The definition of 'urban' varies from country to country, and, with periodic reclassification, can also vary within one country over time, making direct comparisons difficult. Urban areaĪ city can be defined as a conditionally contiguous urban area, without regard to territorial or other boundaries inside an urban area. However, more than 70% of its 30-million population are actually agricultural workers living in a rural setting.

The Chinese municipality of Chongqing, which is the largest city proper in the world by population, comprises a huge administrative area of 82,403 km 2, around the size of Austria. Because of this definition, the city proper population figure may differ greatly from the urban area population figure, as many cities are amalgamations of smaller municipalities (Australia), and conversely, many Chinese cities govern territories that extend well beyond the core urban area into suburban and rural areas. The use of city proper as defined by administrative boundaries may not include suburban areas where an important proportion of the population working or studying in the city lives. Cities proper and their boundaries and population data may not include suburbs. UNICEF defines city proper as, 'the population living within the administrative boundaries of a city or controlled directly from the city by a single authority.' A city proper is a locality defined according to legal or political boundaries and an administratively recognised urban status that is usually characterised by some form of local government. However, more than 70% of its residents live in rural areas.Ī city can be defined by its administrative boundaries, otherwise known as city proper. The municipality of Chongqing, China, whose administrative jurisdictional area is around the size of Austria, has the largest population for a city proper.

Global cities definition