How Big Are the World's Cities? London, New York, Tokyo and Paris Compared

Greater London covers about 1,570 km², about twice the land area of New York City (about 780 km²) and about 15 times the area of the city of Paris (about 105 km²). The Tokyo Metropolis, which includes outlying islands, covers about 2,190 km². These figures depend entirely on where each city's official boundary is drawn.

City boundaries of London, New York City, Tokyo and Paris side by side.

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The numbers

City (administrative area)	Area (about)	Note
Tokyo Metropolis	2,190 km²	Includes the 23 special wards (about 630 km²), western towns and distant islands
Greater London	1,570 km²	The 32 London boroughs plus the City of London
New York City	780 km²	Land area of the five boroughs (about 1,200 km² including water)
Paris (city proper)	105 km²	Only the 20 arrondissements, without the suburbs

Sources: national and city statistical offices, as summarized on Wikipedia. The boundaries drawn in the app come from its own region data and may differ slightly from these official numbers.

Why city comparisons are tricky

A city's size depends on how you define it. Paris looks tiny because its legal limits are tight and the suburbs belong to other municipalities. The wider Paris region (Île-de-France) covers about 12,000 km², more than 100 times the city. Tokyo and New York are measured the other way, with large administrative areas. A fair comparison needs the same kind of boundary for every city, or at least a clear note about which one is used.

Map projection matters as well. All four cities lie between about 35°N and 52°N, so a Mercator map stretches London and Paris more than Tokyo or New York. Moving them side by side at true size removes that difference.

Try it yourself

1. Search for a city in the search box ("Search for a country or region…"), for example "London". Add New York City, Tokyo and Paris in the same way.
2. Drag them next to each other and zoom in to compare the outlines.
3. Open Tools → Stats for the total area. Use Home → Divide to split a city into its boroughs or districts where available.

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More comparisons

• The world's smallest countries
• Cities at the same latitude
• Largest states and provinces
• Tutorial: map posters of cities

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