View source for Primate city

{{short description|Disproportionately largest city of a country or region}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
[[File:Countries with a primate city.svg|thumb|Countries with a national primate city highlighted in yellow]]
A '''primate city'''<ref>[[Latin]]: 'prime', 'first rank'{{cite encyclopedia| title=Primate | encyclopedia=Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary |publisher= [[Merriam-Webster]] | url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/primate | access-date=2008-07-21}}<br /> From [[Old French]] or [[French language|French]] ''primat'', from a noun use of Latin ''primat-'', from ''primus''</ref> is a city that is the largest in its [[country]], [[province]], [[Federated state|state]], or [[region]], and disproportionately larger than any others in the [[urban hierarchy]].<ref name="Dictionary">{{cite book |last=Goodall |first=B. |date=1987 |title=The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography |location=London |publisher=Penguin}}</ref> A ''primate city distribution'' is a [[rank-size distribution]] that has one very large city with many much smaller cities and towns and no intermediate-sized urban centers, creating a statistical [[king effect]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/rb/rb186.html |title=GaWC Research Bulletin 186 |access-date=2008-09-01 |archive-date=2022-03-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308045642/https://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/rb/rb186.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

The ''law of the primate city'' was first proposed by the [[geographer]] [[Mark Jefferson (geographer)|Mark Jefferson]] in 1939.<ref name="about.com">{{cite web |url=http://geography.about.com/od/urbaneconomicgeography/a/primatecities.htm |title=The Law of the Primate City and the Rank-Size Rule, by Matt Rosenberg |access-date=2008-09-01 |archive-date=2016-12-16 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161216064048/http://geography.about.com/od/urbaneconomicgeography/a/primatecities.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> He defines a primate city as being "at least twice as large as the next largest city and more than twice as significant."<ref name="Jefferson 1939">{{cite journal |first=Mark |last=Jefferson |title=The Law of the Primate City |journal=Geographical Review |issue=29 |date=April 1939|volume=29 |pages=226–232 |doi=10.2307/209944 |jstor=209944 |bibcode=1939GeoRv..29..226J }}</ref> Aside from size and population, a primate city will usually have precedence in all other aspects of its country's society such as economics, politics, culture, and education. Primate cities also serve as targets for the majority of a country or region's [[internal migration]].

In [[geography]], the phenomenon of excessive concentration of population and development of the main city of a country or a region (often to the detriment of other areas) is called '''urban primacy''' or '''urban macrocephaly'''.<ref>{{Citation |title=Elsevier's Dictionary of Geography: in English, Russian, French, Spanish and German  |edition=1st |page=776 |date=2007 |publisher=North Holland |first1=Vladimir |last1=Kotlyakov |first2=Anna |last2=Komarova}}</ref>

== Measurement ==
Urban primacy can be measured as the share of a country's population that lives in the primate city.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Davis|first1=James C.|last2=Henderson|first2=J.Vernon|date=1 October 2003|title=Evidence on the political economy of the urbanization process|url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0094119002005041|journal=Journal of Urban Economics|language=en|volume=53|issue=1|pages=98–125|doi=10.1016/S0094-1190(02)00504-1|quote=What is available and what is utilized in all studies other than Wheaton and Shishido [67] is some measure of urban primacy—here measured as the share of the largest city in national urban population.|url-access=subscription}}</ref> ''Relative'' primacy indicates the ratio of the primate city's population to that of the second largest in a country or region.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Jefferson|first=Mark|date=1939|title=The Law of the Primate City|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/209944|journal=Geographical Review|volume=29|issue=2|pages=226–232|doi=10.2307/209944|jstor=209944|bibcode=1939GeoRv..29..226J |issn=0016-7428|quote=In Denmark the less-than-a-million capital, Copenhagen, has won greater relative primacy. It is nine times as large as Denmark's second town.|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

== Significance ==
There is debate as to whether a primate city serves a parasitic or generative function.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=London|first=Bruce|date=October 1977|title=Is the Primate City Parasitic? The Regional Implications of National Decision Making in Thailand|journal=The Journal of Developing Areas|volume=12|pages=49–68}}</ref> The presence of a primate city in a country may indicate an imbalance in development—usually a progressive core and a lagging periphery—on which the city depends for labor and other resources.<ref>Brunn, Stanley, et al. ''Cities of the World''. Boulder: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc, 2003</ref> However, the urban structure is not directly dependent on a country's level of [[economic development]].<ref name="Dictionary" />

Many primate cities gain an increasing share of their country's population. This can be due to a reduction in [[blue-collar]] population in the hinterlands because of mechanization and automation.  Simultaneously, the number of educated employees in [[White-collar worker|white-collar]] endeavors such as politics, finance, media, and higher education rises. These sectors are clustered predominantly in primate cities where power and wealth are concentrated.{{Citation needed|date=September 2019}}

== Examples ==
<!-- Please do NOT include an example without a reliable source. -->
Some [[Global city|global cities]] are considered national or regional primate cities.<ref name="Jefferson 1939" /><ref>{{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=gssYJXHQO7gC&pg=PA41 |first= Tuna |last= Taşan-Kok |title= Mexico, Istanbul and Warsaw: Institutional and spatial change |page=41 |publisher= Eburon Uitgeverij |year=2004 |isbn= 978-905972041-1 |access-date= 2013-05-21}}</ref> An example of a global city that is also a primate city is [[Istanbul]] in [[Turkey]]. Istanbul serves as the primate city of Turkey due to the unmatched economic, political, cultural, and educational influence that the city possesses in comparison to other Turkish cities such as the capital [[Ankara]], [[İzmir]], or [[Bursa]]. Likewise, [[Mexico City]], [[Paris]], [[Cairo]], [[Jakarta]], and [[Seoul]] have also been described as primate cities of their respective countries.<ref>{{cite book |last= Pacione |first=Michael |title= Urban Geography: A Global Perspective |url= https://archive.org/details/urbangeographygl0000paci |url-access= registration |publisher= Routledge |location= Abingdon |year=2005 |edition=2nd |pages=[https://archive.org/details/urbangeographygl0000paci/page/83 83]}}</ref> However, not all regions and countries possess a primate city. The [[United States]] has never had a primate city on a national level due to the [[decentralization|decentralized]] nature of the country and because the country's second-largest city, [[Los Angeles]], is not far behind the country's largest city, [[New York City]], in either population or [[GDP]]. The [[metropolitan area]] of New York City has over 19 million residents, while that of Los Angeles has roughly 13 million residents, as of 2022.<ref name="nyclametropop">{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-total-metro-and-micro-statistical-areas.html#v2022 |title=2020 Population and Housing State Data |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]], Population Division |date=May 18, 2023 |access-date=October 9, 2023 |archive-date=June 29, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220629175327/https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/popest/2020s-total-metro-and-micro-statistical-areas.html#v2022 |url-status=live }}</ref>

