China: cities by population
China has a population of 1,412,914,089 (UN estimate, 2026), with Beijing as its capital. The 50 largest of its 3,398 recorded towns and cities, ranked.
+11%
since 2000 (1,269,581,175)
-11%
projected by 2050 (1,260,289,093)
147
people per km²
Figures are the latest available in GeoNames (CC BY 4.0), which draws on national censuses of varying dates — treat them as recent, not same-year. Country totals are UN World Population Prospects 2024 (medium variant) where the UN lists the country separately; the handful it reports under a parent state keep a GeoNames figure and are marked as such. Sources & method.
Largest cities in China
| # | Place | Region | Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shanghai | Shanghai | 24,874,500 |
| 2 | Beijing | Beijing | 18,960,744 |
| 3 | Shenzhen | Guangdong | 17,494,398 |
| 4 | Guangzhou | Guangdong | 16,096,724 |
| 5 | Chengdu | Sichuan | 13,568,357 |
| 6 | Tianjin | Tianjin | 11,090,314 |
| 7 | Wuhan | Hubei | 10,392,693 |
| 8 | Dongguan | Guangdong | 9,644,871 |
| 9 | Xi’an | Shaanxi | 9,600,000 |
| 10 | Nanjing | Jiangsu | 9,314,685 |
| 11 | Hangzhou | Zhejiang | 9,236,032 |
| 12 | Foshan | Guangdong | 9,042,509 |
| 13 | Chongqing | Chongqing | 7,457,599 |
| 14 | Wuzhong | Ningxia | 7,202,654 |
| 15 | Qingdao | Shandong | 7,172,451 |
| 16 | Shenyang | Liaoning | 7,050,000 |
| 17 | Suzhou | Jiangsu | 6,715,559 |
| 18 | Harbin | Heilongjiang | 5,242,897 |
| 19 | Hefei | Anhui | 5,050,000 |
| 20 | Dalian | Liaoning | 4,913,879 |
| 21 | Changchun | Jilin | 4,714,996 |
| 22 | Xiamen | Fujian | 4,617,251 |
| 23 | Wuxi | Jiangsu | 4,396,835 |
| 24 | Jinan | Shandong | 4,335,989 |
| 25 | Taiyuan | Shanxi | 4,303,673 |
| 26 | Zhengzhou | Henan | 4,253,913 |
| 27 | Shijiazhuang | Hebei | 3,938,513 |
| 28 | Kunming | Yunnan | 3,855,346 |
| 29 | Zhongshan | Guangdong | 3,841,873 |
| 30 | Nanning | Guangxi | 3,839,800 |
| 31 | Shantou | Guangdong | 3,838,900 |
| 32 | Fuzhou | Fujian | 3,740,000 |
| 33 | Ningbo | Zhejiang | 3,731,203 |
| 34 | Puyang | Zhejiang | 3,590,000 |
| 35 | Shiyan | Hubei | 3,460,000 |
| 36 | Tangshan | Hebei | 3,372,102 |
| 37 | Lüliang | Shanxi | 3,346,500 |
| 38 | Changzhou | Jiangsu | 3,290,918 |
| 39 | Zibo | Shandong | 3,129,228 |
| 40 | Changsha | Hunan | 3,093,980 |
| 41 | Guiyang | Guizhou | 3,037,159 |
| 42 | Ürümqi | Xinjiang | 3,029,372 |
| 43 | Lanzhou | Gansu | 3,000,000 |
| 44 | Huizhou | Guangdong | 2,900,113 |
| 45 | Haikou | Hainan | 2,873,358 |
| 46 | Linyi | Shandong | 2,743,843 |
| 47 | Baoding | Hebei | 2,739,887 |
Twenty years earlier: China in the 2005 World Gazetteer — population then 1,303,458,527.
Common questions
What is the population of China?
China has a population of 1,412,914,089, the UN World Population Prospects estimate for 2026. The UN's medium-variant projection for 2050 is 1,260,289,093 — a forecast, not a measurement.
What is the capital of China?
Beijing. The largest place we record there is Shanghai, with 24,874,500 people.