List of metropolitan areas in Europe
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This list ranks metropolitan areas in Europe by their population according to three different sources; it includes metropolitan areas that have a population of over 1 million.
Sources
List includes metropolitan areas according only to the studies of ESPON, Eurostat, and OECD. For this reason some metropolitan areas, like the Italian Genoa Metropolitan Area (with a population of 1,510,781 as of 2010[1]) or the Ukrainian Kryvyi Rih metropolitan area (with a population of 1,170,953 as of 2019[2]), are not included in this list, with data by other statistic survey institutes.
Population figures correspond to the populations of Functional urban areas (FUA). The concept of a functional urban area defines a metropolitan area as a core urban area defined morphologically on the basis of population density, plus the surrounding labour pool defined on the basis of commuting. Figures in the first two population columns use a harmonised definition of a Functional urban area developed jointly in 2011, with delimitation basing on the DEGURBA method.[3][4]
Further information on how the areas are defined can be found in the source documents. These figures should be seen as an interpretation, not as conclusive fact.
Metropolitan areas
| Metropolitan area name | Country | OECD (2020)[5] |
Eurostat[6] |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amsterdam metropolitan area |  Netherlands |
2,017,935 | 2,961,252 (2023) |
| Antwerp |  Belgium |
1,860,869 | 1,183,670 (2024) |
| Athens metropolitan area |  Greece |
3,618,860 | 3,828,434 (2011) |
| Barcelona metropolitan area |  Spain |
5,345,763 | 5,156,444 (2023) |
| Belgrade |  Serbia |
1,612,587 | — |
| Berlin metropolitan area |  Germany |
4,558,043 | 5,106,083 (2023) |
| Bilbao metropolitan area | Spain |
957,261 | 1,044,944 (2023) |
| Bordeaux |  France |
1,085,823 | 1,412,388 (2022) |
| Greater Bristol |  United Kingdom |
1,274,128 | 955,541 (2018) |
| Brussels metropolitan area | Belgium |
2,338,157 | 3,425,403 (2024) |
| Bucharest metropolitan area |  Romania |
2,348,982 | 2,478,618 (2018) |
| Budapest metropolitan area |  Hungary |
2,798,396 | 2,968,809 (2023) |
| Cardiff | United Kingdom |
1,165,502 | 915,466 (2018) |
| Copenhagen metropolitan area |  Denmark |
2,088,197 | 1,928,612 (2013) |
| Dnipro |  Ukraine |
1,014,593 | — |
| Donetsk | Ukraine |
1,450,194 | — |
| Dublin Metropolitan Area |  Ireland |
1,721,812 | 1,793,902 (2011) |
| Frankfurt Rhine-Main | Germany |
3,167,862 | 2,722,157 (2023) |
| Gdańsk (Tricity) |  Poland |
987,006 | 1,223,884 (2021) |
| Greater Glasgow | United Kingdom |
1,790,499 | 1,830,710 (2018) |
| Gothenburg |  Sweden |
941,867 | 1,021,831 (2018) |
| The Hague | Netherlands |
3,592,389[a] | 1,150,797 (2023) |
| Hamburg Metropolitan Region | Germany |
2,763,491 | 3,493,121 (2023) |
| Hannover | Germany |
1,156,114 | 1,310,004 (2023) |
| Helsinki Metropolitan Area |  Finland |
1,439,175 | 1,750,158 (2024) |
| Istanbul[b] |  Turkey |
14,693,269 | 11,044,642 (2004) |
| Katowice metropolitan area | Poland |
2,843,725 | 2,417,386 (2021) |
| Kazan metropolitan area |  Russia |
1,341,784 | — |
| Kharkiv | Ukraine |
1,713,794 | — |
| Kraków metropolitan area | Poland |
1,339,089 | 1,489,912 (2021) |
| Kyiv metropolitan area | Ukraine |
3,545,076 | — |
| Lille | France |
1,226,810 | 1,528,848 (2022) |
| Lisbon metropolitan area |  Portugal |
2,731,340 | 3,115,288 (2024) |
| Łódź metropolitan area | Poland |
1,041,339 | 893,083 (2021) |
| London metropolitan area | United Kingdom |
13,475,297 | 12,434,823 (2018) |
| Lyon | France |
2,090,206 | 2,327,861 (2022) |
| Madrid metropolitan area | Spain |
6,989,714 | 6,982,656 (2022) |
| Málaga | Spain |
1,048,764 | 903,175 (2023) |
| Greater Manchester | United Kingdom |
3,374,693 | 3,348,274 (2018) |
| Mannheim-Ludwigshafen | Germany |
1,755,988 | 1,334,633 (2022) |
| Marseille | France |
1,322,989 | 1,900,957 (2023) |
| Liverpool City Region | United Kingdom |
1,729,058 | 1,533,860 (2018) |
| Milan metropolitan area |  Italy |
5,301,987 | 5,071,521 (2024) |
| Minsk metropolitan area |  Belarus |
2,173,105 | — |
| Moscow metropolitan area | Russia |
17,217,606 | — |
| Munich | Germany |
2,618,482 | 3,066,200 (2023) |
| Nantes | France |
946,441 | 1,041,894 (2022) |
| Naples metropolitan area | Italy |
4,095,364 | 3,377,568 (2024) |
| Nice | France |
1,143,557 | 634,940 (2022) |
| Nizhny Novgorod | Russia |
1,430,212 | — |
| Nottingham-Derby | United Kingdom |
