Largest cities of the European Union by population

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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. It deals exclusively with the areas within city boundaries as opposed to urban areas or metropolitan areas.

In some cases, the list of Largest urban areas of the European Union gives figures that better reflect common understanding of the different cities' sizes as the metropolitan areas also include non-urban and suburban areas and administrative borders for cities often cut across the urban areas.

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 exclusively official information from those agencies as well as official information from local government authorities.

1 Top 100 administrative units
2 Other notable cities
3 Cities likely to enter the top 100 in the near future
4 Cities likely to lose their top 100 status in the future
5 Future member countries
- 5.1 Romania
- 5.2 Bulgaria
6 Candidate and potential candidate countries

Top 100 administrative units

National capitals are in bold.

Rank	City and country	Population	Census year
1.	London, United Kingdom	7,615,000	2005 (official estimate) [1]
2.	Berlin, Germany	3,392,026	2005 (local authority estimate), August 31)
3.	Madrid, Spain	3,155,359	2005 (official, January 1)
4.	Rome, Italy	2,542,003	2004 (official, January 1)
5.	Paris, France	2,142,800	2004 (estimate)
6.	Hamburg, Germany	1,738,483	2005 (local authority estimate), November)
7.	Budapest, Hungary	1,734,083	2003 (estimate)
8.	Warsaw, Poland	1,687,628	2005 (estimate)
9.	Vienna, Austria	1,631.082	2005 (official)
10.	Barcelona, Spain	1,593,075	2005 (official, January 1)
11.	Munich, Germany	1.288.065	2005 (local authority estimate), November 30)
12.	Milan, Italy	1,271,898	2004 (official, January 1)
13.	Prague, Czech Republic	1,182,100	2005 (estimate)
14.	Naples, Italy	1,000,499	2004 (official, January 1)
15.	Cologne, Germany	975.907	2005 (local authority estimate), June 30)
16.	Birmingham, United Kingdom	970,892	2001 (census)
17.	Turin, Italy	867,857	2004 (official, January 1)
18.	Marseille, France	798,430	1999
19.	Valencia, Spain	796,549	2005 (official, January 1)
20.	Łódź, Poland	768,901	2005 (estimate)
21.	Stockholm, Sweden	765,582	2004 (estimate, November 1)
22.	Kraków, Poland	760,343	2005 (estimate)
23.	Riga, Latvia	747,157	2002 (estimate)
24.	Athens, Greece	745,514	2001
25.	Amsterdam, Netherlands	742,209	2005 (estimate)
26.	Leeds, United Kingdom	715,235	2003 (estimate)
27.	Sevilla, Spain	704,154	2005 (official, January 1)
28.	Palermo, Italy	679,730	2004 (official, January 1)
29.	Frankfurt, Germany	648,325	2005 (estimate)
30.	Zaragoza, Spain	647,373	2005 (official, January 1)
31.	Wrocław, Poland	637,162	2005 (estimate)
32.	Glasgow, United Kingdom	629,501	2001
33.	Genoa, Italy	601,338	2004 (official, January 1)
34.	Rotterdam, Netherlands	599,472	2003 (estimate)
35.	Dortmund, Germany	589,661	2003 (estimate)
36.	Essen, Germany	589,499	2003 (estimate)
37.	Stuttgart, Germany	589,161	2003 (estimate)
38.	Poznań, Poland	573,039	2005 (estimate)
39.	Düsseldorf, Germany	572,511	2003 (estimate)
40.	Lisbon, Portugal	564,657	2001
41.	Helsinki, Finland	559,330	2003 (estimate)
42.	Málaga, Spain	558,287	2005 (official, January 1)
43.	Vilnius, Lithuania	553,283	2003 (estimate)
44.	Bremen, Germany	544,853	2003 (estimate)
45.	Hannover, Germany	516,160	2003 (estimate)
46.	Sheffield, United Kingdom	516,100	2004 (estimate)
47.	Leipzig, Germany	503,169	2006 (estimate)
48.	Duisburg, Germany	502,522	2005 (estimate)
49.	Copenhagen, Denmark	501,285	2003 (estimate)
50.	Dublin, Ireland	495,781	2002 (City proper - Greater Dublin Area: (approx.) 1,274,100)
51.	Nuremberg, Germany	493,553	2003 (estimate)
52.	Dresden, Germany	487,421	2005 (http://www.statistik.sachsen.de/Index/21gemstat/unterseite21.htm)
53.	Göteborg, Sweden	481,523	2004 (estimate, November 1)
54.	Liverpool, United Kingdom	469,017	2001
55.	The Hague, Netherlands	463,841	2003 (estimate)
56.	Gdańsk, Poland	457,404	2005 (estimate)
57.	Antwerp, Belgium	455,148	2004 (estimate)
58.	Lyon, France	445,452	1999 (census)
59.	Leeds, United Kingdom	443,247	2001 (census)
60.	Sheffield, United Kingdom	439,866	2001 (census)
61.	Bratislava, Slovakia	428,672	2001
62.	Bristol, United Kingdom	420,556	2001 (census)
63.	Szczecin, Poland	413,638	2005 (estimate)
64.	Murcia, Spain	409,810	2005 (official, January 1)
65.	Tallinn, Estonia	400,378	2000
66.	Manchester, United Kingdom	394,269	2001 (census)
67.	Toulouse, France	390,350	1999 (census)
68.	Bochum, Germany	387,283	2003 (estimate)
69.	Las Palmas, Spain	378,628	2005 (official, January 1)
70.	Palma de Mallorca, Spain	375,773	2005 (official, January 1)
71.	Kaunas, Lithuania	373,669	2003 (estimate)
72.	Bologna, Italy	373,539	2004 (official, January 1)
73.	Brno, Czech Republic	369,559	2004 (estimate)
74.	Bydgoszcz, Poland	368,845	2005 (estimate)
75.	Florence, Italy	367,259	2004 (official, January 1)
76.	Thessaloniki, Greece	363,987	2001
77.	Wuppertal, Germany	362,137	2003 (estimate)
78.	Lublin, Poland	357,167	2005 (estimate)
79.	Bilbao, Spain	353,173	2005 (official, January 1)
80.	Nice, France	342,738	1999(census)
81.	Bari, Italy	328,458	2004 (official, December 31)
82.	Bielefeld, Germany	328,452	2003 (estimate)
83.	Córdoba, Spain	321,164	2005 (official, January 1)
84.	Valladolid, Spain	321,001	2005 (official, January 1)
85.	Alicante, Spain	319,380	2005 (official, January 1)
86.	Katowice, Poland	318,588	2005 (estimate)
87.	Ostrava, Czech Republic	313,088	2003 (estimate)
88.	Bonn, Germany	312,295	2005 (estimate)
89.	Mannheim, Germany	307,721	2005 (estimate)
90.	Catania, Italy	305,671	2005 ([2], May 1)
91.	Coventry, United Kingdom	303,475	2001 (census)
92.	Kingston upon Hull, United Kingdom	301,416	2001 (census)
93.	Białystok, Poland	294,072	2005 (estimate)
94.	Vigo, Spain	293,725	2005 (official, January 1)
95.	Bradford, United Kingdom	293,717	2003 (estimate)
96.	Arhus, Denmark	291,258	2003 (estimate)
97.	Cardiff, United Kingdom	292,150	2003 (estimate)
98.	Karlsruhe, Germany	283,959	2005 (local authority estimate)([3])
99.	Belfast, United Kingdom	277,391	2001 (estimate)
100.	Wiesbaden, Germany	274 318	2005 (local authority estimate) ([4])