[[Administrative division|Sub-national divisions]] can also have primate cities.&nbsp;For instance, New York City is the [[State of New York]]'s primate city, because its population is 32 times bigger than the state's second-largest city of [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]]. New York City has 44% of the population and 65% of the GDP of the State of New York.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/sites/default/files/omb/bulletins/2013/b13-01.pdf|title=Revised Delineations of Metropolitan Statistical Areas, Micropolitan Statistical Areas, and Combined Statistical Areas, and Guidance on Uses of the Delineations of These Areas |page=106|publisher=Executive Office of the President - Office of Management and Budget|access-date=July 29, 2014}}</ref> The city of [[Anchorage]] is another U.S. example, with around 40% of the total population of [[Alaska]] living within the city's limits. [[China]] does not have a primate city at a national level, but several provincial capitals are disproportionately larger than other urban areas in the respective provinces. For example, [[Henan]], [[Hubei]], and [[Sichuan]] have provincial capitals ([[Zhengzhou]], [[Wuhan]], and [[Chengdu]], respectively) that are significantly larger than the second-largest cities in those provinces, and each of those provinces has a population similar to that of a large European country. [[India]] does not have a primate city, as [[Delhi]] is not much larger than [[Mumbai]] or [[Kolkata]] in terms of population. However, many Indian states, such as [[Karnataka]], [[West Bengal]], [[Tamil Nadu]] and [[Telangana]], do have primate cities: [[Bangalore]], [[Kolkata]], [[Chennai]], [[Hyderabad]], respectively. Other Indian states, such as [[Uttar Pradesh]] and [[Kerala]], do not have any primate cities.<ref name="class_i_2011">{{cite web |title=A-04 : Towns and urban agglomerations classified by population size class in 2011 with variation between 1901 and 2011 - Class I (population of 100,000 and above) |url=https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/42876/download/46544/CLASS_I.xlsx |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230305025821/https://censusindia.gov.in/nada/index.php/catalog/42876/download/46544/CLASS_I.xlsx |archive-date=2023-03-05 |access-date=2024-01-26 |publisher=Office of the Registrar General & Census Commissioner, India}}</ref>

[[Bangkok]], the capital of [[Thailand]], has been called "the most primate city on Earth": in 2000 it was 40 times larger than the second-largest city of that time, [[Nakhon Ratchasima]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Baker |first=Chris |title=A History of Thailand |author2=Pasuk Phongpaichit |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-521-76768-2 |edition=2nd |location=Cambridge |page=199}}</ref> As of 2022, Bangkok is nearly nine times larger than Thailand's current second-largest city of [[Chiang Mai]], which has been growing in population and has also had its boundaries expanded to reflect that growth.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Chiang Mai, Thailand Metro Area Population 1950-2022, Data provided by the United Nations' Department of Economic and Social Affairs - Population Division |url=https://www.macrotrends.net/cities/22618/chiang-mai/population |access-date=2022-05-14 |website=www.macrotrends.net}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Department of Provincial Administration (DOPA), Population data for the year 2022 |url=https://www.bora.dopa.go.th/ |access-date=2023-06-21 |language=th}}</ref> Taking the concept from his examination of the primate city during the [[2010 Thai political protests]] and applying it to the role that primate cities play if they are national capitals, researcher Jack Fong noted that when primate cities like Bangkok function as national capitals, they are inherently vulnerable to insurrection by the military and the dispossessed. He cites the fact that most primate cities serving as national capitals contain major headquarters for the country. Thus, logistically, it is rather "efficient" to target a national capital that is also a primate city; most of the governing power is contained in that one small area, and so are most of the people.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Fong|first1=Jack|title=Political Vulnerabilities of a Primate City: The May 2010 Red Shirts Uprising in Bangkok, Thailand.|journal=Journal of Asian and African Studies|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270425419|date=May 2012|volume=48|issue=3|pages=332–347|url-access=subscription |doi=10.1177/0021909612453981|s2cid=145515713}}</ref>

The metropolitan area of the city of [[Moscow]], the capital of [[Russia]], is 2.3 times the size of the metropolitan area of the next largest city, [[Saint Petersburg]],<ref name="strelkamag">{{Cite web|title=A 3-Hour Commute: A close look at Moscow the Megapolis|url=https://strelkamag.com/en/article/moscow-agglomeration|access-date=2021-02-02|website=Strelka Mag|language=en|archive-date=2021-04-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210417121056/https://strelkamag.com/en/article/moscow-agglomeration|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="citypopulation">{{Cite web|title=Severo-Zapadnyj Federal'nyj Okrug / Northwestern Russia (Russia): Regions, Republics, Major Cities & Urban Settlements - Population Statistics, Maps, Charts, Weather and Web Information|url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/russia/cities/northwestern/|access-date=2021-02-02|website=www.citypopulation.de}}</ref> and plays a unique and uncontested role of the cultural and political center of the country.<ref name="geographicalreview">{{Cite journal|last=Argenbright|first=Robert|date=2013-01-01|title=Moscow on the Rise: From Primate City to Megaregion|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1931-0846.2013.00184.x|journal=Geographical Review|volume=103|issue=1|pages=20–36|doi=10.1111/j.1931-0846.2013.00184.x|bibcode=2013GeoRv.103...20A |s2cid=155003653|issn=0016-7428|url-access=subscription}}</ref> It can therefore be considered a primate city.

Primate cities need not be capital cities: governments may establish a new capital city in an attempt to challenge the primacy of the largest city or provide more balanced growth. For example, in [[Tanzania]], [[Dar es Salaam]] is still the primate city even though the capital was moved to [[Dodoma]], a new city built to a plan, in 1996. A similar process (though without building a planned city) occurred when the existing city of [[Wellington]] was chosen as [[New Zealand]]'s capital in 1865; [[Auckland]], the capital before the relocation, commanded (and still commands) a greater share of the population and economy.

==List==
{{More citations needed section|date=August 2024|talk=Talk:Primate city#The tables are not helpful}}

