The Population of Every Municipality in the Americas with more than 5,000 Inhabitants Around the Year 1900

Contents

1 Introduction
2 Methods of Collection
3 Legend

• 3.1 Column Headers
• 3.2 Abbreviations

4 The Population Data and Interactive Map
5 Observations

• 5.1 Population and Number of Municipalities per Colony/Dominion/Country

6 Further Reading and Related Articles
7 Glossary
8 References: Complete External List

1 Introduction

I have an obsession with collecting population data for the year 1900/1901 & I've been collecting data since around 2011. It gives you a lot of insight into how the world was at the time. The further back in time you go the more difficult it is to find reliable comprehensive sources of populations data.

My main interest in historic population data stems from the fact that you can use it to infer where infrastructure would have been built at a particular time in history. Buildings are created by humans, so where there are humans, there ought to have been buildings of some type (even is it's a tent, tipi, or a hut) built by them.

Pre-1900 buildings, particularly those built between 1700-1900, to me comprise some of the most aesthetically pleasing architecture ever built. All of the images below showcase European derived architecture from around this time period in the Americas.

Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico was home to 33,890 inhabitants in the year 1895 making it around the 183rd most populated in the Americas. Explore on Google Street View.

Salvador, Bahia, Brazil was home to 174,412 inhabitants around the year 1900 making it the 29th most populated in the Americas. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985. Explore on Google Street View.

Québec City, Québec, Canada was home to 68,840 inhabitants in the year 1901 making it around the 74th most populated in the Americas. It is one of only four still largely intact walled cities in the Americas. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1985. Explore on Google Street View.

Pátzcuaro, Michoacán, Mexico was home to 7,082 inhabitants in 1895 making it around the 1,101st most populated in the Americas. It is named as one of the 100 Historic World Treasure Cities by the United Nations. Explore on Google Street View.

Cartagena, Bolívar, Colombia was home to around 10,000 inhabitants around 1900 making it around the 716th most populated in the Americas. It is one of only four still largely intact walled cities in the Americas. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984. Explore on Google Street View.

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States was home to 1,239,697 inhabitants in the year 1900. This made it the 3rd most populated in the Americas and the 9th most populated in the world. Explore on Google Street View.

Zacatecas, Zacatecas, Mexico was home to around 39,912 inhabitants in the year 1895 making it around the 142nd most populated in the Americas. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1993. Explore on Google Street View.

Cusco, Cusco, Peru was home to around 20,000 inhabitants around the year 1900 making it around the 334th most populated in the Americas. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983. It was also the historic capital of the Pre-Hispanic Inca Empire. Explore on Google Street View.

The Park Slope neighbourhood, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, United States. In 1900 NYC was home to 3,437,202 inhabitants making it the most populated municipality in the Americas and the second most populated in the world. Explore on Google Street View.

Ciudad de Cuetzalan, Puebla, Mexico was home to 5,176 inhabitants in 1895 making it around the 1,566th most populated in the Americas. Explore on Google Street View.

Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil was home to 111,556 inhabitants in the year 1900 making it around the 41st most populated in the Americas. Explore on Google Street View.


Campeche, Campeche, Mexico was home to 16,647 inhabitants in the year 1895 making it around the 400th most populated in the Americas. It is one of only four still largely intact walled cities in the Americas. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1999. Explore on Google Street View.

Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina was home to 663,854 inhabitants around 1900 making it the 4th most populated in the Americas and one of the most populated in the World. Explore on Google Street View.

Tlacotalpan, Veracruz, Mexico was home to 5,770 inhabitants in 1895 making it around the 1,407th most populated municipality in the Americas. It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1998. Explore on Google Street View.

Staunton, Virginia, United States was home to 7,289 inhabitants in the year 1900 making it around the 1061st most populated in the Americas. Explore on Google Street View.

Salamina, Caldas, Colombia was home to around 8,000 inhabitants around the year 1900 making it around the 956th most populated in the Americas. Note the dramatic mountain landscape the town is build on. Explore on Google Street View.

Seattle, Washington, United States was home to 80,671 inhabitants in 1900 making it around the 63rd most populated in the Americas. Explore on Google Street View.

Just like the other population data I've released, this is a work in progress. I will be adding to & refining the data as I come across new information. I invite you to help me locate reliable sources of data to add to these collections. Below is a series of maps of the Americas for reference. Each has a description which contains a link back to the original high resolution map. 

Rand McNally and Company. (1903). North America, Rand McNally & Co.'s Enlarged Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide. Retrieved from the David Rumsey Collection. [9]

Rand McNally and Company. (1903). South America, Rand McNally & Co.'s Enlarged Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide. Retrieved from the David Rumsey Collection. [9]

Rand McNally and Company. (1903). Mexico, Rand McNally & Co.'s Enlarged Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide. Retrieved from the David Rumsey Collection. [9]

Rand McNally and Company. (1903). Central America, Rand McNally & Co.'s Enlarged Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide. Retrieved from the David Rumsey Collection. [9]

Rand McNally and Company. (1903). West Indies, Rand McNally & Co.'s Enlarged Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide. Retrieved from the David Rumsey Collection. [9]

2 Methods of Collection

The data used for the American municipalities came from the U.S. Bureau of the Census. (1900). [2]. It appears to be a complete source of information for the majority of the American municipalities. A problem arose concerning New England's municipalities since many times what they define as a "town" is more like a township with a few village centres in it. It is because of this and the inability to discriminate between many actual municipalities and those that included a large rural population thereby inflating it, there may be an overrepresentation of municipalities especially in Massachusetts and Connecticut due to their high population counts.

One exception to note concerning the American population data is that although St. Joseph, Missouri's official population figure for 1900 was 102,979 inhabitants I have calculated a different figure of approximately 68,000 inhabitants. I did this because the official was questionable since the civic leaders at the time tried to artificially inflate St. Joseph's population count. When one looks at the trends for St. Joseph, the population in 1890 was 52,324 and in 1910 it was 77,403. There is no known explanation for why the population would have lost 25,576 inhabitants during the first decade of the twentieth century. This is a very significant decline especially at that time since many municipalities were still growing.

Although Hawaii isn't part of North America, I include it in the data since it is currently a constituent state of the U.S.

Since Britain and its dominions did censuses during the second year of each decade opposed to the USA which did them during the first year, the population data for Canada is for 1901 opposed to 1900 for the USA. Newfoundland's data is very difficult to come by since it was a colony not yet part of Canada at the time. Some fairly good figures have been made for the municipalities with more than 5,000 inhabitants from Darling & son Ltd. (1901). Census of the British Empire. [1] and I'm fairly sure that nearly all of them are listed in this article. Much of the data for Canada came from the Dept. of the Interior, Canada. (1906). Atlas of Canada. [7]. Which included the populations of urban areas in Canada for the year 1901.

The data for Mexico from Rand McNally & Co.'s Enlarged Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide. (1903). [9] is for 1895. Not many other sources were used since this one was the most comprehensive and accurate single source I could find. Other sources tend to round up the population figures. This source also correlates with Noriega, E. (1898). Geografía de la República Mexicana. [52] which also cites 1895 population figures for Mexican municipalities.

Rand McNally's business atlas also provided and supplemented much of the data for the Caribbean and Central America. For places like Costa Rica though, it appears that some of the figures might have been estimates since they tend to be rounded to the nearest thousand. Other sources found also rounded the figures to similar amounts. Overall, Rand NcNally's business atlas has been quite helpful in supplying a lot of data for many places in this article.

Data collected for many places in Haiti was rounded and in some cases it appears to be bit higher in population than expected. This observation was made when plotting the municipalities onto the interactive Google map. I speculate that some of the figures may have included large adjacent rural parish populations (i.e., some municipalities and parishes might have been consolidated). Although it is also possible that some municipalities have simply lost population and infrastructure.

Rand McNally's business atlas also provided much of the data for the South American population data. It was also supplemented with Cram, G. F. (1901). Cram's Standard American Railway System Atlas of the World. [5]. The population data from this atlas is rounded to the nearest thousand and it appears to be less accurate. Some figures appear to be a bit on the enthusiastic side. Due to this, municipalities that had a population figure of 5,000 were excluded. 

When it comes to data from Lahmeyer, J. (2006). Population statistics. [6] it is also rounded. Many of the figures from Rand McNally's atlas tend to be quite close to the figures cited by Lahmeyer except Lahmeyer's is typically rounded to the nearest hundred or thousand keeping a minimum of three significant figures. Lahmeyer's data seemed a bit off from Rand's South American population data so I excluded it as a source for South America's data.

A couple of other sources were used for Latin America. The data for the Chilean municipalities was corroborated by the 1895 Chilean census [53]. The data for Paraguay was corroborated by a document published by the U.S. Government Printing Office in 1892 [54].

The administrative division between different places in Latin America varies (like the aforementioned New England example). There may be a number of urban areas that were not incorporated & were part of regional municipalities or departments (i.e., in Puerto Rico) so it's difficult to speculate their populations. Also, some incorporated municipalities might cover larger areas leading to a higher population count (i.e., in El Salvador).

 

3 Legend

In this section I outline what each column header and abbreviation means in section the following section, 4.

3.1 Column Headers

• Untitled: This number column is permanent in its order and doesn't change as you sort by different columns. This can be used for reference as you're comparing data. 
• # (Number): This column indicates the population rank of the municipality within all of North America. 
• Municipality: The name of the municipality is given. Alternative spellings are separated by "/" and if the municipality has been renamed (but not absorbed, amalgamated, or reincorporated as massive area) the new name will be in (parentheses). 
• Admin. (Administrative Division): The principle administrative division the municipality is found in (i.e., state, province, territory, department, etc.). 
• C/D/C (Country/Dominion/Country): For a complete breakdown, see section 5.1 
• Population: The population of the municipality in c. 1900. 1900 (USA), 1901 (British Empire), 1895 (Mexico). 
• # in Admin. (Number in Administrative Division): This is the municipality's c. 1900 population rank relative to the other municipalities in its administrative division. 
• Total in Admin. (Total in Administrative Division): This is the total number of municipalities with more than 5,000 inhabitants c. 1900 present in the administrative division the municipalities is found in. 
• Admin. Cap. (Administrative Division): If the municipality is the capital of the administrative division that it is found in a "yes" is displayed. 
• # in C/D/C (# in Country/Dominion/Colony): The municipality's c. 1900 population rank relative to other municipalities present in the country, dominion, or colony it is found in. 
• Total in C/D/C (Total in Country/Dominion/Colony): The total number of municipalities with more than 5,000 inhabitants c. 1900 present in the country, dominion, or colony that the municipality is found in. 
• Cap. (Capital): If the municipality is the highest capital in the country, dominion, or colony c. 1900 a "yes" is displayed (London, Washington, Paris, Amsterdam/The Hague, and Copenhagen take precedent over their colonies though). 
• Continent: North America (including the Caribbean) or South America. 
• # by Continent: The municipality's population rank within the continent it is found on. 
• Empire: Which empire the municipality is found in. i.e., USA, British, French, Dutch, Danish, 
• # in Empire: If the municipality is part of an empire this column displays the municipality's population rank relative to the other municipalities in that empire with more than 5,000 inhabitants found within the Americas. 
• Total in Empire: If the municipality is part of an empire this column displays the number of municipalities with more than 5,000 inhabitants found within that empire within the Americas. 
• Language: The primary languages spoken in the country the municipality is found in. French and English speaking Canada is differentiated. 
• # by Language: The municipality's population rank by language predominantly spoken. 
• Navigable Waterbody: The name of the navigable waterbody the municipality is on [5]. 
• Ocean: If the municipality is on or is in some way connected to an ocean by a navigable waterway (naturally, by canal, or other engineering projects), the name of that ocean is displayed in this column. If the municipality is on a landlocked navigable waterbody "Inland" is displayed [5]. 
• Sources: The sources for the population figure. Each number corresponds to the numbers used in the reference section at the end of this article.

3.2 Abbreviations

4 The Population Data

In this section is one interactive table and an interactive Google Map. The table has its own independent scroll bars on the bottom and on the right of its interface. You can use them to navigate from column to column and row to row.

Beneath the table is the interactive Google Map, close by to allow one to go back and forth easily. A star icon represents 100,000+ inhabitants, diamond 20,000-100,000, square 10,000-20,000, and circle 5,000-10,000. When you click on an icon it will display the corresponding municipality's population and rank. Since initially making the map I've updated the ranking so it might be a little bit off the further you go down. The table is the most reliable source. There's a full screen option on the map in the upper right of its interface, that version has a search bar that you can use to search for any of the municipalities.

- Map of the Americas with Street View enabled (Unstable, reverts to normal map frequently).

- Information last updated 10/11/2014.

5 Observations

5.1 Number of Municipalities per Colony/Dominion/Country

The following table shows all of the colonies, dominions, countries in the Americas in the year 1900. They are ranked by their populations. The entire population of the Americas in the year 1900 was around 145,720,075 inhabitants. 140,250,475 lived in one of the countries or dominions and 5,469,600 lived in a territorial possession.

Below is a pie chart showing the distribution of population between the individual entities listed in the table above.

Below is another pie chart, this one showing the distribution of municipalities in the Americas by the entities listed in the table at the beginning of this section.

6 Further Reading and Related Articles

For links to all of my related writings you can visit my Population Data and Architecture Articles page.

You can help support me and my work by becoming a patron: http://www.patreon.com/billywilson

7 Glossary

• Amalgamation: The process of combining or uniting multiple entities into one form. 
• British North America: A term to refer to the colonies and territories of the British Empire in continental North America. Largely used in the 19th century. 
• Commuter City: A smaller city that is found on the periphery of a much larger city. Commuter cities are also commonly referred to as a "bedroom community" since many of the inhabitants may live in them but travel to the primary city for their occupation. 
• Incorporated: Refers to a "municipal corporation" which is a political subdivision composed of citizens and a geographic area. In this article's case it may be a village, town, or city. 
• Urban Designation: The official title of "unincorporated", "village", "town", or "city". 
• Primary Predecessor Municipality: The dominant municipality that is usually thought of as absorbing other municipalities through the process of amalgamation. Typically the name of the dominant municipality is retained. 

8 References

To keep things neat and manageable, I utilize one universal reference list for all of my population and architecture related articles: Reference List for Population Data and Architecture Articles.

The Population of Every Urban Centre in the World with more than 100,000 Inhabitants in the Year 1900

Contents

1 Introduction
2 Methods of Collection

3 Legend

4 Population Data

5 Observations

• 5.1 Number of Urban Centres per Country
• 5.2 Number of Urban Centres by Modern Day Political Divisions
• 5.3 Number of Urban Centres per Continent
• 5.4 Compared to Today's Population Data (City Proper)
• 5.5 Compared to Today's Urban Population Data (Urban Amalgamation)
• 5.6 An Interactive Map of the Urban Centres

6 Further Reading and Related Articles

7 References

1 Introduction

(Note: I'm currently in the process of updating and revising this article c. 18/07/2014
Reference numbers being updated as of 14/10/2014)

The further back in time you go the more difficult it is to find reliable comprehensive sources of populations data. I've an interest in how the world was in the year 1900 & I've been collecting this data since around 2011. Every now & then I've been releasing some of the data I've collected to the public (Canada + USA communities with more than 5,000 people in 1900). Much of it I haven't released since it is not complete but I suppose it may never be. In the list included in this article I've attempted to display all the cities in the world that had a population of more than 100,000 inhabitants in the year 1900. 

Stanford, E. (1900). Stanford's Library Map of the World on Merctor's Projection. Retrieved from the David Rumsey Collection. 

2 Methods of Collection

Population data from different sources will vary due to different methods used to calculate the population. For instance, some may quote official figures from 1900, others may calculate how many people once lived within the contemporary boundaries of the city today. Others may estimate or try to overcome potential inaccuracies that might be present in what figures we have available today from the past. Some may include or exclude suburbs. 

