Largest cities of the European Union by population - Definition and Overview

This list includes the most up-to-date official census figures or census estimates with regards to the population of the largest cities in the European Union. The European Union statistics agency Eurostat, does not gather information with regards to the population of cities within the member states, it is rather the task of national statistical agencies that gather such information every 5 to 10 years and that often make official estimates on the population of the cities. This list includes only official information from those agencies.

Top 100 cities

National capitals are in bold.

Rank	City/Country	Population	Census year
1 Reinounido.jpg	London, United Kingdom	7,172,091	2001
2 Alemania.jpg	Berlin, Germany	3,388,477	2003 (estimate)
3 Espana.jpg	Madrid, Spain	3,092,759	2003 (estimate)
4 Italia.jpg	Rome, Italy	2,542,003	2004 (estimate, January 1)
5 Francia.jpg	Paris, France	2,125,246	1999
6 Hungria.jpg	Budapest, Hungary	1,775,203	2001
7 Alemania.jpg	Hamburg, Germany	1,734,083	2003 (estimate)
8 Polonia.jpg	Warsaw, Poland	1,687,628	2005 (estimate)
9 Espana.jpg	Barcelona, Spain	1,582,738	2003 (estimate)
10 Austria.jpg	Vienna, Austria	1,550,123	2001
12 Italia.jpg	Milan, Italy	1,271,898	2004 (estimate, January 1)
12 Alemania.jpg	Munich, Germany	1,247,873	2003 (estimate)
13	Prague, Czech Republic	1,165,581	2004 (estimate)
14 Italia.jpg	Naples, Italy	1,000,499	2004 (estimate, January 1)
15 Reinounido.jpg	Birmingham, United Kingdom	970,892	2001
16 Alemania.jpg	Cologne, Germany	965,954	2003 (estimate)
17 Italia.jpg	Turin, Italy	867,857	2004 (estimate, January 1)
18 Francia.jpg	Marseille, France	798,430	1999
19 Espana.jpg	Valencia, Spain	780,653	2003 (estimate)
20 Polonia.jpg	Lodz, Poland	768,901	2005 (estimate)
21 Suecia.jpg	Stockholm, Sweden	765,582	2004 (estimate, November 1)
22 Polonia.jpg	Krakow, Poland	760,343	2005 (estimate)
23 Letonia.jpg	Riga, Latvia	747,157	2002 (estimate)
24 Grecia.jpg	Athens, Greece	745,514	2001
25 Holanda.jpg	Amsterdam, Netherlands	735,080	2003 (estimate)
26 Espana.jpg	Sevilla, Spain	709,975	2003 (estimate)
27 Italia.jpg	Palermo, Italy	679,730	2004 (estimate, January 1)
28 Alemania.jpg	Frankfurt, Germany	643,432	2003 (estimate)
29 Polonia.jpg	Wroclaw, Poland	637,162	2005 (estimate)
30 Reinounido.jpg	Glasgow, United Kingdom	629,501	2001
31 Espana.jpg	Zaragoza, Spain	626,081	2003 (estimate)
32 Italia.jpg	Genoa, Italy	601,338	2004 (estimate, January 1)
33 Holanda.jpg	Rotterdam, Netherlands	599,472	2003 (estimate)
34 Alemania.jpg	Dortmund, Germany	589,661	2003 (estimate)
35 Alemania.jpg	Essen, Germany	589,499	2003 (estimate)
36 Alemania.jpg	Stuttgart, Germany	589,161	2003 (estimate)
37 Polonia.jpg	Poznan, Poland	573,039	2005 (estimate)
38 Alemania.jpg	Düsseldorf, Germany	572,511	2003 (estimate)
39 Portugal.jpg	Lisbon, Portugal	564,657	2001
40 Finlandia.jpg	Helsinki, Finland	559,330	2003 (estimate)
41 Lituania.jpg	Vilnius, Lithuania	553,283	2003 (estimate)
42 Espana.jpg	Malaga, Spain	547,105	2003 (estimate)
43 Alemania.jpg	Bremen, Germany	544,853	2003 (estimate)
44 Alemania.jpg	Hannover, Germany	516,160	2003 (estimate)
