# List of metropolitan areas in Europe

This list ranks metropolitan areas in Europe by their population according to three different sources; it includes metropolitan areas that have a population of over 1 million.

## Sources

List includes metropolitan areas according only to the studies of ESPON, Eurostat, and OECD. For this reason some metropolitan areas, like the Italian Genoa Metropolitan Area (with a population of 1,510,781 as of 2010) or the Ukrainian Kryvyi Rih metropolitan area (with a population of 1,170,953 as of 2019), are not included in this list, with data by other statistic survey institutes.
Population figures correspond to the populations of Functional urban areas (FUA). The concept of a functional urban area defines a metropolitan area as a core urban area defined morphologically on the basis of population density, plus the surrounding labour pool defined on the basis of commuting. Figures in the first two population columns use a harmonised definition of a Functional urban area developed jointly in 2011, with delimitation basing on the DEGURBA method.
Further information on how the areas are defined can be found in the source documents. These figures should be seen as an interpretation, not as conclusive fact.

## Metropolitan areas

| Metropolitan area name | Country | OECD (2020) | Eurostat | ESPON (2006) |
| Amsterdam metropolitan area | Netherlands | 2,017,935 | 2,915,114 (2022) | 2,497,000 |
| Antwerp | Belgium | 1,860,869 | 1,157,068 (2021) | 1,406,000 |
| Athens metropolitan area | Greece | 3,618,860 | 3,828,434 (2011) | 3,761,000 |
| Barcelona metropolitan area | Spain | 5,345,763 | 5,093,585 (2022) | 4,082,000 |
| Belgrade | Serbia | 1,612,587 | — | — |
| Berlin metropolitan area | Germany | 4,558,043 | 4,979,867 (2021) | 4,016,000 |
| Bilbao metropolitan area | Spain | 957,261 | 1,041,059 (2022) | 947,000 |
| Bordeaux | France | 1,085,823 | 1,376,375 (2020) | 918,000 |
| Greater Bristol | United Kingdom | 1,274,128 | 955,541 (2018) | 1,041,000 |
| Brussels metropolitan area | Belgium | 2,338,157 | 3,350,969 (2022) | 2,639,000 |
| Bucharest metropolitan area | Romania | 2,348,982 | 2,478,618 (2018) | 2,064,000 |
| Budapest metropolitan area | Hungary | 2,798,396 | 3,001,643 (2022) | 2,523,000 |
| Cardiff | United Kingdom | 1,165,502 | 915,466 (2018) | 1,097,000 |
| Copenhagen metropolitan area | Denmark | 2,088,197 | 1,928,612 (2013) | 1,881,000 |
| Dnipro | Ukraine | 1,014,593 | — | — |
| Donetsk | Ukraine | 1,450,194 | — | — |
| Dublin Metropolitan Area | Ireland | 1,721,812 | 1,793,902 (2011) | 1,477,000 |
| Frankfurt Rhine-Main | Germany | 3,167,862 | 2,678,557 (2021) | 2,764,000 |
| Gdańsk (Tricity) | Poland | 987,006 | 1,223,884 (2021) | 993,000 |
| Greater Glasgow | United Kingdom | 1,790,499 | 1,830,710 (2018) | 1,395,000 |
| Gothenburg | Sweden | 941,867 | 1,021,831 (2018) | 759,000 |
| The Hague | Netherlands | 3,592,389 | 1,132,975 (2021) | 1,404,000 |
| Hamburg Metropolitan Region | Germany | 2,763,491 | 3,421,692 (2021) | 2,983,000 |
| Hannover | Germany | 1,156,114 | 1,289,320 (2021) | 997,000 |
| Helsinki Metropolitan Area | Finland | 1,439,175 | 1,551,959 (2022) | 1,285,000 |
| Istanbul | Turkey | 14,693,269 | 11,044,642 (2004) | — |
| Katowice metropolitan area | Poland | 2,843,725 | 2,417,386 (2021) | 3,029,000 |
| Kazan metropolitan area | Russia | 1,341,784 | — | — |
| Kharkiv | Ukraine | 1,713,794 | — | — |
| Kraków metropolitan area | Poland | 1,339,089 | 1,489,912 (2021) | 1,236,000 |
| Kyiv metropolitan area | Ukraine | 3,545,076 | — | — |
| Lille | France | 1,226,810 | 1,515,061 (2020) | 1,161,000 |
| Lisbon metropolitan area | Portugal | 2,731,340 | 3,049,222 (2023) | 2,591,000 |
| Łódź metropolitan area | Poland | 1,041,339 | 893,083 (2021) | 1,165,000 |
| London metropolitan area | United Kingdom | 13,475,297 | 12,434,823 (2018) | 11,203,000 |
| Lyon | France | 2,090,206 | 2,293,180 (2020) | 1,669,000 |
| Madrid metropolitan area | Spain | 6,989,714 | 6,982,656 (2022) | 5,263,000 |
| Málaga-Marbella | Spain | 1,288,693 | 1,230,313 (2022) | 775,000 |
| Greater Manchester | United Kingdom | 3,374,693 | 3,348,274 (2018) | 2,556,000 |
| Mannheim-Ludwigshafen | Germany | 1,755,988 | 1,318,805 (2021) | 1,136,000 |
| Marseille | France | 1,322,989 | 1,879,601 (2020) | 1,530,000 |
| Liverpool City Region | United Kingdom | 1,729,058 | 1,533,860 (2018) | 2,241,000 |
| Milan metropolitan area | Italy | 5,301,987 | 4,934,205 (2022) | 4,136,000 |
| Minsk metropolitan area | Belarus | 2,173,105 | — | — |
| Moscow metropolitan area | Russia | 17,217,606 | — | — |
| Munich | Germany | 2,618,482 | 3,016,834 (2021) | 2,665,000 |
| Nantes | France | 946,441 | 1,022,775 (2020) | 708,000 |
| Naples metropolitan area | Italy | 4,095,364 | 3,303,711 (2022) | 2,905,000 |
| Nice | France | 1,143,557 | 618,489 (2020) | 1,082,000 |
| Nizhny Novgorod | Russia | 1,430,212 | — | — |
| Nottingham-Derby | United Kingdom | 1,618,393 | 1,406,315 (2018) | 1,534,000 |
| Northwest Metropolitan Region (Bremen) | Germany | 912,616 | 1,046,897 (2021) | 1,077,000 |
| Nuremberg Metropolitan Region | Germany | 1,307,726 | 1,181,541 (2021) | 1,443,000 |
| Odesa | Ukraine | 1,273,381 | — | — |
| Greater Oslo Region | Norway | 1,422,223 | 1,278,827 (2013) | 1,037,000 |
| Ostrava metropolitan area | Czech Republic | 751,133 | 695,244 (2022) | 1,046,000 |
| Paris metropolitan area | France | 11,249,025 | 13,125,142 (2020) | 11,175,000 |
| Porto Metropolitan Area | Portugal | 1,651,124 | 1,316,989 (2023) | 1,245,000 |
| Portsmouth-Southampton | United Kingdom | 1,390,006 | 1,230,011 (2018) | 1,547,000 |
| Poznań metropolitan area | Poland | 975,965 | 1,051,414 (2021) | 919,000 |
| Prague metropolitan area | Czech Republic | 1,977,776 | 2,216,746 (2022) | 1,669,000 |
| Rhein-Nord (Düsseldorf - Neuss) | Germany | 2,557,228 | 2,247,629 (2021) | 3,073,000 |
| Rhein-Süd (Cologne - Bonn) | Germany | 3,354,797 | 3,005,728 (2021) | 3,070,000 |
| Riga metropolitan area | Latvia | 762,194 | 917,351 (2022) | 1,195,000 |
| Rome metropolitan area | Italy | 3,684,930 | 4,291,581 (2022) | 5,190,000 |
| Rostov-on-Don | Russia | 1,349,583 | — | — |
| Rotterdam | Netherlands | 3,592,389 | 1,902,704 (2022) | 1,904,000 |
| Ruhr | Germany | 6,108,500 | 5,068,912 (2021) | 5,376,000 |
| Saarbrücken - Forbach | Germany/ France | 582,231 | 522,983 (2021) | 1,102,000 |
| Saint Petersburg metropolitan area | Russia | 5,518,560 | — | — |
| Samara | Russia | 1,307,406 | — | — |
| Saratov | Russia | 1,097,493 | — | — |
| Seville metropolitan area | Spain | 1,299,106 | 1,556,975 (2021) | 1,180,000 |
| Sofia | Bulgaria | 1,488,887 | 1,531,867 (2022) | 1,174,000 |
| South Yorkshire (Sheffield-Doncaster) | United Kingdom | 1,166,720 | 1,189,393 (2018) | 1,869,000 |
| Metropolitan Stockholm | Sweden | 2,241,651 | 2,308,143 (2018) | 2,171,000 |
| Stuttgart Metropolitan Region | Germany | 2,300,011 | 2,531,040 (2021) | 2,289,000 |
| Tbilisi | Georgia | 1,485,293 | — | — |
| Thessaloniki metropolitan area | Greece | 1,011,795 | 973,997 (2011) | 1,052,000 |
| Toulouse | France | 1,332,370 | 1,470,899 (2020) | 832,000 |
| Turin metropolitan area | Italy | 1,828,088 | 1,712,372 (2022) | 1,601,000 |
| Tyne and Wear (Newcastle-Sunderland) | United Kingdom | 1,719,730 | 1,175,274 (2018) | 1,599,000 |
| Ufa | Russia | 1,149,103 | — | — |
| Valencia | Spain | 1,916,932 | 1,775,845 (2022) | 1,398,000 |
| Vienna | Austria | 2,565,196 | — | 2,584,000 |
| Volgograd | Russia | 1,402,254 | — | — |
| Voronezh | Russia | 1,127,100 | — | — |
| Warsaw metropolitan area | Poland | 2,975,932 | 3,374,742 (2021) | 2,785,000 |
| West Midlands conurbation (Birmingham) | United Kingdom | 3,083,783 | 3,097,965 (2018) | 3,683,000 |
| West Yorkshire Built-up Area (Leeds - Bradford) | United Kingdom | 3,010,473 | 2,619,128 (2018) | 2,302,000 |
| Yerevan | Armenia | 1,232,670 | — | — |
| Zagreb metropolitan area | Croatia | 1,008,763 | 1,161,259 (2022) | — |
| Zürich metropolitan area | Switzerland | 2,124,246 | 1,951,341 (2022) | 1,615,000 |

## Polycentric metropolitan areas in the European Union

| Rank | Area | State | Population |
| 1 | Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region | Germany | 12,190,000 |
| 2 | Randstad | Netherlands | 6,787,000 |
| 3 | Katowice-Ostrava metropolitan area | Poland/ Czech Republic | 5,294,000 |
| 4 | Flemish Diamond | Belgium | 5,103,000 |
| 5 | Vienna-Bratislava metropolitan region | Austria/ Slovakia | 4,600,000 |