Tokyo City Size: How It Compares to London, New York, and Other Global Megacities

When people talk about Tokyo, the world's most populous metropolitan area, with over 37 million people in its greater region. Also known as Greater Tokyo Area, it's not just big—it's the engine of Japan’s economy, culture, and daily life. But size doesn’t mean the same thing everywhere. Is Tokyo bigger than London? Than New York? The answer depends on whether you're counting people, land, or how far the urban sprawl stretches.

London, the capital of the UK, covers about 1,572 square kilometers and holds around 9 million people in its metropolitan zone. Also known as Greater London, it’s dense, historic, and tightly packed—but still less than a quarter of Tokyo’s population. New York City, with its five boroughs and roughly 8.5 million residents, feels massive, but its metro area tops out at about 20 million. Also known as NYC metro, it’s a powerhouse of finance and media, yet it’s still smaller than Tokyo in both population and geographic spread. Tokyo’s urban footprint stretches across multiple prefectures—Chiba, Saitama, Kanagawa—and blends cities like Yokohama and Kawasaki into one continuous, functioning whole. You don’t just live in Tokyo—you live in a network of cities that act as one.

What makes Tokyo’s size unique isn’t just the numbers. It’s how that population moves, lives, and survives in tight spaces. The city has near-zero homelessness, almost no crime, and public transit that runs on time—even at 3 a.m. Its infrastructure handles more daily commuters than any other city on Earth. Meanwhile, London struggles with aging tubes, and New York deals with overcrowded subways and traffic jams that last hours. Tokyo doesn’t just fit more people—it makes it work smoothly.

And while London and New York grew around ports and trade routes, Tokyo evolved from a feudal castle town into a hyper-modern metropolis without ever tearing down its past. You’ll find 400-year-old shrines next to robot cafes, and quiet residential streets just minutes from Shibuya’s chaos. Its size isn’t chaotic—it’s organized, intentional, and deeply human.

What you’ll find below are real comparisons, data-driven breakdowns, and stories from people who’ve lived in all three. Whether you’re curious about why Tokyo feels so empty despite its population, how its subway system moves 40 million people a day, or whether London could ever match its scale—you’ll see the facts, not the hype.