45 Alemania.jpg	Duisburg, Germany	506,496	2003 (estimate)
46 Dinamarca.jpg	Copenhagen, Denmark	501,285	2003 (estimate)
47 Alemania.jpg	Leipzig, Germany	497,531	2003 (estimate)
48 Irlanda.jpg	Dublin, Ireland	495,781	2002
49 Alemania.jpg	Nurnberg, Germany	493,553	2003 (estimate)
50 Alemania.jpg	Dresden, Germany	483,632	2003 (estimate)
51 Suecia.jpg	Göteborg, Sweden	481,523	2004 (estimate, November 1)
52 Reinounido.jpg	Liverpool, United Kingdom	469,017	2001
53 Holanda.jpg	The Hague, Netherlands	463,841	2003 (estimate)
54 Polonia.jpg	Gdańsk, Poland	457,404	2005 (estimate)
55 Belgium11.jpg	Antwerp, Belgium	455,148	2004 (estimate)
56 Francia.jpg	Lyon, France	445,452	1999
57 Reinounido.jpg	Leeds, United Kingdom	443,247	2001
58 Reinounido.jpg	Sheffield, United Kingdom	439,866	2001
59 Reinounido.jpg	Edinburgh, United Kingdom	430,082	2001
60 Eslovaquia.jpg	Bratislava, Slovakia	428,672	2001
61 Reinounido.jpg	Bristol, United Kingdom	420,556	2001
62 Polonia.jpg	Szczecin, Poland	413,638	2005 (estimate)
63 Estonia.jpg	Tallinn, Estonia	400,378	2000
64 Reinounido.jpg	Manchester, United Kingdom	394,269	2001
65 Espana.jpg	Murcia, Spain	391,146	2003 (estimate)
66 Francia.jpg	Toulouse, France	390,350	1999
67 Alemania.jpg	Bochum, Germany	387,283	2003 (estimate)
68 Espana.jpg	Las Palmas, Spain	377,600	2003 (estimate)
69 Lituania.jpg	Kaunas, Lithuania	373,669	2003 (estimate)
70 Italia.jpg	Bologna, Italy	373,539	2004 (estimate, January 1)
71	Brno, Czech Republic	369,559	2004 (estimate)
72 Polonia.jpg	Bydgoszcz, Poland	368,845	2005 (estimate)
73 Espana.jpg	Palma de Mallorca, Spain	367,277	2003 (estimate)
74 Italia.jpg	Florence, Italy	367,259	2004 (estimate, January 1)
75 Grecia.jpg	Thessaloniki, Greece	363,987	2001
76 Alemania.jpg	Wuppertal, Germany	362,137	2003 (estimate)
77 Polonia.jpg	Lublin, Poland	357,167	2005 (estimate)
78 Espana.jpg	Bilbao, Spain	353,567	2003 (estimate)
79 Francia.jpg	Nice, France	342,738	1999
80 Reinounido.jpg	Leicester, United Kingdom	330,574	2001
81 Alemania.jpg	Bielefeld, Germany	328,452	2003 (estimate)
82 Espana.jpg	Valladolid, Spain	321,143	2003 (estimate)
83 Espana.jpg	Córdoba, Spain	318,628	2003 (estimate)
84 Polonia.jpg	Katowice, Poland	318,588	2005 (estimate)
85 Italia.jpg	Bari, Italy	314,166	2004 (estimate, January 1)
86	Ostrava, Czech Republic	313,088	2003 (estimate)
87 Alemania.jpg	Bonn, Germany	311,052	2003 (estimate)
88 Alemania.jpg	Mannheim, Germany	308,353	2003 (estimate)
89 Italia.jpg	Catania, Italy	307,774	2004 (estimate, January 1)
90 Espana.jpg	Alicante, Spain	305,911	2003 (estimate)
91 Reinounido.jpg	Coventry, United Kingdom	303,475	2001
92 Reinounido.jpg	Kingston upon Hull, United Kingdom	301,416	2001
93 Polonia.jpg	Bialystok, Poland	294,072	2005 (estimate)
94 Reinounido.jpg	Bradford, United Kingdom	293,717	2001
95 Espana.jpg	Vigo, Spain	292,566	2003 (estimate)
96 Reinounido.jpg	Cardiff, United Kingdom	292,150	2002
97 Dinamarca.jpg	Arhus, Denmark	291,258	2003 (estimate)
98 Alemania.jpg	Karlsruhe, Germany	282,595	2003 (estimate)
99 Reinounido.jpg	Belfast, United Kingdom	277,391	2001
100 Alemania.jpg	Gelsenkirchen, Germany	272,445	2001 (estimate)

