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Most Populous Cities in the World Quiz

How well do you know the most populous cities in the world? Floored turns the ranking into a building: floor 1 is the top of the list. We name a floor, you guess what's on it, and the lift rides to whatever you picked so you know to go higher or lower.

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Free, no sign-up · 5 lists, a few minutes

How it works

You get a few guesses per floor. Land it on your first guess for 10 points; a near miss still scores. After the world cities round, four more lists from the same topic keep the ride going.

Show the full ranking (30)
  1. Jakarta 41.91M people
    The Dutch called it Batavia, and Indonesia plans to move its capital to Nusantara.
  2. Dhaka 36.59M people
    Its rickshaws and rickshaw painting are on UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage list.
  3. Tokyo 33.41M people
    Originally called Edo, it was renamed Tokyo, meaning 'Eastern Capital', after 1868.
  4. Delhi 30.22M people
    The Qutb Minar was begun here by the founder of the Delhi Sultanate.
  5. Shanghai 29.56M people
    Its port is the busiest container port in the world.
  6. Guangzhou 27.56M people
    Long known in English as Canton, it is home to the Canton Fair.
  7. Cairo 25.57M people
    Al-Azhar University, one of the oldest universities in the world, is here.
  8. Manila 24.74M people
    Manila proper has about 44,935 people per km², one of the densest cities on Earth.
  9. Kolkata 22.55M people
    As Calcutta, it served as the capital of British India until 1911.
  10. Seoul 22.49M people
    The founder of the Joseon dynasty chose it as his new capital in 1394.
  11. Karachi 21.42M people
    It was Pakistan's capital from 1947 to 1959.
  12. Mumbai 20.20M people
    It grew from a group of seven islands and is nicknamed the 'City of Seven Islands'.
  13. São Paulo 18.95M people
    It has the largest Japanese diaspora community in the world.
  14. Bangkok 18.18M people
    Guinness lists its full ceremonial name as the longest place name in the world.
  15. Mexico City 17.73M people
    It began as Tenochtitlan, an Aztec city built on islands in Lake Texcoco.
  16. Beijing 17.01M people
    In 2022 it became the first city to host both the Summer and Winter Olympics.
  17. Lahore 15.16M people
    The Lahore Fort and Shalimar Gardens are both UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
  18. Istanbul 15.01M people
    It straddles Europe and Asia, with about two-thirds of its people on the European side.
  19. Moscow 14.52M people
    The Moscow Metro is the busiest metro system in Europe.
  20. Ho Chi Minh City 14.05M people
    It was officially called Saigon until 1976, and locals still use the old name.
  21. Buenos Aires 14.02M people
    A popular tango mentions a hundred barrios, but the city has only 48 official ones.
  22. New York City 13.92M people
    An estimated 800 languages are spoken in the city.
  23. Shenzhen 13.88M people
    It became a Special Economic Zone in May 1980.
  24. Bengaluru 13.19M people
    Its IT industry earned it the nickname 'Silicon Valley of India'.
  25. Osaka 12.96M people
    It hosted Expo '70, the first world's fair in Asia, and Expo 2025.
  26. Lagos 12.79M people
    It was Nigeria's capital until a 1976 decision to relocate the seat of government.
  27. Los Angeles 12.74M people
    It was founded as a Spanish pueblo in September 1781.
  28. Luanda 11.37M people
    Portuguese explorer Paulo Dias de Novais founded it in January 1576.
  29. Chennai 11.15M people
    It was officially renamed from Madras to Chennai in 1996.
  30. Kinshasa 10.94M people
    It faces Brazzaville across the river, the closest pair of capital cities in the world.

Source: UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025 (via Worldometers and Wikipedia: List of largest cities) · as of 2025

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