===Africa===
<!---The tables' population figures are correct for the metropolitan area, which usually has a much larger population than the municipality proper. Please do not "correct" population figures that seem too large, as they are based off the metropolitan area population.--->
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: right;"
|- style="vertical-align: bottom;"
! text-align: left;" | Country
! text-align: left;" | Primate
! text-align: right;" | Population
! text-align: left;" | Second largest
! text-align: right;" | Population
! text-align: right;" | Relative primacy
|-
| align="left" |{{ETH}}
| align="left" |[[Addis Ababa]]|| 3,352,000
| align="left" |[[Adama]]
| 342,940
|{{#expr:3352000/342940 round1}}
|-
| align="left" |{{DZA}}
| align="left" |[[Algiers]]|| 7,896,923
| align="left" |[[Oran]]
| 1,560,329
|5.1
|-
| align="left" |{{MAD}}
| align="left" |[[Antananarivo]]|| 1,275,207
| align="left" |[[Toamasina]]
| 300,813
|4.2
|-
| align="left" |{{ERI}}
| align="left" |[[Asmara]]|| 650,000
| align="left" |[[Keren, Eritrea|Keren]]
| 82,198
|7.9
|-
| align="left" |{{MLI}}
| align="left" |[[Bamako]]|| 1,810,366
| align="left" |[[Sikasso]]
| 226,618
|8.0
|-
| align="left" |{{CAF}}
| align="left" |[[Bangui]]|| 622,771
| align="left" |[[Bimbo, Central African Republic|Bimbo]]
| 124,176
|5.0
|-
| align="left" |{{GMB}}
| align="left" |[[Banjul]]-[[Serekunda]] area || 519,835<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=http://www.world-gazetteer.com/wg.php|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130209150810/http://www.world-gazetteer.com/wg.php|url-status=dead|archive-date=2013-02-09|title=World Gazetteer: World Gazetteer home|date=2013-02-09|website=archive.is|access-date=2020-04-09}}</ref>
| align="left" |[[Brikama]]
| 101,119<ref name=":0" />
|5.1
|-
| align="left" |{{GNB}}
| align="left" |[[Bissau]]|| 492,004
| align="left" |[[Gabu (town)|Gabu]]
| 48,670
|10.1
|-
| align="left" |{{EGY}}
| align="left" |[[Cairo]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cairo, Egypt Metro Area Population 1950-2023 |url=https://www.macrotrends.net/cities/22812/cairo/population |access-date=2023-02-25 |website=Macrotrends}}</ref>|| 22,183,000
| align="left" |[[Alexandria]]
| 6,100,000
|3.6
|-
| align="left" |{{GIN}}
| align="left" |[[Conakry]]<ref name="WorldUrbanization">{{cite book|title=World Urbanization Prospects: The 2003 Revision|url=https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/639679?ln=en&v=pdf|date=1 January 2004|publisher=United Nations Publications|isbn=978-92-1-151396-7|pages=97–102}}</ref>|| 1,660,973
| align="left" |[[Nzérékoré]]
| 195,027
|8.5
|-
| align="left" |{{SEN}}
| align="left" |[[Dakar]]<ref name="WorldUrbanization" />|| 2,646,503
| align="left" |[[Touba]]
| 753,315
|3.5
|-
| align="left" |{{TZA}}
| align="left" |[[Dar es Salaam]]|| 7,000,000
| align="left" |[[Mwanza]]
| 1,104,521
|6.4
|-
| align="left" |{{DJI}}
| align="left" |[[Djibouti (city)|Djibouti City]]|| 475,322
| align="left" |[[Ali Sabieh]]
| 37,939
|12.5
|-
| align="left" |{{SLE}}
| align="left" |[[Freetown]]<ref name="WorldUrbanization" />|| 1,500,234
| align="left" |[[Bo, Sierra Leone|Bo]]
| 233,684
|6.4
|-
| align="left" |''{{flag|Somaliland}}''
| align="left" |[[Hargeisa]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kilcullen |first=David |date=2019 |title=Hargeisa, Somaliland – Invisible City |url=https://www.thebrenthurstfoundation.org/downloads/hargeisa_discussion-paper-04-2019-hargeisa-somaliland-invisible-city.pdf}}</ref>|| 1,200,000
| align="left" |[[Burao]]<ref name="dawladda">{{Cite web |title=Dawladda Hoose ee Burco |url=https://www.burao.org/ |access-date=2024-02-08 |website=www.burao.org |archive-date=2024-02-08 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240208185018/https://www.burao.org/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
| 425,000
|2.8
|-
| align="left" |{{UGA}}
| align="left" |[[Kampala]]|| 1,507,080
| align="left" |[[Nansana]]
| 365,124
|4.1
|-
| align="left" |{{RWA}}
| align="left" |[[Kigali]]|| 1,132,686
| align="left" |[[Butare]]
| 89,600
|12.6
|-
| align="left" |{{COD}}
| align="left" |[[Kinshasa]]|| 17,239,463
| align="left" |[[Mbuji-Mayi]]
| 2,643,000
|7.3
|-
| align="left" |{{NGA}}
| align="left" |[[Lagos]]<ref>{{cite book |author1=Demographia |title=Demographia World Urban Areas |date=January 2015 |edition=11th |url=http://www.demographia.com/db-worldua.pdf |access-date=2 March 2015 |archive-date=5 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805030244/http://www.demographia.com/db-worldua.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref>|| 16,637,000
| align="left" |[[Kano (city)|Kano]]
| 4,490,734
|3.7
|-
| align="left" |{{GAB}}
| align="left" |[[Libreville]]|| 703,904
| align="left" |[[Port-Gentil|Port Gentil]]
| 136,462
|5.2
|-
| align="left" |{{TGO}}
| align="left" |[[Lomé]]|| 1,477,660
| align="left" |[[Sokodé]]
| 118,000
|12.5
|-
| align="left" |{{AGO}}
| align="left" |[[Luanda]]<ref name="WorldUrbanization" />|| 8,069,612
| align="left" |[[Lubango]]
| 903,564
|8.9
|-
| align="left" |{{ZMB}}
| align="left" |[[Lusaka]]|| 2,238,569
| align="left" |[[Kitwe]]
| 522,092
|4.3
|-
| align="left" |{{LSO}}
| align="left" |[[Maseru]]|| 330,760
| align="left" |[[Teyateyaneng]]
| 75,115
|4.4
|-
| align="left" |{{LBR}}
| align="left" |[[Monrovia]]|| 1,101,970
| align="left" |[[Ganta]]
| 41,106
|26.8
|-
| align="left" |{{KEN}}
| align="left" |[[Nairobi]]|| 5,500,000
| align="left" |[[Mombasa]]
| 1,208,333
|4.6
|-
| align="left" |{{TCD}}
| align="left" |[[N'Djamena]]|| 1,605,696
| align="left" |[[Moundou]]
| 137,929
|11.6
|-
| align="left" |{{NER}}
| align="left" |[[Niamey]]|| 1,243,500
| align="left" |[[Zinder]]
| 235,605
|5.3
|-
| align="left" |{{MRT}}
| align="left" |[[Nouakchott]]|| 1,446,761
| align="left" |[[Nouadhibou]]
| 173,525
|{{#expr:1446761/173525 round1}}
|-
| align="left" |{{SDN}}
| align="left" |[[Omdurman]]-[[Khartoum]] area || 5,490,000
| align="left" |[[Port Sudan]]
| 489,725
|11.2
|-
| align="left" |{{BFA}}
| align="left" |[[Ouagadougou]]|| 2,500,000
| align="left" |[[Bobo-Dioulasso|Bobo Dioulaso]]
| 537,728
|4.6
|-
| align="left" |{{STP}}
| align="left" |[[São Tomé]]|| 71,868
| align="left" |[[Santo Amaro, São Tomé and Príncipe|Santo Amaro]]
| 8,239
|8.7
|-
| align="left" |{{TUN}}
| align="left" |[[Tunis]]|| 2,643,695
| align="left" |[[Sfax]]
| 330,440
|8.0
|-
| align="left" |{{SYC}}
| align="left" |[[Victoria, Seychelles|Victoria]]|| 26,450
| align="left" |[[Anse Boileau]]
| 4,093
|6.5
|-
| align="left" |{{NAM}}
| align="left" |[[Windhoek]]|| 325,858
| align="left" |[[Walvis Bay]]
| 62,096
|5.2
|}

