Is London bigger than New York - the 34 cities in the world that are even bigger than London
All Londoners know that London is pretty huge for a capital city, especially in Europe. It's home to almost nine times the number of people as the UK's second largest city, Birmingham in the West Midlands. But how does it compare to the rest of the world's iconic cities?
Alongside London, New York is one of the most visited cities in the world. Whether its to re-enact your favourite Friends scene, visit the Statue of Liberty or simply ride in one of those yellow cabs, New York is a dream trip on many of our bucket lists.
But for all its fame, is it really bigger than London? And what are the other 34 cities beating London on population figures? From the number of people to the number of sports teams, we at MyLondon have all the answers you never knew you needed.
So: Is London bigger than New York?
Let's come straight to the crux of the issue. In terms of population, London is the winner - with a 2022 population of 9,540,576 to New York's 8,177,020. Surprised? That might be because New York's boundaries are blurry.
And it's not helped by the existence of the New York Metropolitan area, or Tri-State area. This is the largest metropolitan area in the world in terms of land mass, but although it contains New York City it also encompasses areas such as Long Island, cities in Connecticut and New Jersey, and the mid and lower Hudson Valley.
Current estimates for the Tri-State area suggest a population of around 18,867,000 - but New York remains the largest city in the US. Now population figures are extremely tricky to get right - but there's a clear gulf between the UK in 35th place and New York in 45th place.
What about geographically?
It's easy to assume London will be geographically bigger than New York - it has more people, so it must be bigger, right? But you may not realise London is more than double the size of New York City.
New York is 783.8 square kilometres - but London is 1,572! So while there are approximately 6,070 people living per square kilometre in London, there are 10,430 in the Big Apple. It sounds much more cramped, but don't get too down about it - New York has far more skyscrapers and tall residential buildings than in London.
The big showdown
Now all the long numbers are out the way, let's take a look at other vitally important comparisons. Firstly: sport. London boasts 13 professional football clubs in the UK's top tiers: six in the Premier League and seven in the English Football League. If we take the US equivalent, the NFL, New York City is home to two teams - but they actually play their games in New Jersey.
And if you need public transport home from the big game, both cities have you covered. New York's metro system has a whopping 472 stations, although this includes so-called "transit" stations which are large complexes counted as multiple different stations. The London Underground would have some catching up to do on this front - it has 272 stations. So New York wins this round - but with fewer stops, maybe our journey times are faster and therefore better?
On the transport theme, if you're looking to fly between the Big Apple and the Big Smoke, there are three airports to choose from in the US - John F. Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark. London also has three - Heathrow, Gatwick and City. We can also claim Stansted and Luton if we want to push it, but the two cities are pretty well matched flying-wise.
In terms of getting around, there are just five boroughs you need to remember the names of in New York: The Bronx, Brooklyn, Manhattan, Queens, and Staten Island. Rather different to London's 32, which are definitely more confusing for visitors. But we still have the monarchy to pick up our points among visitors!
So what cities are bigger than London?
So the results are in, and it's pretty clear that London is bigger than New York. So definitely the place to come if you want to get your money's worth (sorry New York, but facts are facts!). We may be slightly biased but there's only really one conclusion any right-minded person could come to. London is simply awesome.
But it is only the 35th biggest city in the world - and here are the top 34 whose populations pipped London to the post.
Do you have a story you think we should be covering? If so, email elizabeth.haigh@reachplc.com.
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