Full list of the world's 36 cities with more people than London

Think London feels overcrowded? With almost 10 million people calling the capital home, the Tube at rush hour certainly suggests so. But globally, London doesn't even scrape into the top 30. In fact, it comes in 37th place, lagging behind 36 cities worldwide that pack in even more residents.

At the very top sits Tokyo, with an astonishing 37 million people, making it the undisputed king of megacities. Hot on its heels are India's swelling urban giants - Delhi (34.7m) and Mumbai (22.1m) - alongside China's Shanghai (30.5m) and Beijing (22.6m). Between them, India and China dominate the rankings, thanks to their immense populations and rapidly expanding cityscapes.

Other Asian heavyweights such as Dhaka (24.6m), Karachi (18.1m) and Manila (15.2m) reflect how fast the world's urban hubs are ballooning. And Africa is firmly on the rise: Kinshasa (17.8m) and Lagos (17.2m) have exploded in size, tipped to rival the very biggest before long.

Europe makes a modest showing - although Istanbul (16.2m) crosses continents, while Moscow (12.7m) and Paris (11.3m) remain the continent's only cities larger than London. In the Americas, Mexico City (22.8m), São Paulo (23m) and Buenos Aires (15.8m) showcase Latin America's pull.

So while London may feel bursting at the seams, the global reality is clear: our capital is a relative lightweight compared with the planet's true urban superpowers.

The 36 cities bigger than London

Tokyo - 37,036,200

Delhi - 34,665,600

Shanghai - 30,482,100

Dhaka - 24,652,900

Cairo - 23,074,200

São Paulo - 22,990,000

Mexico City - 22,752,400

Beijing - 22,596,500

Mumbai - 22,089,000

Osaka - 18,921,600

Chongqing - 18,171,200

Karachi - 18,076,800

Kinshasa - 17,778,500

Lagos - 17,156,400

Istanbul - 16,236,700

Kolkata - 15,845,200

Buenos Aires - 15,752,300

Manila - 15,230,600

Guangzhou - 14,878,700

Lahore - 14,825,800

Tianjin - 14,704,100

Bangalore - 14,395,400

Rio de Janeiro - 13,923,200

Shenzhen - 13,545,400

Moscow - 12,737,400

Chennai - 12,336,000

Bogotá - 11,795,800

Jakarta - 11,634,100

Lima - 11,517,300

Bangkok - 11,391,700

Paris - 11,346,800

Hyderabad - 11,337,900

Nanjing - 10,174,900

Luanda - 10,027,900

Seoul - 10,025,800

Chengdu - 9,998,870

London - 9,840,740