===Asia===
<!---The tables' population figures are correct for the metropolitan area, which usually has a much larger population than the municipality proper. Please do not "correct" population figures that seem too large, as they are based off the metropolitan area population.--->
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: right;"
|- style="vertical-align: bottom;"
! text-align: left;" | Country
! text-align: left;" | Primate
! text-align: right;" | Population
! text-align: left;" | Second largest
! text-align: right;" | Population
! text-align: right;" | Relative primacy
|-
| align="left" |{{JOR}}
| align="left" |[[Amman]] ||  4,425,000 || align="left" |[[Irbid]] ||  750,000
|5.9
|-
| align="left" |{{TKM}}
| align="left" |[[Ashgabat]] ||  1,168,000 || align="left" |[[Türkmenabat]] ||  253,000
|4.6
|-
| align="left" |{{IRQ}}
| align="left" |[[Baghdad]] ||  8,126,755 || align="left" |[[Mosul]] ||  1,792,000
|4.5
|-
| align="left" |{{AZE}}
| align="left" |[[Baku]] ||  2,934,000 || align="left" |[[Ganja, Azerbaijan|Ganja]] ||  335,000
|8.8
|-
| align="left" |{{BRU}}
| align="left" |[[Bandar Seri Begawan]] ||  280,000 || align="left" |[[Kuala Belait]] ||  70,000
|4.0
|-
| align="left" |{{THA}}
| align="left" |[[Bangkok]]<ref>{{Citation |title=Thailand: Division (Planning Regions and Provinces) - Population Statistics, Charts and Map |date=2019-02-19 |url=http://citypopulation.de/php/thailand-prov-admin.php |work=The World Factbook |access-date=2024-11-17 |language=en}}</ref>|| 16,255,900<ref group="Note">based on [[Bangkok Metropolitan Region]]</ref> || align="left" |[[Chiang Mai]]<ref>{{Citation |title=Thailand |date=2023-11-21 |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/thailand/ |work=The World Factbook |access-date=2023-11-25 |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |language=en}}</ref>|| 1,213,000
| 13.4
|-
| align="left" |{{LIB}}
| align="left" |[[Beirut]]<ref name="WorldUrbanization" /> ||  2,781,000 || align="left" |[[Tripoli, Lebanon|Tripoli]] ||  365,000
|7.6
|-
| align="left" |{{KGZ}}
| align="left" |[[Bishkek]]<ref name="WorldUrbanization" /> ||  1,297,000  || align="left" |[[Osh]] ||  282,000
|4.6
|-
| align="left" |{{LKA}}
| align="left" |[[Colombo]] ||  5,648,000  || align="left" |[[Kandy]] ||  125,400
|45.0
|-
| align="left" |{{BAN}}
| align="left" |[[Dhaka]] ||  22,478,116 || align="left" |[[Chittagong]] ||  5,252,842
|4.3
|-
| align="left" |{{TLS}}
| align="left" |[[Dili]] ||  235,000 || align="left" |[[Baucau]] ||  15,000
|15.7
|-
| align="left" |{{TJK}}
| align="left" |[[Dushanbe]] ||  1,390,000 || align="left" |[[Khujand]] ||  182,000
|7.6
|-
| align="left" |{{PSE}}
| align="left" |[[Gaza City]] || 766,331 || align="left" |[[Hebron]] ||  308,750
|2.5
|-
| align="left" |{{TUR}}
| align="left" |[[Istanbul]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/turkey/istanbulcity/|title=TURKEY: İstanbul City |website=Citypopulation.de|publisher=[[Turkish Statistical Institute]]|year=2022}}</ref> ||  15,569,856 || align="left" |[[Ankara]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/turkey/ankaracity/|title=TURKEY: Ankara City |website=Citypopulation.de|publisher=[[Turkish Statistical Institute]]|year=2022}}</ref> ||  5,187,949
|3.0
|-
| align="left" |{{IDN}}
| align="left" |[[Greater Jakarta|Jakarta]]||  32,594,159 || align="left" |[[Surabaya]] ||  9,958,656
|3.2
|-
| align="left" |{{AFG}}
| align="left" |[[Kabul]]<ref name="WorldUrbanization" /> ||  4,834,000 || align="left" |[[Kandahar]] ||  570,000
|8.5
|-
| align="left" |{{NEP}}
| align="left" |[[Kathmandu]] ||  3,941,000 || align="left" |[[Pokhara]] ||  523,000
|9.8
|-
| align="left" |{{MAS}}
| align="left" |[[Kuala Lumpur]] ||  9,085,737 || align="left" |[[George Town, Penang|George Town]] ||  2,815,278
|3.2
|-
| align="left" |{{KUW}}
| align="left" |[[Kuwait City]]<ref name="WorldUrbanization" /> ||  4,022,000 || align="left" |[[Al Jahra]] ||  400,000
|10.1
|-
| align="left" |{{MDV}}
| align="left" |[[Malé]] ||  135,000 || align="left" |[[Addu City]] ||  34,000
|4.0
|-
| align="left" |{{PHI}}
| align="left" |[[Metro Manila]]|| 13,484,000
| align="left" |[[Metro Cebu]]|| 3,166,000
|4.3
|-
| align="left" |{{OMA}}
| align="left" |[[Muscat]] ||  1,205,000 || align="left" |[[Salalah]] ||  340,000
|3.5
|-
| align="left" |{{CAM}}
| align="left" |[[Phnom Penh]]<ref name="WorldUrbanization" /> ||  2,177,000 || align="left" |[[Siem Reap]] ||  140,000
|15.6
|-
| align="left" |{{PRK}}
| align="left" |[[Pyongyang]] ||  2,228,000  || align="left" |[[Hamhung]] ||  535,000
|4.2
|-
| align="left" |{{KOR}}
| align="left" |[[Seoul Capital Area|Seoul]]||  26,085,040 || align="left" |[[Busan]] ||  6,804,956
|3.8
|-
| align="left" |{{UZB}}
| align="left" |[[Tashkent]] ||  3,492,000 || align="left" |[[Samarkand]] ||  1,201,000
|2.9
|-
| align="left" |{{GEO}}
| align="left" |[[Tbilisi]] ||  1,207,000 || align="left" |[[Batumi]] ||  200,000
|6.0
|-
| align="left" |{{IRN}}
| align="left" |[[Tehran]] ||  13,633,000 || align="left" |[[Mashhad]] ||  3,167,000
|4.3
|-
| align="left" |{{ISR}}
| align="left" |[[Tel Aviv]]<ref name="TelAviv">[https://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/rb/rb57.html Kipnis, B. (2004). Tel Aviv, Israel - a world city in evolution: Urban development at a deadend of the global economy. Dela, 21, 183–193.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181005132047/http://www.lboro.ac.uk/gawc/rb/rb57.html |date=2018-10-05 }}, "Tel Aviv [...] has been Israel's primate urban agglomeration since the 1920s (Reichmann 1972). Since the late 1980s it has evolved into the hard core of Israel's post-industrial globally oriented economy, its post-modern physical ambience and its social and cultural lifestyle."</ref> ||  4,054,570<ref group="Note">based on [[Tel Aviv metropolitan area]]</ref><!---The table is based on metropolitan area populations. Tel Aviv's metropolitan area spans both the Tel Aviv and the Central Districts, and a portion of the Southern District, and is larger than Jerusalem's, despite the fact that the Jerusalem Municipality is larger than Tel Aviv municipality.---> || align="left" |[[Jerusalem]] || 1,075,800<ref group="Note">based on [[Greater Jerusalem]]. This figure includes both West and East Jerusalem, and other localities of the Israeli [[Jerusalem District]], but does not include adjacent localities in the West Bank, be they Israeli settlements such as [[Ma'ale Adumim]] or Palestinian localities such as [[Ramallah]] and [[Bethlehem]].</ref>
|3.77
|-
| align="left" |{{BHU}}
| align="left" |[[Thimphu]] ||  115,000 || align="left" |[[Phuntsholing]] ||  28,000
|4.1
|-
| align="left" |{{JAP}}
| align="left" |[[Greater Tokyo Area|Tokyo]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/world/agglomerations | title=Major Agglomerations of the World | website=Population Statistics and Maps | date=February 28, 2023 | access-date=September 10, 2024 | archive-date=July 7, 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230707123157/https://www.citypopulation.de/en/world/agglomerations/ | url-status=live }}</ref> || 41,000,000 || align="left" |[[Keihanshin|Keihanshin (Osaka)]]|| 19,060,000
|2.1
|-
| align="left" |{{LAO}}
| align="left" |[[Vientiane]] ||  1,058,000 || align="left" |[[Savannakhet]]||  120,000
|8.8
|-
| align="left" |{{MGL}}
| align="left" |[[Ulaanbaatar]]<ref name="WorldUrbanization" /> ||  1,508,000 || align="left" |[[Erdenet]] ||  100,000
|15.1
|-
| align="left" |{{MMR}}
| align="left" |[[Yangon]]<ref>{{cite book |title=Census Report |publisher=Ministry of Immigration and Population |location=Naypyitaw |date=May 2015 |series=The 2014 Myanmar Population and Housing Census |volume=2 |pages=31–57 |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/myanmar/2014-myanmar-population-and-housing-census-thematic-report-population-dynamics-census}}</ref> ||   7,360,703 || align="left" |[[Mandalay]] ||  1,726,889
|4.3
|-
| align="left" |{{ARM}}
| align="left" |[[Yerevan]]<ref name="WorldUrbanization" /> ||  1,403,000 || align="left" |[[Gyumri]] ||  130,000
|10.8
|-
| align="left" |{{YEM}}
| align="left" |[[Sanaa|Sana'a]]
|3,300,000
| align="left" |[[Aden]]
|1,154,000
|2.9
|-
| align="left" |{{PAK}}
| align="left" |[[Karachi]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Urban Localities by Population Size and their Population by Sex, Annual Growth Rate and Household Size: Census–2023 (SINDH) |url=https://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/population/2023/tables/sindh/dcr/table_2.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240726060607/https://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/population/2023/tables/sindh/dcr/table_2.pdf |archive-date=2024-07-26 |access-date=2025-10-29 |website=www.pbs.gov.pk}}</ref>
|18,868,021
| align="left" |[[Lahore]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Urban Localities by Population Size and their Population by Sex, Annual Growth Rate and Household Size: Census–2023 (PUNJAB) |url=https://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/population/2023/tables/punjab/dcr/table_2.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241219205229/https://www.pbs.gov.pk/sites/default/files/population/2023/tables/punjab/dcr/table_2.pdf |archive-date=2024-12-19 |access-date=2025-10-29 |website=www.pbs.gov.pk}}</ref>
|13,004,135
|1.5
|}
{{Wide image|Colombo sunset aerial Pano (29446036634).jpg|600|[[Colombo]], the primate city of [[Sri Lanka]]; it is 45 times larger than [[Kandy]], the country's second-largest city.}}
For the [[Philippines]], figures are for [[Metro Manila]] and [[Metro Cebu]]. [[Manila]] is the national capital, which is within [[Metro Manila]], a [[Regions of the Philippines|region]]. Meanwhile, [[Cebu City]] is the capital city of the province of [[Cebu]], with [[Metro Cebu]] being its main urban center. [[Metro Manila]] is within [[Mega Manila]], the megapolis that has a population of around 25 million.