The bulk of the data in this article came from three sources. Biguzzi, A. (2013) World city pop. [1], Rand McNally and Company. (1903). Rand McNally & Co.'s Enlarged Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide., [2] and Lahmeyer, J. (2006). Population statistics. [3]. First I collected from sources 1 and 3, then I supplemented them with data from the indices of Rand McNally's 1903 atlas which cites population figures.

The data used for the American urban centres came from the U.S. Bureau of the Census. (1900). [4]. It appears to be a complete source of information for the majority of the American urban centres.

The data collected for the British Empire came from Darling & son Ltd (1901). Census of the British Empire. [5]. Since Britain and its dominions did censuses during the second year of each decade opposed to the USA which did them during the first year, the population data for the British Empire is for 1901 opposed to 1900 for the USA and in many other places.

If any of my population data isn't from 1900 or 1901 I indicate the closest year I could find in brackets beside the population figure. Sometimes I include an interesting population related note in the brackets as well. If you happen to know of any sources of data that would be great to add to my collection please let me know!

3 Legend

• Underlined: The city is still part of the same country today as it was in 1900. Therefore it likely was not part of a colony. If it is no longer part of the same country as 1900 I include in brackets the current name of the country it is presently found in. 
• Bold: Capital City; I don't differentiate if it used to be a capital or has only become a capital in more recent history. 
• Top 9 countries with the most urban centres are colour coded as follows (included is the population in 1900 and the number of urban centres):
  
  - British Empire - 419,920,000 - 83
  - United States - 76,212,168 - 40
  - Germany - 56,000,000 - 31
  - Qing Dynasty (China) - 415,001,488 - 25
  - Russian Empire - 132,000,000 - 19
  - French Empire - 76,090,000 - 19
  - Italy - 32,000,000 - 11
  - Austria-Hungary - 51,356,465 - 9
  - Ottoman Empire  - 30,860,000 - 9
• At the end of each line I indicate [reference numbers] that correspond to the articles listed in the final "References" section.

4 Population Data

Again, this is a work in progress so from time to time I'll be updating the data as I find new information. Information last updated: 03/07/2014