1,618,393 | 1,406,315[c] (2018) |
| Northwest Metropolitan Region (Bremen) | Germany |
912,616 | 1,058,197 (2023) |
| Nuremberg Metropolitan Region | Germany |
1,307,726 | 1,197,848 (2023) |
| Odesa | Ukraine |
1,273,381 | — |
| Greater Oslo Region |  Norway |
1,422,223 | 1,278,827 (2013) |
| Paris metropolitan area | France |
11,249,025 | 13,239,090 (2022) |
| Porto Metropolitan Area | Portugal |
1,651,124 | 1,339,620 (2024) |
| Portsmouth-Southampton | United Kingdom |
1,390,006 | 1,230,011[d] (2018) |
| Poznań metropolitan area | Poland |
975,965 | 1,051,414 (2021) |
| Prague metropolitan area |  Czech Republic |
1,977,776 | 2,216,746 (2022) |
| Rhein-Nord[e] (Düsseldorf - Neuss) | Germany |
2,557,228[f] | 2,279,102[g] (2023) |
| Rhein-Süd[e] (Cologne - Bonn) | Germany |
3,354,797 | 3,034,481[h] (2023) |
| Rome metropolitan area | Italy |
3,684,930 | 4,383,028 (2024) |
| Rostov-on-Don | Russia |
1,349,583 | — |
| Rotterdam | Netherlands |
3,592,389[a] | 1,880,019 (2023) |
| Ruhr[e] | Germany |
6,108,500 | 5,068,912 (2021) |
| Saint Petersburg metropolitan area | Russia |
5,518,560 | — |
| Samara | Russia |
1,307,406 | — |
| Saratov | Russia |
1,097,493 | — |
| Seville metropolitan area | Spain |
1,299,106 | 1,567,827 (2021) |
| Sofia |  Bulgaria |
1,488,887 | 1,531,867 (2022) |
| South Yorkshire (Sheffield-Doncaster) | United Kingdom |
1,166,720 | 1,189,393 (2018) |
| Metropolitan Stockholm | Sweden |
2,241,651 | 2,308,143 (2018) |
| Stuttgart Metropolitan Region | Germany |
2,300,011 | 2,558,400 (2023) |
| Tbilisi[i] |  Georgia |
1,485,293 | — |
| Thessaloniki metropolitan area | Greece |
1,011,795 | 973,997 (2011) |
| Toulouse | France |
1,332,370 | 1,513,396 (2022) |
| Turin metropolitan area | Italy |
1,828,088 | 1,776,003 (2023) |
| Tyne and Wear (Newcastle-Sunderland) | United Kingdom |
1,719,730 | 1,175,274 (2018) |
| Ufa | Russia |
1,149,103 | — |
| Valencia | Spain |
1,916,932 | 1,811,626 (2023) |
| Vienna |  Austria |
2,565,196 | — |
| Volgograd | Russia |
1,402,254 | — |
| Voronezh | Russia |
1,127,100 | — |
| Warsaw metropolitan area | Poland |
2,975,932 | 3,374,742 (2021) |
| West Midlands conurbation (Birmingham) | United Kingdom |
3,083,783 | 3,097,965 (2018) |
| West Yorkshire Built-up Area (Leeds - Bradford) | United Kingdom |
3,010,473 | 2,619,128 (2018) |
| Yerevan[i] |  Armenia |
1,232,670 | — |
| Zagreb metropolitan area |  Croatia |
1,008,763 | 1,161,259 (2022) |
| Zurich metropolitan area |  Switzerland |
2,124,246 | 1,951,341 (2022) |
Polycentric metropolitan areas in the European Union
| Rank | Area | State | Population[7] |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region | Germany |
12,190,000 |
| 2 | Randstad | Netherlands |
6,787,000 |
| 3 | Katowice-Ostrava metropolitan area | Poland/ Czech Republic |
5,294,000 |
| 4 | Flemish Diamond | Belgium |
5,103,000 |
| 5 | Vienna-Bratislava metropolitan region | Austria/  Slovakia |
4,600,000 |
See also
- List of European cities by population within city limits
- List of urban areas in Europe
- List of European city regions
- Lists of cities in Europe
- List of largest cities in the European Union by population within city limits
- List of urban areas in the European Union
- List of European Union cities proper by population density
- List of metropolitan areas by population for the world
- World's largest cities
Regional and country-specific lists
- Largest metropolitan areas in the Nordic countries
- List of metropolitan areas in Belgium
- List of metropolitan areas in France
- List of metropolitan areas in Germany
- List of metropolitan areas in Italy
- List of metropolitan areas in Poland
- List of metropolitan areas in Romania
- List of metropolitan areas in Spain
- List of metropolitan areas in Sweden
- List of metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom
Notes
- Combined total population of Rotterdam–The Hague metropolitan area.
- 65% of the population lives on the European part
- Lists Nottingham (919,484) and Derby (486,831) as two separate metropolitan areas.
- Lists Portsmouth (542,040) and Southampton (687,971) as two separate metropolitan areas.
- Polycentric metropolitan area
- Lists Düsseldorf (1,087,466), Wuppertal (872,475), and Mönchengladbach (597,287) as three separate metropolitan areas.
- Lists Düsseldorf (1,482,443), Wuppertal (387,599), and Mönchengladbach (409,060) as three separate metropolitan areas.
- Lists Cologne (2,234,016) and Bonn (800,465) as two separate metropolitan areas.
- Continental placement may vary depending on geographic convention being followed.