For [[Malaysia]], data for [[Kuala Lumpur]] includes the surrounding state of [[Selangor]] and the Federal Territory of [[Putrajaya]]; while data for George Town includes the entire State of [[Penang]] and adjoining regions of [[Kulim District|Kulim]] and [[Kuala Muda District|Kuala Muda (Sungai Petani)]] in the neighboring State of [[Kedah]].

In [[Vietnam]], [[Hanoi]] (population 8,053,663) is the primate city of [[Northern Vietnam]], having 3.97 times the population of the area's second largest, [[Haiphong]] (2,028,514). [[Ho Chi Minh City]] (population 8,993,082) is the primate city of [[Southern Vietnam]], having 7.28 times the population of the area's second largest, [[Cần Thơ]] (1,235,171). However, there's no primate city in [[Central Vietnam]] as the most populous city ([[Da Nang]], population 1,134,310) has nearly the same population of the area's next largest ([[Huế]], population 1,128,620). See also: [[List of cities in Vietnam]]

===Europe===
<!---The tables' population figures are correct for the metropolitan area, which usually has a much larger population than the municipality proper. Please do not "correct" population figures that seem too large, as they are based off the metropolitan area population.--->
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: right;"
|- style="vertical-align: bottom;"
! text-align: left;" | Country
! text-align: left;" | Primate
! text-align: right;" | Population
! text-align: left;" | Second largest
! text-align: right;" | Population
! text-align: right;" | Relative primacy
|-
|-
|align=left|{{GRE}}
|align=left|[[Athens]]<ref name="WorldUrbanization" /><ref name="Hobbs2009">{{Cite web|title=2020-10-06|url=https://www.ssb.no/befolkning/statistikker/beftett/aar/2020-10-06|access-date=2020-11-17|website=ssb.no|date=6 October 2020 |language=no}}</ref> || 3,753,783 ||align=left|[[Thessaloniki]] || 1,084,001
|3.5
|-
|align=left|{{SRB}}
|align=left|[[Belgrade]] || 1,681,405 ||align=left|[[Novi Sad]] || 368,967
|4.5
|-
|align=left|{{ROM}}
|align=left|[[Bucharest]] || 2,272,163 ||align=left|[[Cluj-Napoca]] || 411,379
|5.5
|-
|align=left|{{HUN}}
|align=left|[[Budapest]]<ref name="Kent2006" /> || 3,303,786 ||align=left|[[Debrecen]] || 237,888
|13.9
|-
|align=left|{{MDA}}
|align=left|[[Chișinău]] ||  736,100 ||align=left|[[Tiraspol]] ([[de jure]])<ref  group="Note">[[Tiraspol]] is controlled and claimed by the unrecognised [[Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic]], the largest city and capital within the PMR (Transnistria). Otherwise, the second largest city controlled by Moldova, and the third largest within its recognised borders is Bălți, with a population of 102,457. The ''de facto'' relative primacy would therefore be 7.18.</ref> ||  135,700
|5.4
|-
|align=left|{{DEN}}
|align=left|[[Copenhagen]]<ref name="Hobbs2009" /><ref name="Kent2006" /> ||  2,016,285 ||align=left|[[Aarhus]] ||  330,639
|6.1
|-
|align=left|{{IRL}}
|align=left|[[Dublin]]<ref name="DataCSO">{{cite web
| url = https://data.cso.ie/table/F1013
| title = F1013 - Population Density and Area Size
| date = 29 June 2023
| website = data.cso.ie
| publisher = Central Statistics Office, Ireland
| access-date = 30 October 2025
| quote = }}</ref> ||  1,263,219 || align="left" |[[Cork (city)|Cork]] ||  222,526
|5.7
|-
|align=left|{{FIN}}
|align=left|[[Helsinki]] ||  1,522,694<ref group="Note">based on [[Helsinki metropolitan area]]</ref> ||align=left|[[Tampere]] ||  385,610
|3.9
|-
|align=left|{{DEU}}
|align=left|[[Berlin]] ||  3,685,265<ref name="auto">{{cite web |url=https://www.zensus2022.de/DE/Ergebnisse-des-Zensus/_inhalt.html#toc-2 |title=Ergebnisse des Zensus 2022 - Bevölkerung (15.05.2022) |publisher=[[Federal Statistical Office of Germany|Destatis]] |website=www.destatis.de |date=2024-06-25 |access-date=2024-06-25 |language=german}}</ref> ||align=left|[[Hamburg]] ||  1,862,565<ref name="auto"/>
|2.0
|-
|align=left|{{UKR}}
|align=left|[[Kyiv]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ukraine: Provinces and Major Cities |website=citypopulation.de |access-date=9 February 2024 |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/ukraine/cities/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240207192427/https://www.citypopulation.de/en/ukraine/cities/ |archive-date=7 February 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref> ||  2,952,301 ||align=left|[[Kharkiv]] ||  1,421,125
|2.1
|-
|align=left|{{GBR}}
|align=left|[[London]]<ref name="Swanson2012">{{cite book|author=Kelly Swanson|title=Kaplan AP Human Geography 2013-2014|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZDaYvgTEJLYC&pg=PA357|date=7 August 2012|publisher=Kaplan Publishing|isbn=978-1-60978-694-6}}</ref><ref name="Kent2006" /> ||  14,257,962 ||align=left|[[Birmingham]] ||  3,683,000
|3.9
|-
|align=left|{{LUX}}
|align=left|[[Luxembourg (city)|Luxembourg]] ||  107,247 ||align=left|[[Esch-sur-Alzette]] ||  32,600
|3.3	
|-
|align=left|{{ESP}} 
|align=left|[[Madrid]]<ref name=population>{{cite web |url=https://www.ine.es/jaxiT3/Tabla.htm?t=68538&L=1|title=Annual population census 2021-2024|publisher=[[National Statistics Institute (Spain)|INE]]}}</ref> ||  3,422,416 ||align=left|[[Barcelona]] ||  1,686,208
|2.03<!-- Dubious since the statistic is still below the necessary ratio of 2.1 -->
|-
|align=left|{{BLR}}
|align=left|[[Minsk]] ||  2,101,018 ||align=left|[[Gomel]] ||  526,872
|4.0
|-
|align=left|{{RUS}}
|align=left|[[Moscow]]<ref name="strelkamag" /><ref name="citypopulation" /><ref name="geographicalreview" /> ||  13,010,112 ||align=left|[[St. Petersburg]] ||  5,601,911
|2.3
|-
|align=left|{{NOR}}
|align=left|[[Oslo]]<ref name="auto2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.ssb.no/befolkning/folketall/statistikk/tettsteders-befolkning-og-areal|title=Tettsteders befolkning og areal|website=SSB}}</ref> ||  1,110,887 ||align=left|[[Bergen]]<ref name="auto2"/> ||  273,626
|4.05
|-
|align=left|{{FRA}}
|align=left|[[Paris]]<ref name="Hobbs2009" /><ref name="Pacione2009">{{cite book |author=Michael Pacione |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M3rAuvR-o-gC&pg=PT82 |title=Urban Geography: A Global Perspective |publisher=Taylor & Francis |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-415-46201-3 |page=79}}</ref><ref name="Swanson2012" /><ref name="Kent2006" /> ||  12,405,426
|align=left|[[Lyon]]||  2,237,676
|5.5
|-
|align=left|{{CZE}}