1. London, England, UK: 4,670,177 [x] 4,536,541 [5] 4,536,063 [2]
2. New York City, New York, USA: 3,437,202 [4]
3. Paris, France: 2,714,068
4. Berlin, Germany: 1,888,848
5. Vienna, Austria-Hungary (Austria): 1,769,137 1,635,647 [2]
6. Chicago, Illinois, USA: 1,698,575 [4]
7. Edo/Yedo (Tokyo), Japan: 1,497,000
8. Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire (Russia): 1,439,400
9. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA: 1,293,697 [4]
10. Moskow (Moscow), Russian Empire (Russia): 1,170,000
11. Calcutta (Kolkata), India: 1,026,900 [1] 847,796 [5]
12. Peking (Beijing), China: 1,000,000 [1]
13. Oosaka (Osaka), Japan: 970,000
14. Buenos Ayres (Buenos Aires), Argentina: 950,891 663,854 [2]
15. Constantinople (Istanbul), Ottoman Empire (Turkey): 942,900
16. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: 811,443 522,651 [2]
17. Bombay (Mumbai), India: 776,006 [5]
18. Glasgow, Scotland, UK: 761,709 [5] [2]
19. Warsaw, Russian Empire (Poland): 756,400
20. Tien-Tsin (Tianjin), China: 750,000
21. Budapest, Austria-Hungary (Hungary), 733,358 505,763 [2]
22. Hamburg, Germany: 705,738
23. Liverpool, England, UK: 684,958 [5] [2]
24. Foochow (Fuzhou), China: 630,000
25. Brussels, Belgium: 626,000 570,844 [2, excludes suburbs]
26. Chung-king (Chongqing), China: 620,000
27. Shanghae (Shanghai), China: 619,000
28. Copenhagen, Denmark: 600,000 375,251 [2]
29. Cairo, Ottoman/British Empires (Egypt): 600,000 [5]
30. Canton (Guangzhou), China: 585,000 [1]
31. St. Louis, Missouri, USA: 575,238 [4]
32. Naples, Italy: 563,500
33. Boston, Massachusetts, USA: 560,892 [4]
34. Manchester, England, UK: 543,872 [5] [2]
35. Madrid, Spain: 539,800
36. Barcelona, Spain: 530,300
37. Birmingham, England, UK: 522,204 [5] [2]
38. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: 510,000
39. Madras (Chennai), India: 509,300 [5]
40. Baltimore, Maryland, USA: 508,957 [4]
41. Munich, Germany: 499,000
42. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia: 496,079 [5]
43. Marseille, France: 491,200
44. Milan, Italy: 491,500
45. Sydney, New South Wales, Australia: 487,932 [5]
46. Rome, Italy: 462,800
47. Leipzig, Germany: 456,100
48. Wuhan, China: 450,000
49. Odessa, Russian Empire (Ukraine): 449,000
50. Hyderabad, India: 448,500 [5]
51. Lyon, France: 441,800
52. Leeds, England, UK: 428,968 [5] [2]
53. Breslau (Wroclaw), Germany (Poland): 422,700
54. Mexico City, Mexico: 400,000
55. Dresden, Germany: 396,100
56. Cleveland, Ohio, USA: 381,768 [4]
57. Sheffield, England, UK: 380,793 [5] [2]
58. Cologne, Germany: 372,500
59. Rotterdam, The Netherlands: 368,000
60. Kyoto, Japan: 362,000
61. Lisbon, Portugal: 356,000
62. Buffalo, New York, USA: 352,387 [4]
63. Hangchow (Hangzhou), China: 350,000
64. Belfast, Ireland (Northern Ireland), UK: 348,965 [5] [2] [1.]
65. Łódź, Russian Empire (Poland): 351,600
66. San Francisco,California, USA: 342,782 [4]
67. Turin, Italy: 335,700
68. Bristol, England, UK: 328,945 [5] [2]
69. Cincinnati, Ohio, USA: 325,902 [4]
70. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA: 321,616 [4]
71. Edinburgh, Scotland, UK: 316,837 [5] [2]
72. Alexandria, Ottoman/British Empires (Egypt): 314,000 [5]
73. Palermo, Italy: 309,700
74. Stockholm, Sweden-Norway (Sweden): 300,000
75. Bangkok, Siam (Thailand): 300,000
76. Ching tu (Chengdu), China: ~300,000 (400,000 in 1911)
77. Santiago, Chile: 296,600 256,413 [2]
78. Riga, Russian Empire (Latvia): 294,000
79. Dublin, Ireland, UK: 289,108 [5] [2] [1.]
80. Frankfurt, Germany: 288,989
81. New Orleans, Louisiana, USA: 287,104 [4]
82. Detroit, Michigan, USA: 285,704 [4]
83. Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA: 285,315 [4]
84. Hong Kong, (China): 283,978 [5]
85. Soochow (Suzhou), China: 280,000
86. Bradford, England, UK: 279,767 [5] [2]
87. Washington, DC, USA: 278,718 [4]
88. Antwerp, Belgium: 275,100 282,018 [2]
89. Nanking (Nanjing), China: 270,000
90. Montevideo, Uruguay: 268,000 252,000 [2]