Other notable cities

• Brussels - the capital city of both Belgium and the European Union is nowhere near the top 100 list, as the municipality has a total population of only 141,312 (Census estimate 2004). The greater Brussels-Capital Region has a population of almost 1 million, which would place it 15th on this list.
• Bordeaux, France - not on the list because the large majority of people in Bordeaux Metropolitan Area live in the suburbs, outside of the city limits of Bordeaux.
• Ljubljana - the Slovenian capital has a total population of 258,873 and its population is currently declining.
• Luxembourg - the capital city of Luxembourg has a total population of 77,325 (Census Estimate 2004).
• Nicosia - the capital of Cyprus has a population of 47,832 ( Census 2001).
• Nottingham, United Kingdom - the famous English city lost over 20,000 of its inhabitants between 1991 and 2001.
• Valletta, Malta – the capital city has a total population of only 7,199 (Census Estimate 2001). The largest city in Malta is Birkirkara, with a population of around 25,000.
• Venice, Italy - the famous Italian city was constantly losing population for over 20 years until 2003 when the influx of immigrant population gave Venice a net gain of 3417 citizens in comparison to 2002. The city may be back in the top 100 soon. Its current population is 271,663 ( Census Estimate 2004-01-01 ).

Cities likely to enter the top 100 in the near future

• L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Spain - the EU's biggest suburb currently has a total population of 246,415 and growing. The Catalan city is likely to enter the top 100 within five years.
• Malmö, Sweden - with a total population of 268,971 (2004) and a fast and steady growth the 3rd largest Swedish city is virtually assured to be on the top 100 list within one year.
• Nantes, France - this city is already 103rd on the list and given its healthy gains of population is likely to enter the top 100 in less than two years. Nantes attractive business climate and low crime rate encourages a further growth of the city.
• Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain - this city on the Canary Islands had a net gain of population of 31,545 between 2001 and 2003 according to Spanish Census estimates. This gain is due to a large influx of population from other EU countries. Currently the city has a total population of 220,022 but with such growth the city is likely to crack the top 100 within five years.
• Utrecht, Netherlands - on its way to become of the 100 largest cities of the EU. With a total population of 265,107 and steady growth Utrecht is assured to make the list within two years.

Cities likely to lose their top 100 status in the future

• Bari and Catania, Italy - massive population losses for all Italian cities are especially large in the cities of southern part of Italy like these two.
• Belfast, United Kingdom - a rather uncertain political climate in Northern Ireland is probably behind the net loss of population in Belfast.
• Bochum, Gelsenkirchen and Wuppertal, Germany - these three industrial cities in the Rhine-Ruhr area had a declining population for many years and looking at the current demographic tendency it is all but certain that all of them will disappear from the top 100 list in the near future.
• Katowice, Poland - this industrial city loses its population quickly. In three years the city is unlikely to figure among the 100 largest EU cities.
• Kingston upon Hull, United Kingdom - yet another industrial city with large loss of population in recent years.

Future member countries

Bulgaria and Romania are scheduled to become members of the European Union in 2007. The cities that would currently make the top 100 from these countries are:

Romania

• Bucharest 1,921,751 (Census 2002 data)
• Iasi 321,580
• Cluj-Napoca 318,027
• Timisoara 317,651
• Constanta 310,526
• Craiova 302,622
• Galati 298,584
• Brasov 283,901

All of these cities registered massive losses of population and it is possible that not a single one from this list except Bucharest will make the top 100 in 2007.

Bulgaria

• Sofia 1,096,389 (Census 2001 data)
• Plovdiv 340,638
• Varna 314,539

Unlike Romania, major Bulgarian cities tend to register little change with regards to their population. Between 2002 and 1999 Sofia and Plovdiv lost and Varna gained a couple of thousand of residents.