|align=left|[[Prague]] || 1,397,880<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|url=https://csu.gov.cz/produkty/population-of-municipalities-t4l3n8d2iw|title=Population of Municipalities - as at 1 January 2025|website=Products}}</ref> || align=left|[[Brno]] || 402,739<ref name="auto1"/>
|3.9
|-
|align=left|{{ISL}}
|align=left|[[Reykjavík]] ||  209,680<ref  group="Note">based on [[Capital Region (Iceland)]]</ref> ||align=left|[[Akureyri]] ||  18,191
|11.5
|-
|align=left|{{LAT}}
|align=left|[[Riga]]<ref name="WorldUrbanization" /><ref name="Hobbs2009" /> ||  605,273 ||align=left|[[Daugavpils]] ||  77,779
|7.6
|-
|align=left|{{ITA}}
|align=left|[[Rome]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://demo.istat.it/app/?i=D7B&l=it|title=Bilancio demografico mensile|website=demo.istat.it}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.istat.it/en/|title=Istat.it english|website=www.istat.it|access-date=29 April 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180322020123/https://www.istat.it/en/|archive-date=22 March 2018}}</ref> ||  2,746,984 ||align=left|[[Milan]] ||  1,366,155
|2.01
|-
|align=left|{{MKD}}
|align=left|[[Skopje]] ||  422,540<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/northmacedonia/cities/|title=NORTH MACEDONIA |website=Citypopulation.de|publisher={{ill|State Statistical Office of North Macedonia|mk|Државен завод за статистика}}|publication-date=5 September 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/northmacedonia/skopski/skopski/491055__skopje/|title=NORTH MACEDONIA: Skopje |website=Citypopulation.de|publisher={{ill|State Statistical Office of North Macedonia|mk|Државен завод за статистика}}|publication-date=5 September 2021}}</ref> ||align=left|[[Kumanovo]] ||  75,051<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/northmacedonia/severoistocen/severoisto%C4%8Den/408948__kumanovo/|title=NORTH MACEDONIA: Kumanovo |website=Citypopulation.de|publisher={{ill|State Statistical Office of North Macedonia|mk|Државен завод за статистика}}|publication-date=5 September 2021}}</ref>
|5.6
|-
|align=left|{{BUL}}
|align=left|[[Sofia]] ||  1,681,666 ||align=left|[[Plovdiv]] ||  544,628
|3.1
|-
|align=left|{{SWE}}
|align=left|[[Stockholm]]<ref>{{citation|title=citypopulation.de|url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/sweden/cities/mun/|website=www.citypopulation.de|access-date=5 November 2023|archive-date=5 November 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231105195923/http://citypopulation.de/en/sweden/cities/mun/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Folkmängd i riket, län och kommuner 30 juni 2021 och befolkningsförändringar 1 april–30 juni 2021. Totalt |url=https://www.scb.se/hitta-statistik/statistik-efter-amne/befolkning/befolkningens-sammansattning/befolkningsstatistik/pong/tabell-och-diagram/kvartals--och-halvarsstatistik--kommun-lan-och-riket/kvartal-2-2021/ |publisher=[[Statistics Sweden]] |access-date=5 September 2021 |archive-date=18 August 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210818200225/https://www.scb.se/hitta-statistik/statistik-efter-amne/befolkning/befolkningens-sammansattning/befolkningsstatistik/pong/tabell-och-diagram/kvartals--och-halvarsstatistik--kommun-lan-och-riket/kvartal-2-2021/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="SCB2019">{{Cite web |title=Folkmängd i riket, län och kommuner. Totalt |url=http://www.statistikdatabasen.scb.se/pxweb/sv/ssd/START__BE__BE0101__BE0101A/BefolkningNy/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160809003835/http://www.scb.se/sv_/Hitta-statistik/Statistik-efter-amne/Befolkning/Befolkningens-sammansattning/Befolkningsstatistik/25788/25795/Kvartals--och-halvarsstatistik---Kommun-lan-och-riket/403072/ |archive-date=9 August 2016 |access-date=2 July 2016 |publisher=SCB }}</ref><ref name="ne">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Stockholm |encyclopedia={{Lang|sv|[[Nationalencyklopedin]]}} |url=http://www.ne.se/stockholm/315772 |access-date=30 January 2014 |language=sv |date= |archive-date=10 March 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140310101634/http://www.ne.se/stockholm/315772 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="StockholmUrbanArea">{{Cite web |date=20 June 2013 |title=Folkmängd per tätort och småort 2010, per kommun |url=http://www.scb.se/Statistik/MI/MI0810/2010A01T/MI0810_To_So_Kommun2010.xls |access-date=2 February 2014 |publisher=[[Statistics Sweden]] |language=sv |format=XLS |archive-date=3 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303174949/http://www.scb.se/Statistik/MI/MI0810/2010A01T/MI0810_To_So_Kommun2010.xls |url-status=live }}</ref> ||  2,415,139<ref  group="Note">based on [[List of metropolitan areas in Sweden#Metropolitan Stockholm|Stockholm metro area]]</ref> ||align=left|[[Gothenburg]] ||  1,080,980
|2.2
|-
|align=left|{{EST}}
|align=left|[[Tallinn]] ||  437,619 ||align=left|[[Tartu]] ||  95,009
|4.6
|-
|align=left|{{ALB}}
|align=left|[[Tirana]] ||  800,986 ||align=left|[[Durrës]] ||  201,110
|4.0
|-
|align=left|{{AUT}}
|align=left|[[Vienna]]<ref name="WorldUrbanization" /><ref name="Pacione2009" /><ref name="Kent2006" /> ||  2,600,000 ||align=left|[[Graz]] ||  302,660
|8.6
|-
|align=left|{{LIT}}
|align=left|[[Vilnius]] ||  600,876 ||align=left|[[Kaunas]] ||  304,524
|2.0
|-
|align=left|{{CRO}}
|align=left|[[Zagreb]] ||  1,113,111 ||align=left|[[Split, Croatia|Split]] ||  349,314
|3.2
|-
|}
In [[Germany]], [[Munich]] (city proper population ca 1.5 million, with surrounding [[Landkreise]] ~3 million) is the primate city of the state of [[Bavaria]], having nearly three times the population than the state's second largest, [[Nuremberg]] (ca 500,000 people, metro area ~1.35 million). Likewise, in [[Hesse]], [[Frankfurt]] (~750,000 people) is nearly three times larger than the state's second largest, [[Wiesbaden]] (~275,000) and they are both part of the Rhine-Main metropolitan area, the largest city outside of the area, [[Kassel]], has a population of ca. 200,000 people.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Germany: States, Districts, Counties, Cities, Communes, Agglomerations, Settlements, City Quarters - Population Statistics in Maps and Charts |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/germany/ |access-date=2023-09-18 |website=www.citypopulation.de |language=en-us}}</ref>

