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia
★
Antananarivo,
Madagascar
★
Bamako,
Mali
★
Bangui,
Central African Republic
★
Brazzaville,
Republic of the Congo
★
Cairo,
Egypt
★
Conakry,
Guinea
★
Cotonou,
Benin
★
Dakar,
Senegal
★
Gaborone,
Botswana
★
Harare,
Zimbabwe
★
Kigali,
Rwanda
★
Kinshasa,
Democratic Republic of Congo
★
Libreville,
Gabon
★
Lomé,
Togo
★
Luanda,
Angola
★
Lusaka,
Zambia
★
Malabo,
Equatorial Guinea
★
Maputo,
Mozambique
★
Monrovia,
Liberia
★
Nairobi,
Kenya
★
Niamey,
Niger
★
N'Djamena,
Chad
★
Nouakchott,
Mauritania
★
Ouagadougou,
Burkina Faso
★
Tunis,
Tunisia
★
Windhoek,
Namibia
Asia
★
Amman,
Jordan
★
Bangkok,
Thailand
★
Baku,
Azerbaijan
★
Bishkek,
Kyrgyzstan
★
Colombo,
Sri Lanka
★
Damascus,
Syria
★
Dhaka,
Bangladesh
★
Doha,
Qatar
★
Dushanbe,
Tajikistan
★
Jakarta,
Indonesia
★
Kabul,
Afghanistan
★
Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia
★
Kuwait City,
Kuwait
★
Manila,
Philippines
★
Muscat,
Oman
★
Phnom Penh,
Cambodia
★
Pyongyang,
North Korea
★
Seoul,
South Korea
★
Singapore
★
Taipei, Taiwan
★
Tashkent,
Uzbekistan
★
Tbilisi,
Georgia
★
Tehran,
Iran
★
Ulaanbaatar,
Mongolia
★
Yangon,
Burma
★
Yerevan,
Armenia
Central America
★
Guatemala City,
Guatemala
★
Havana,
Cuba
★
Managua,
Nicaragua
★
Panama City,
Panama
★
Port-au-Prince,
Haiti
★
San José,
Costa Rica
★
San Salvador,
El Salvador
★
Santo Domingo,
Dominican Republic
Europe
★
Athens,
Greece
★
Belgrade,
Serbia
★
Bratislava,
Slovakia
★
Brussels,
Belgium
★
Bucharest,
Romania
★
Budapest,
Hungary
★
Copenhagen,
Denmark
★
Dublin,
Ireland
★
Helsinki,
Finland
★
Kiev,
Ukraine
★
Lisbon,
Portugal
★
Ljubljana,
Slovenia
★
London,
United Kingdom
★
★
Belfast,
Northern Ireland
★
Luxemburg,
Luxemburg
★
Minsk,
Belarus
★
Moscow,
Russia
★
Oslo,
Norway
★
Paris,
France
★
Podgorica,
Montenegro
★
Prague,
Czech Republic
★
ReykjavÃk,
Iceland
★
Riga,
Latvia
★
Sarajevo,
Bosnia and Herzegovina
★
Skopje,
Macedonia
★
Sofia,
Bulgaria
★
Stockholm,
Sweden
★
Tallinn,
Estonia
★
Tirana,
Albania
★
Vienna,
Austria
★
Warsaw,
Poland
★
Zagreb,
Croatia
North America
★
Mexico City,
Mexico
Oceania
★
Port-Vila,
Vanuatu
★
Suva,
Fiji
★
Nukuʻalofa,
Tonga
★
Apia,
Samoa
South America
★
Asunción,
Paraguay
★
Bogotá,
Colombia
★
Buenos Aires,
Argentina
★
Caracas,
Venezuela
★
Lima,
Peru
★
Montevideo,
Uruguay
★
Santiago,
Chile
Countries without a primate city
★
Australia (see
Sydney,
Melbourne,
Brisbane,
Perth,
Adelaide and
Canberra)
★
Bolivia (see
La Paz,
Santa Cruz,
Sucre)
★
Brazil (see
São Paulo,
Rio de Janeiro and
BrasÃlia)
★
Canada (see
Toronto,
Montreal,
Ottawa,
Vancouver,
Edmonton, and
Calgary)
★
People's Republic of China (see
Beijing,
Shanghai,
Hong Kong and
Guangzhou)
★
Ecuador (see
Quito,
Guayaquil)
★
Germany (see
Berlin,
Hamburg,
Munich,
Frankfurt and
Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan area)
★
India (see
Delhi,
Mumbai,
Kolkata and
Chennai)
★
Israel (see
Tel Aviv and
Jerusalem)
★
Italy (see
Rome,
Milan and
Naples)
★
Kazakhstan (see
Almaty,
Astana and
Karaganda)
★
Liechtenstein (see
Vaduz and
Schaan)
★
Lithuania (see
Vilnius and
Kaunas)
★
Netherlands (see
Amsterdam,
Rotterdam and
The Hague)
★
New Zealand (see
Auckland and
Wellington)
★
Pakistan (see
Karachi,
Lahore and
Islamabad)
★
South Africa (see
Pretoria,
Cape Town,
Durban and
Johannesburg)
★
Spain (see
Madrid,
Barcelona)
★
Switzerland (see
Zurich,
Geneva and
Berne)
★
Turkey (see
Istanbul and
Ankara)
★
United States (see
New York,
Los Angeles,
Chicago,
Philadelphia,
Miami,
Dallas,
Boston,
Washington, D.C.,
Detroit,
Atlanta and
Houston)
★
Vietnam (see
Hanoi and
Ho Chi Minh City)
Primate cites in subnational entities
★ '
Australia'
★
★
Adelaide,
South Australia
★
★
Brisbane,
Queensland
★
★
Melbourne,
Victoria
★
★
Perth,
Western Australia
★
★
Sydney,
New South Wales
★ '
Canada'
★
★
Halifax,
Nova Scotia
★
★
Montréal,
Québec (not political capital)
