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List of metropolitan areas in Europe

This is a list of metropolitan areas. For a list of urban areas, see List of urban areas in Europe. For a list of cities proper, see List of European cities by population within city limits. For a list of European cities by country, see List of cities in Europe.

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.

Istanbul is Turkey's largest city and Europe's most populous metropolitan area.
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.

Sources edit

List includes metropolitan areas according only to the 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. For European countries not covered by the three institutions, City Population is used as the population count source for the purpose of assessing the inclusion criteria.

Figures in the first column come from the OECD Territorial Reviews and correspond to "metropolitan regions". Figures in the second column come from City Population and correspond to "metropolitan areas". Figures in the third and fourth column come from Eurostat's Urban Audit and correspond to Larger Urban Zones (LUZ). Figures in the fifth 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).

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 edit

  Areas within the European Union
Metropolitan area name Country OECD
Metropolitan areas
(2020)[1] 		City Population
Urban Agglomeration
(2024)[2] 		Eurostat
Metropolitan region
(2019)[3] 		Eurostat
Metropolitan region
(2018)[3] 		ESPON
Functional Urban Area
(2006)[4]
Amsterdam metropolitan area   Netherlands 2,890,428 2,525,000 3,269,905 3,242,852 2,497,000[a]
Antwerp   Belgium 1,146,565 1,240,000 985,332 1,047,030 1,406,000[b]
Athens metropolitan area   Greece 3,526,887 3,575,000 3,561,750 3,576,590 3,761,000
Barcelona metropolitan area   Spain 5,105,991 4,850,000 5,575,204 5,514,881 4,082,000[c]
Belgrade   Serbia — 1,430,000 — — —
Berlin metropolitan area   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
Bordeaux   France 1,290,068 1,140,000 — — —
Greater Bristol   United Kingdom 969,256 <1,000,000 1,157,937 1,147,017 1,041,000
Brussels metropolitan area   Belgium 2,500,251 2,750,000 2,548,941 2,528,996 2,639,000[b]
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 2,500,000 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 1,770,000 2,045,259 2,030,718 2,350,000[5][6][d]
Donetsk   Ukraine — 1,410,000[e] — — —
Dnipro   Ukraine — 1,330,000[f] — — —
Dresden   Germany 1,343,747 — — — —
Dublin Metropolitan Area   Ireland 2,110,459 1,530,000 2,107,749 2,069,386 1,477,000
Frankfurt Rhine-Main   Germany 2,729,936 3,300,000 2,710,127 2,693,115 2,764,000[g]
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 1,700,000 1,861,315 1,854,866 1,395,000
The Hague   Netherlands 1,116,798 3,400,000[h] 1,103,368 1,093,212 1,404,000[a]
Hamburg Metropolitan Region   Germany 3,328,679 2,925,000 3,327,940 3,309,215 2,983,000
Hannover   Germany 1,316,006 1,150,000 — — —
Helsinki Metropolitan Area   Finland 1,526,778 1,530,000 1,671,024 1,655,624 1,285,000
Istanbul[i]   Turkey 13,719,061 15,900,000 — — —
Katowice metropolitan area   Poland 2,486,510 2,225,000 2,695,148 2,705,106 3,029,000[j]
Kazan metropolitan area   Russia — 1,590,000 — — —
Kharkiv   Ukraine — 1,600,000[f] — — —
Kyiv metropolitan area   Ukraine — 3,475,000[f] — — —
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 1,320,000 2,594,456 2,597,774 1,379,000[k]
Lisbon metropolitan area   Portugal 3,035,487 2,500,000 2,846,332 2,833,679 2,591,000
Łódź metropolitan area   Poland 903,719 <1,000,000 1,070,544 1,074,374 1,165,000
London metropolitan area   United Kingdom 12,451,423 14,900,000 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 6,650,000 6,641,649 6,549,520 5,263,000
Greater Manchester   United Kingdom 3,399,018 3,150,000 3,712,997 3,695,071 2,556,000
Mannheim-Ludwigshafen   Germany 1,191,766 1,590,000 — — —
Marseille   France 1,278,124[l] 1,700,000 3,100,329 3,100,110 1,530,000
Merseyside (Liverpool/Birkenhead)   United Kingdom 1,548,752 1,890,000 1,784,475 2,042,955 2,241,000
Milan metropolitan area   Italy 4,985,668 6,100,000 4,354,448 4,336,121 7,636,000[m]
Minsk metropolitan area   Belarus — 2,100,000 — — —
Moscow metropolitan area   Russia — 19,100,000 — — —
Munich   Germany 2,926,802 2,300,000 2,908,664 2,883,373 2,665,000[n]
Nantes   France 1,003,395 — — — —
Naples metropolitan area   Italy 3,349,233 4,050,000 3,084,890 3,101,002 3,714,000[7]
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[o] 1,380,000 331,297 329,448[p] 1,534,000
Northwest Metropolitan Region (Bremen)   Germany 1,274,429 1,000,000 1,277,609 1,274,611 1,077,000
Nuremberg Metropolitan Region   Germany 1,352,002 1,210,000 1,349,848 1,340,886 1,443,000
Odesa   Ukraine — 1,100,000[f] — — —
Greater Oslo   Norway 1,420,926 1,260,000 1,305,122 1,287,495 1,037,000
Paris metropolitan area   France 12,997,058 11,000,000 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[q]
Portsmouth-Southampton   United Kingdom 695,204[r] 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 metropolitan area   Czech Republic 2,267,817 1,470,000 2,677,964 2,647,308 1,669,000
Rhein-Nord[s] (Düsseldorf - Neuss)   Germany 1,557,269 See Rhein-Sud 1,555,985 1,552,097 3,073,000[t]
Rhein-Süd[s] (Cologne - Bonn)   Germany 2,004,984 5,000,000 2,003,046 1,994,524 3,070,000[t]
Riga metropolitan area   Latvia 927,924 <1,000,000 1,003,203 1,005,237 1,195,000
Rome metropolitan area   Italy 4,325,591 3,425,000 4,342,212 4,355,725 5,190,000
Rostov-on-Don   Russia — 1,400,000 — — —
Rotterdam   Netherlands 1,876,165 3,400,000[u] 1,846,933 1,835,354 1,904,000[a]
Ruhr[s]   Germany 5,115,617 5,650,000 5,111,530 5,113,487 5,376,000[t]
Saarbrücken - Forbach   Germany/
  France 		797,110 — — 802,664 1,102,000
Saint Petersburg metropolitan area   Russia — 6,500,000 — — —
Samara   Russia — 1,370,000 — — —
Saratov   Russia — 1,210,000 — — —
Seville   Spain 1,558,006 1,300,000 1,949,640 1,945,236 1,180,000[v]
Sofia   Bulgaria 1,551,056 1,240,000 1,678,041 1,679,413 1,174,000
Metropolitan Stockholm   Sweden 2,377,081 2,275,000 2,344,124 2,308,143 2,171,000
South Yorkshire (Sheffield)   United Kingdom 1,204,485 1,540,000 584,028 580,108 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 1,130,000 — — —
Turin metropolitan area   Italy 1,728,714 1,580,000 2,259,523 2,269,120 1,601,000[w]
Tyne and Wear (Newcastle-Sunderland)   United Kingdom 1,192,598 1,470,000 1,177,704 1,172,580 1,599,000
Ufa   Russia — 1,230,000 — — —
Valencia   Spain 1,768,205 2,075,000 2,540,588 2,531,187 1,398,000[x]
Vienna   Austria 3,004,660 2,350,000 2,853,903 2,838,558 2,584,000
Volgograd   Russia — 1,090,000 — — —
Warsaw metropolitan area   Poland 3,209,784 2,500,000 3,053,104 3,025,034 2,785,000
West Midlands conurbation (Birmingham)   United Kingdom 3,122,915 3,250,000 3,558,916 2,545,475 4,483,000
West Yorkshire Built-up Area (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 1,490,000 1,520,968 1,504,346 1,615,000

