See what a high band reads like.

P1The table provides data on the five most populous urban areas in 2020, showing their population in millions and annual growth rate as a percentage.

P2Overall, Tokyo was the largest urban area by a clear margin but was the only one experiencing population decline, while Delhi was the fastest-growing city despite ranking second in total population.

P3Tokyo's population of 37.4 million was considerably larger than any other city on the list, exceeding Delhi by more than 7 million. Shanghai ranked third at 27.1 million. Sao Paulo and Mexico City were the smallest of the five, at 22.0 million and 21.8 million respectively, with the two cities almost equal in size.

P4The growth ranking differed mainly because Tokyo was declining despite having the largest population. Tokyo was the only city recording negative growth, at -0.2% per year, whereas Delhi grew at 3% annually, the fastest rate in the table. Shanghai followed at 2.0%, while Sao Paulo and Mexico City grew more modestly at 0.9% and 0.8% respectively. Delhi's annual growth rate was 3.2 percentage points above Tokyo's. Shanghai also combined a large population with positive growth, whereas Sao Paulo and Mexico City recorded smaller populations and lower positive rates.