In [[Italy]], primate cities exist at regional level: capital [[Rome]] (~2.7 million) alone has nearly half of the population of the [[Lazio]] region and is about 21 times larger than the second largest city [[Latina, Lazio|Latina]], and nearly three quarters of the region's population live in the [[Metropolitan City of Rome Capital]]. In [[Lombardy]], [[Milan]] at ~1.35 million is seven times larger than second largest [[Brescia]] (ca 200,000); in [[Piedmont]], [[Turin]] has eight-nine times the population of [[Novara]] and [[Alessandria]]; in [[Campania]], [[Naples]] has 7 times the population of second-largest [[Salerno]] and in [[Liguria]], [[Genoa]] at ~550,000 has six times the population of second largest [[La Spezia]] and the [[Metropolitan City of Genoa]] has three times the population of [[Province of Savona]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Italy: Regions, Provinces, Cities, Communes, Localities, Boroughs - Population Statistics in Maps and Charts |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/italy/ |access-date=2023-09-18 |website=www.citypopulation.de |language=en-us}}</ref>

There are many more regional primate cities in Europe. If excluding national capitals, examples include [[Gothenburg]] in [[Västra Götaland]], Sweden, [[Bergen]] in [[Vestland]] and [[Trondheim]], [[Trøndelag]] in Norway, [[Tampere]] in [[Pirkanmaa]], Finland and [[Aarhus]] in [[Midtjylland]], Denmark.

In [[Portugal]], the [[Lisbon metropolitan area|Lisbon Metropolitan Area]] has around 2.8 million people while the [[Porto metropolitan area|Porto Metropolitan Area]], the second biggest and other only official metropolitan area, has around 1.7 million people. These two metropolitan areas have around 40% the country's population and are multiple times larger than the third-biggest city, [[Braga]].

===North and Central America===
<!---The tables' population figures are correct for the cities' metropolitan areas, which usually have a much larger population than the municipalities proper. Please do not "correct" population figures that seem too large, as they are based on the metropolitan areas' populations.--->
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: right;"
|- style="vertical-align: bottom;"
! text-align: left;" | Country
! text-align: left;" | Primate
! text-align: right;" | Population
! text-align: left;" | Second largest
! text-align: right;" | Population
! text-align: right;" | Relative primacy
|-
|align=left|{{KNA}}
|align=left|[[Basseterre]] ||  13,000 ||align=left|[[Sandy Point Town]] ||  3,140
|4.1
|-
|align=left|{{BRB}}
|align=left|[[Bridgetown]]||  110,000 ||align=left|[[Oistins]] ||  3,000
|36.7
|-
|align=left|{{LCA}}
|align=left|[[Castries]]||  70,000 ||align=left|[[Gros Islet]]||  22,647
|3.1
|-
|align=left|{{GTM}}
|align=left|[[Guatemala City]]<ref name="Hobbs2009" /><ref name="Kent2006">{{cite book|author=Robert B. Kent|title=Latin America: Regions and People|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jWsD_Yk8YHQC&pg=PA261|date=January 2006|publisher=Guilford Press|isbn=978-1-57230-909-8|pages=144–}}</ref>||  2,749,161 ||align=left|[[Quetzaltenango]]||  792,530
|3.5
|-
|align=left|{{CUB}}
|align=left|[[Havana]]||  2,106,146 ||align=left|[[Santiago de Cuba]]||  433,099
|4.9
|-
|align=left|{{JAM}}
|align=left|[[Kingston, Jamaica|Kingston]]||  584,627 ||align=left|[[Portmore, Jamaica|Portmore]]||  182,153
|3.2
|-
|align=left|{{VCT}}
|align=left|[[Kingstown]]||  16,500 ||align=left|[[Georgetown, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines|Georgetown]]||  1,700
|9.7
|-
|align=left|{{NIC}}
|align=left|[[Managua]]<ref name="Hobbs2009" />||  1,401,687 ||align=left|[[León, Nicaragua|León]]||  206,264
|12.4
|-
|align=left|{{MEX}}
|align=left|[[Mexico City]]<ref name="Hobbs2009" /><ref name="Swanson2012" /><ref name="Kent2006" />||  20,400,000 ||align=left|[[Monterrey]]||  5,370,466
|4.1
|-
|align=left|{{BHS}}
|align=left|[[Nassau, Bahamas|Nassau]]||  274,400 ||align=left|[[Freeport, Bahamas|Freeport]]||  26,914
|10.2
|-
|align=left|{{PAN}}
|align=left|[[Panama City]]<ref name="WorldUrbanization" />||  880,691 ||align=left|[[La Chorrera, Panama|La Chorrera]]||  118,521
|7.4
|-
|align=left|{{HTI}}
|align=left|[[Port-au-Prince]]<ref name="WorldUrbanization" />||  2,618,894 ||align=left|[[Cap-Haïtien]]||  274,404
|9.5
|-
|align=left|{{DMA}}
|align=left|[[Roseau]]||  16,582 ||align=left|[[Portsmouth, Dominica|Portsmouth]]||  2,977
|5.6
|-
|align=left|{{CRI}}
|align=left|[[San José, Costa Rica|San José]]<ref name="WorldUrbanization" /><ref name="Hobbs2009" /><ref name="Kent2006" />||  2,158,898 ||align=left|[[Puerto Limón]]||  58,522
|36.9
|-
|align=left|{{SLV}}
|align=left|[[San Salvador]]<ref name="Hobbs2009" /><ref name="Kent2006" />||   2,406,709 ||align=left|[[Santa Ana, El Salvador|Santa Ana]]||  374,830
|10.0
|-
|align=left|{{DOM}}
|align=left|[[Santo Domingo]]||  2,908,607 ||align=left|[[Santiago de los Caballeros]]||  553,091
|5.3
|-
|align=left|{{GRD}}
|align=left|[[St. George's, Grenada|St. George's]]||   33,734 ||align=left|[[Grenville, Grenada|Grenville]]||  2,400
|14.1
|-
|align=left|{{ATG}}
|align=left|[[St. John's, Antigua and Barbuda|St. John's]]||  81,799 ||align=left|[[Liberta, Antigua|Liberta]]||  3,301
|24.8
|}
Although [[Belize]] does not have a primate city, [[Belize City]] is more than twice the size of [[San Ignacio, Belize|San Ignacio]], the country's second-largest city and urban area. Belize City is also the cultural and economic centre of Belize. The country's capital is [[Belmopan]], the third-largest city in Belize.