Polycentric metropolitan areas in the European Union edit

Rank Area State Population[8]
1 Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region   Germany 12,190,000
2 Randstad   Netherlands 8,219,380
3 Upper Silesian-Moravian 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 edit

Regional and country-specific lists edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b 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. ^ Probable overestimate
  6. ^ a b c d Doesn't consider the impact of the Russian invasion
  7. ^ 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).
  8. ^ Including Rotterdam
  9. ^ 65% of the population lives on the European part
  10. ^ Part of the polycentric Katowice-Ostrava metropolitan area 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).
  11. ^ Part of the wider Lille-Bassin Minier region with a total population of 3,115,000.
  12. ^ Does not include Aix-en-Provence, which OECD, unlike INSEE, considers as a separate metropolitan area, with a population of 352,097 in 2020.
  13. ^ Part of a wider polycentric urban region with a population of 8,311,000.
  14. ^ When combined with the Augsburg metropolitan area (606,000), the region has a total population of 3,271,000.
  15. ^ Does not include Derby, which OECD considers as a separate metropolitan area, with a population of 495,159 in 2020.
  16. ^ just Nottingham (Derby 257,101)
  17. ^ Part of a wider polycentric urban region with a population of 1,778,000.
  18. ^ Does not include Portsmouth, which OECD considers as a separate metropolitan area, with a population of 542,048 in 2020.
  19. ^ a b c Polycentric metropolitan area
  20. ^ a b c Part of the polycentric urban region of Rhein-Ruhr, which has a total population of 12,190,000.
  21. ^ Including The Hague
  22. ^ Total population is 1,262,000 if the metropolitan area of Utrera (82,000) is included.
  23. ^ Total population is 1,716,000 if the metropolitan of Pinerolo is included.
  24. ^ Total population is 1,499,000 if the metropolitan area of Sagunto is included.

References edit

  1. ^ "OECD Data Explorer - Population by age and sex - Cities and FUAs". OECD. Retrieved 19 December 2023.
  2. ^ "Major Agglomerations of The World". citypopulation.de. 1 January 2024. Retrieved 4 March 2024.
  3. ^ a b "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. ^ "Principal Agglomerations of the World". Citypopulation. January 2017.
  8. ^ 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

External links edit

  • Geopolis: research group, university of Paris-Diderot, France - Population of urban areas of 10,000 or more
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