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 14th on this list.
Bordeaux, France – the city in Aquitaine is not on the list because most people in the Bordeaux Metropolitan Area live in the suburbs, outside of the city limits.
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). It is the third largest municipality in Cyprus.
Lille, France – the city in French Flanders is not on the list because most people in the Lille Metropolitan Area live in the suburbs, outside of the city limits.
Nottingham, United Kingdom, 273,863 (2003 est.) – the famous English city lost over 20,000 of its inhabitants between 1991 and 2001, owing mostly to migration from the inner city to suburbs outside the city limits.
Porto, Portugal - 263,131 (2001 est.) - the second city in Portugal. One of the biggest metropolitan areas on the European Atlantic coast. Plans of an union with Vila Nova de Gaia could mean the formation of a city with 400,000 inhabitants.
Strasbourg, France – another important city in terms of the European Union is just short of the list, with a population of 264,115 as of 1999, but the 2004 estimate suggests that it is now closer with a population of 273,100. The area has a total population of around 450,000.
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 just under 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 250,536 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's attractive business climate and low crime rate encourages a further growth of the city.
Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain - this city in the Canary Islands had a net gain of population of over 7 000 people between 2001 and 2005 according to Spanish Census estimates. This gain is due to a large influx of population from other EU countries. As of 2005 the city had a total population of 221,567 and with such growth the city is likely to crack the top 100 within the next decade.
Utrecht, the Netherlands. Utrecht has a population of 276.000 on this moment and get a new area (Leidsche Rijn), in which can live around 80.000 people.

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 and Wuppertal, Germany - these two industrial cities in the Ruhr area have 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 as did another Ruhr area city Gelsenkirchen which was included in the top 100 until 2004.
Katowice, Poland - this industrial city is losing its population quickly. In three years the city is unlikely to figure among the 100 largest EU cities.

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)
Iaşi 321,580
Cluj-Napoca 318,027
Timişoara 317,651
Constanţa 310,526
Craiova 302,622
Galaţi 298,584
Braşov 283,901

Bulgaria

Sofia 1,208,930 (Census 2003 data)[5]
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.

Candidate and potential candidate countries

Croatia, Turkey and Republic of Macedonia are official candidate countries, while Serbia and Montenegro, Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina are likely to join EU somewhere around 2015. The cities that would enter the list of 100 most populous are: