List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits
 | This article possibly contains original research. |
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 inner city administrative boundaries as opposed to urban areas or metropolitan 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. In some case the regional, local and municipal authorities also gather such information. This list exclusively includes official information from national agencies as well as official information from local government authorities.
100 most populous cities within administrative city limits
This list also includes 19 of the 55 global cities. Four of them are "alpha" global cities (London, Paris, Frankfurt and Milan), two of them are "beta" global cities (Brussels and Madrid), and thirteen are "gamma" global cities (Amsterdam, Düsseldorf, Prague, Rome, Stockholm, Warsaw, Barcelona, Berlin, Budapest, Copenhagen, Glasgow, Hamburg and Munich). It should be noted that "global cities" really are metro areas, while the figures expressed below are for populations within city limits.
Note: Cities in bold are capital cities of their administrative countries.
Notable cities
- Since this table covers only the European Union, large European cities in non-member countries are omitted, such as, for instance, Moscow, Oslo and Zürich.
- Brussels – the capital city of Belgium and unofficially referred to as the capital of the European Union is nowhere near the top 100 list, as the small municipality has a total population of only 141,312 (Census estimate 2004). The greater Brussels-Capital Region has a population of over 1 million.
- Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark has a relatively small municipality compared to other European cities and even the inner city area of Frederiksberg (92,235 inhabitans) is not included in the list above. The greater city of Copenhagen has 1,084,885 inh. and the metropolitan area app. 1,8 million.
- 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. Population within the city proper: 230,600 (January 1, 2005).
- 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).
- Nantes, France – the city in Brittany is not on the list because most people in the Nantes Metropolitan Area live in the suburbs, outside of the city limits. Population within the city proper: 281,800 (January 1, 2005).
- Nicosia – the capital of Cyprus has a population of 355,000 (Total 2004). It is the 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. Population within the city proper: 225,100 (January 1, 2005).
- Nottingham, United Kingdom, 286,400 (mid-2006 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 which are tightly drawn.
- Belfast, United Kingdom, 267,400 (mid-2006 est.) - the capital of Northern Ireland
- Paris - the capital of France has approximately 12 million inhabitants in the metropolitan area but only about 15% of that number in the city area.
- 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 over 500,000 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 January 1, 2005 estimate suggests that it is now closer with a population of 272,700.
- 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 7000 citizens in comparison to 2002. The city may be back in the top 100 soon. Its current population is 980,663. There are efforts to bring the population to 1,000,000 in the next couple of years by adding on to the city and making a large urban neighborhood on the north side of the city. This area will become a major tourist and business site. It is also going to add a new look to the city and there will be large baricades to hold out the high tides that often occur. There are also plans for a renovation of St. Marks square. The cathedral will be given a new look as it is repainted; the columns will also be replaced. There will be a new hedquarters for Ferrari in Venice and it is projected to be the largest office building at 60 stories high. There will also be a U.S. embassy put in the new area with the expectation of improved U.S. and Italian connections.
- Cork, Ireland - the second city of the republic of Ireland with a population of 119,143(2006). The Cork City limits are very restrictive.The Greater Cork area is currently 370,000 and predicted to grow to 450,000 by 2020.
- Almere, Netherlands - did not have a population until 1976, has a pop. of 176,000 in 2006 and is forecast to have a pop. of 214,000 by 2010.
- Košice, Slovakia - the second largest city in Slovakia with population of 234,871 (2005 census) and with city of Prešov it is a part of second biggest Slovak metropolitan area with total population of some 350,000.
- Debrecen, Hungary - the second largest city in Hungary has 204,297 inhabitants according to the 2005 census.
Candidate Countries
Croatia 
- Zagreb 779,724 Census 2001
- Split 188 694
Republic of Macedonia 
- Skopje 506,926 Census 2002
- Bitola Metro Area 122,173
- Kumanovo 105,484
Turkey 
- Istanbul 8,803,468
- Ankara 3,203,362
- İzmir 2,232,265
- Bursa 1,194,687
- Adana 1,130,710
- Gaziantep 853,513
- Konya 742,690
- Antalya 603,190
- Diyarbakır 545,983
- Mersin 537,842
- Kayseri 536,392
- Eskişehir 482,793
- Şanlıurfa 385,588
- Malatya 381,081
- Samsun 363,180
- Erzurum 361,235
- Kahramanmaraş 326,198
- Van 284,464
- Adapazarı 283,752
- Denizli 275,48
(only Istanbul is (partially) geographically in Europe, other cities are part of Asia. Nevertheless, Istanbul would displace London as the largest city in the EU if Turkey were admitted.)
Officially recognized potential candidate countries
Albania 
- Tirana 585,756 2005 estimate
Bosnia and Herzegovina 
- Sarajevo 414,246 2006 estimate
Serbia 
- Belgrade 1,576,124 (Census 2002 data)
- Priština 564,800 (2000 estimate)
- Novi Sad Metro Area 301,405 (Census 2002 data)
- Nis Metro Area 300,545 (Local Census 2006)