★
★
St. John's,
Newfoundland and Labrador
★
★
Toronto,
Ontario
★
★
Vancouver,
British Columbia (not political capital)
★
★
Winnipeg,
Manitoba
★ '
China'
★
★
Guangzhou,
Guangdong
★ '
Germany'
★
★
Frankfurt,
Hesse
★
★
Hannover,
Lower Saxony
★
★
Munich,
Bavaria
★
★
Rhine-Ruhr conglomerate,
North Rhine-Westphalia
★
★
Saarbrücken,
Saarland
★ '
United States'
★
★
Albuquerque,
New Mexico (not political capital)
★
★
Atlanta,
Georgia
★
★
Anchorage,
Alaska (not political capital)
★
★
Baltimore,
Maryland (not political capital)
★
★
Boise,
Idaho
★
★
Boston,
Massachusetts
★
★
Chicago,
Illinois (not political capital)
★
★
Columbus,
Ohio
★
★
Denver,
Colorado
★
★
Detroit,
Michigan (not political capital)
★
★
Honolulu,
Hawaii
★
★
Indianapolis,
Indiana
★
★
Jackson,
Mississippi
★
★
Las Vegas,
Nevada (not political capital)
★
★
Little Rock,
Arkansas
★
★
Louisville,
Kentucky (not political capital)
★
★
Milwaukee,
Wisconsin (not political capital)
★
★
New York City,
New York (not political capital)
★
★
Omaha,
Nebraska (not political capital)
★
★
Phoenix,
Arizona
★
★
Portland,
Oregon (not political capital)
★
★
Providence,
Rhode Island
★
★
Salt Lake City,
Utah
★
★
San Juan,
Puerto Rico
★
★
Seattle,
Washington (not political capital)
★ '
India'
★
★
Mumbai,
Maharashtra
★
★
Delhi,
NCR
★
★
Calcutta,
West Bengal
★
★
Chennai,
Tamil Nadu
★
★
Bangalore,
Karnataka
★
★
Hyderabad,
Andhra Pradesh
Subnational entities without a primate city
★ '
Australia'
★
★
Tasmania (see
Hobart and
Launceston)
★ '
Brazil'
★
★
EspÃrito Santo (see
Vila Velha,
Serra,
Cariacica and
Vitória)
★
★
Santa Catarina (see
Joinville,
Blumenau and
Florianópolis)
★ '
Canada'
★
★
Alberta (see
Edmonton and
Calgary)
★
★
Saskatchewan (see
Saskatoon and
Regina)
★
★
New Brunswick (see
Saint John,
Fredericton, and
Moncton)
★
★
Prince Edward Island (see
Charlottetown and
Summerside)
★ '
Germany'
★
★
Nordrhein-Westfalen (state),
Cologne,
Düsseldorf,
Dortmund,
Bonn
★
★
Sachsen (state),
Dresden,
Leipzig
★ '
China'
★
★
Liaoning (see
Dalian and
Shenyang)
★
★
Shandong (see
Jinan and
Qingdao)
★ '
India'
★
★
Assam (see
Dispur and
Guwahati)
★
★
Gujarat (see
Ahmedabad,
Vadodara,
Surat and
Gandhinagar)
★
★
Kerala (see
Kochi and
Thiruvananthapuram)
★
★
Madhya Pradesh (see
Bhopal ,
Indore and
Gwalior)
★
★
Orissa (see
Cuttack and
Bhubaneshwar)
★
★
Punjab (see
Chandigarh,
Jalandhar and
Amritsar)
★
★
Uttar Pradesh (see
Lucknow ,
Allahabad and
Kanpur)
★ '
United Kingdom'
★
★
Scotland (see
Glasgow and
Edinburgh)
★ '
United States'
★
★
Alabama (see
Montgomery,
Birmingham and
Mobile)
★
★
Connecticut (see
Hartford,
Bridgeport, and
New Haven)
★
★
California (see
Los Angeles,
San Francisco Bay Area,
Sacramento and
San Diego)
★
★
Florida (see
Jacksonville,
Miami,
Orlando,
Tallahassee and
Tampa Bay)
★
★
Iowa (see
Des Moines,
Cedar Rapids, and
Davenport)
★
★
Louisiana (see
Baton Rouge,
New Orleans, and
Shreveport)
★
★
Missouri (see
Jefferson City,
Kansas City and
St. Louis)
★
★
Minnesota (see
Minneapolis and
Saint Paul)
★
★
New Jersey (see
Newark,
Jersey City and
Trenton)
★
★
North Carolina (see
Raleigh and
Charlotte)
★
★
Ohio (see
Columbus,
Cincinnati and
Cleveland)
★
★
Oklahoma (see
Oklahoma City and
Tulsa)
★
★
Pennsylvania (see
Philadelphia,
Pittsburgh and
Harrisburg)
★
★
South Carolina (see
Columbia,
Greenville and
Charleston)
★
★
Tennessee (see
Memphis and
Nashville)
★
★
Texas (see
Austin,
San Antonio,
Houston and
Dallas)
★
★
Vermont (see
Burlington,
Rutland, and
Montpelier)
★
★
Virginia (see
Virginia Beach,
Norfolk, and
Richmond)
★
★
West Virginia (see
Charleston and
Huntington)
★
★
Wyoming (see
Cheyenne,
Casper, and
Laramie)
See also
★
World city
Notes
1. Brunn, Stanley et al. Cities of the World. Boulder, CO: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc, 2003
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