en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_largest_cities
1 correction found
Tokyo, the world's third-largest city by metropolitan population
This caption mixes up city-population and metropolitan-population rankings. Authoritative sources describe Greater Tokyo as the world's largest metropolitan area, not the third-largest.
Full reasoning
This caption is incorrect because Tokyo is widely identified as the world's largest metropolitan area, not the third-largest.
Two official Tokyo Metropolitan Government pages say this directly:
- Invest Tokyo says: "The Greater Tokyo Area has a population greatly surpassing that of major world cities ... standing at approximately 37.8 million people" and labels Tokyo as having the "Highest Population among the World Metropolises."
- Another Tokyo Metropolitan Government page states: "With 37 million residents, Greater Tokyo is the most populous metropolitan area in the world."
An OECD report also says: "Tokyo is the largest metropolitan area in the world".
The likely source of confusion is that the UN's 2025 city/urban-agglomeration ranking places Tokyo third by city population behind Jakarta and Dhaka, but that is not the same thing as metropolitan population. So the caption's use of "third-largest ... by metropolitan population" is wrong.
3 sources
- Tokyo's Urban Strength - Invest Tokyo - Tokyo Metropolitan Government
The Greater Tokyo Area has a population greatly surpassing that of major world cities such as New York or London, standing at approximately 37.8 million people.
- Building a Thriving Tokyo: How Inclusion and Innovation Are Driving Growth -TMG
With 37 million residents, Greater Tokyo is the most populous metropolitan area in the world.
- The growth of metropolitan areas: Cities in the World | OECD
Tokyo is the largest metropolitan area in the world with a population of more than 36 million, followed by Delhi and Jakarta with a population of around 30 million.