In the [[United States]], many primate cities exist at the state level. In [[California]], the population of [[Los Angeles]] (~4 million) is nearly three times that of the second-largest city in the state, [[San Diego]]. Likewise, in [[Illinois]], [[Chicago]] has 15 times the population of the state's second-largest city, [[Aurora, Illinois|Aurora]], which itself is a suburb of Chicago, and 18 times the population of [[Rockford, Illinois|Rockford]], the state's fifth-largest city and the largest outside of the [[Chicago metropolitan area]], which comprises nearly two-thirds of the state's population. In [[New York (state)|New York]], [[New York City]], with a 2022 population of about 8.3 million, is more than 30 times larger than the state's second-largest city of [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]]. [[Erie County, New York|Erie County]], where Buffalo is located, is the eighth-largest county in the state and the largest outside of the [[New York metropolitan area]], with around 950,000 residents; on the other hand, New York City alone contains four of the six largest counties in the state, each with at least 1.35 million residents.<ref>{{Cite web |title=USA: States, Counties, Cities, Places, Urban Areas & Metropolitan Areas - Population Statistics in Maps and Charts |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/usa/ |access-date=2023-09-18 |website=www.citypopulation.de |language=en-us}}</ref>

Canada also has several primate cities at the provincial level: Vancouver, BC; Winnipeg, MB; Toronto, ON; Montreal, QC; Halifax, NS; and St. John's, NL.

===Oceania===
<!---The tables' population figures are correct for the metropolitan area, which usually has a much larger population than the municipality proper. Please do not "correct" population figures that seem too large, as they are based off the metropolitan area population.--->

{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: right;"
|- style="vertical-align: bottom;"
! text-align: left;" | Country
! text-align: left;" | Primate
! text-align: right;" | Population
! text-align: left;" | Second largest
! text-align: right;" | Population
! text-align: right;" | Relative primacy
|-
|align=left|{{WSM}}
|align=left|[[Apia]]
|  36,735
|align=left|[[Afega]]
|  1,781
|20.6
|-
|align=left|{{flagicon|New Zealand}} [[New Zealand]]
|align=left|[[Auckland]]
|  {{NZ population data 2018|Auckland FUA|y}}
|align=left|[[Christchurch]]
|  {{NZ population data 2018|Christchurch FUA|y}}
|{{Rnd|{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|Auckland FUA|y}}|R}}/{{formatnum:{{NZ population data 2018|Christchurch FUA|y}}|R}}|1}}
|-
|align=left|{{TUV}}
|align=left|[[Funafuti]] ||  6,025 ||align=left|[[Asau, Tuvalu|Asau]] ||  650
|9.3
|-
|align=left|{{SLB}}
|align=left|[[Honiara]] ||  64,609 ||align=left|[[Auki]] ||  7,785
|8.3
|-
|align=left|{{TON}}
|align=left|[[Nukuʻalofa]] ||  24,571 ||align=left|[[Neiafu (Vavaʻu)|Neiafu]] ||  6,000
|4.1
|-
|align=left|{{PNG}}
|align=left|[[Port Moresby]] ||  410,954 ||align=left|[[Lae]] ||  76,255
|5.4
|-
|align=left|{{FJI}}
|align=left|[[Suva]] ||  175,399 ||align=left|[[Lautoka]] ||  52,220
|3.4
|-
|align=left|{{KIR}}
|align=left|[[South Tarawa]] ||  50,182 ||align=left|[[Abaiang]] ||  5,502
|9.1
|-
|}

Australia does not have a primate city, but at the state level, each of the [[List of Australian capital cities|capital cities]] of the states and territories act as the primate city of that state or territory.

===South America===
<!---The tables' population figures are correct for the metropolitan area, which usually has a much larger population than the municipality proper. Please do not "correct" population figures that seem too large, as they are based off the metropolitan area population.--->
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align: right;"
|- style="vertical-align: bottom;"
! text-align: left;" | Country
! text-align: left;" | Primate
! text-align: right;" | Population
! text-align: left;" | Second largest
! text-align: right;" | Population
! text-align: right;" | Relative primacy
|-
|align=left|{{PRY}} 
|align=left|[[Gran Asunción]]<ref name="WorldUrbanization" /> ||  2,698,401 ||align=left|[[Ciudad del Este]] ||  293,817
|9.2
|-
|align=left|{{ARG}} 
|align=left|[[Buenos Aires]]<ref name="Swanson2012" /><ref name="Kent2006" /> ||  12,741,364 ||align=left|[[Córdoba, Argentina|Córdoba]] ||  1,528,000
|8.3
|-
|align=left|{{GUY}}
|align=left|[[Georgetown, Guyana|Georgetown]] ||  118,363 ||align=left|[[Linden, Guyana|Linden]] ||  29,298
|4.0
|-
|align=left|{{PER}}
|align=left|[[Lima]]<ref name="Kent2006" /> ||  9,752,000 ||align=left|[[Arequipa]] ||  1,034,736
|9.4
|-
|align=left|{{URY}}
|align=left|[[Montevideo]]<ref name="WorldUrbanization" /><ref name="Kent2006" /> ||  1,947,604 ||align=left|[[Salto, Uruguay|Salto]] ||  104,028
|18.7
|-
|align=left|{{SUR}}
|align=left|[[Paramaribo]] ||  240,924 ||align=left|[[Lelydorp]] ||  19,910
|12.1
|-
|align=left|{{CHL}}
|align=left|[[Santiago Metropolitan Region|Santiago]]<ref name="WorldUrbanization" /> ||  6,685,685 ||align=left|[[Greater Valparaíso|Valparaíso]] ||  1,036,127
|6.5
|-
|align=left|{{COL}}
|align=left|[[Bogotá]] ||  8,034,649 ||align=left|[[Medellín]] ||  3,591,963
|2.2
|}

[[Brazil]] does not have a primate city, but Brazilian [[List of capitals of subdivisions of Brazil|state capitals]] typically act as the primate city for their [[States of Brazil|respective state]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Regiões de influência das cidades : 2018 |trans-title=Regions of influence of the cities : 2018 |url=https://biblioteca.ibge.gov.br/visualizacao/livros/liv101728.pdf |date=2020 |publisher=[[IBGE]] |isbn=978-65-87201-04-7 |access-date=22 September 2025 |lang=pt-br}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Capital city]]
* [[Primate (disambiguation)]]
* [[Global city]]
* [[Megacity]]
* [[Metropolis]]
* [[Rank–size distribution]]
* [[Secondary city]]

== Notes ==
{{Reflist|group="Note"}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{Urban pop list}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Primate City}}
[[Category:Types of cities]]
[[Category:Geography-related lists]]
[[Category:Urban studies and planning terminology]]