91. Montreal, Quebec, Canada: 267,730 [5]
92. West Ham, England, UK: 267,358 [5] [2]
93. Lucknow, India: 264,000 [5]
94. Nuremberg, Germany: 261,100
95. Bordeaux, France: 257,500
96. Ningpo (Ningbo), China: 257,000
97. Sian (Xi'an), China: 250,000
98. Kiev, Russian Empire (Ukraine): 247,700 (1897)
99. Newark, New Jersey, USA: 246,070 [4]
100. Bucharest, Roumania (Romania): 246,033
101. Kingston-upon-Hull, England, UK: 240,259 [5] [2]
102. Sao Paulo, Brazil: 239,820 174,442 [2]
103. Nottingham, England, UK: 239,743 [5] [2]
104. Havana, Cuba: 235,981
105. Hannover (Hanover), Germany: 235,600
106. Rangoon (Yangôn), India (Burmah/Burma/Myanmar: 234,881 [5]
107. Genoa, Italy: 234,700
108. Changsha, China: 230,000
109. Magdeburg, Germany: 229,700
110. Christiania (Oslo), Sweden-Norway (Norway): 227,000
111. Salford, England, UK: 220,957 [5] [2]
112. Valencia, Spain: 215,700
113. Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England, UK: 215,328 [5] [2]
114. Düsseldorf, Germany: 213,700
115. Leicester, England, UK: 211,579 [5] [2]
116. Lille, France: 210,700
117. Stettin (Szczecin), Germany (Poland): 210,700
118. Benares (Vârânasi), India: 209,300 [5]
119. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: 208,040 [5]
120. Delhi, India: 207,000 [5]
121. Chemnitz, Germany: 206,900
122. Jersey City, New Jersey, USA: 206,433 [4]
123. Salvador, Bahia, Brazil: 205,813 [3] 174,412 [2] 181,933 [1]
124. Florence, Italy: 205,600
125. Louisville, Kentucky, USA: 204,731 [4]
126. Lahore, India (Pakistan): 203,000 [5]
127. Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA: 202,718 [4]
128. Smyrna (Izmir), Ottoman Empire (Turkey): 201,000
129. Prague, Austria-Hungary (Czech Republic): 200,000 184,109 [2]
130. Tebriz (Tabriz), Persia (Iran): 200,000
131. Tehran, Persia (Iran): 200,000 (15,000 in 1795)
132. Wusih (Wuxi), China: 200,000
133. Foshan, China: 200,000
134. Ghent, Belgium: 198,000 [1] 163,030 [2]
135. Kanpur, India: 197,200 [5]
136. Kharkov (Kharkiv), Russian Empire (Ukraine): 197,000
137. King-ki-Tao (Seoul), Korea (South Korea): 195,000
138. Yokohama, Japan: 193,800
139. Singapore, (Singapore): 193,089 [5]
140. Manila, Philippines: 190,000 [1]
141. Charlottenburg (Annexed by Berlin), Germany: 189,300
142. Portsmouth, England, UK: 189,160 [5] [2]
143. Âgra, India: 188,300 [5]
144. Königsberg (Kaliningrad), Germany (Russia): 188,000
145. Ahmadâbâd (Ahmedabad), India: 185,889 [5]
146. Mandalay, India (Burmah/Burma/Myanmar: 183,800 [5]
147. Haag (The Hague), The Netherlands: 180,000 (1895)
148. Tashkand (Tashkent), Russian Empire (Uzbekistan): 180,000
149. Baku, Russian Empire (Azerbaijan): 179,000
150. Stuttgart, Germany: 176,700
151. Providence, Rhode Island, USA: 175,597 [4]
152. Tiflis (Tbilisi), Russian Empire (Georgia): 175,000
153. Oporto (Porto), Portugal: 172,400
154. Allahâbâd, India: 172,000 [5]
155. Venice, Italy: 171,000
156. Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), French Indochina (Vietnam): 170,000 [1]
157. Indianapolis, Indiana, USA: 169,164 [4]
158. Gratz (Graz), Austria-Hungary (Austria): 168,808 113,540 [2]
159. Bolton, England, UK: 168,205 [5] [2]
160. Chinkiang (Zhenjiang), China: 168,000
161. Damascus, Ottoman Empire (Syria): 165,000
162. Cardiff, Wales, UK: 164,333 [5] [2]
163. Kansas City, Missouri, USA: 163,752 [4]
164. Bremen, Germany: 163,300
165. St. Paul, Minnesota, USA: 163,065 [4]
166. Rochester, New York, USA: 162,608 [4]
167. Amritsir (Amritsar), India: 162,500 [5]
168. Adelaide, South Australia, Australia: 162,261 [5]
169. Vilna (Vilnius), Russian Empire (Lithuania): 162,600
170. Altona (Annexed by Hamburg), Germany: 161,500
171. Kôbe, Japan: 161,100
172. Dundee, Scotland, UK: 161,000 [5] [2]
173. Bangalore, India: 161,000 [5]
174. Jypoor (Jaipur), India: 160,200 [5]
175. Mukden (Shenyang), China: 160,000
176. Lemberg (Lviv), Austria-Hungary (Ukraine): 159,000 [1] 128,419 [2]
177. Liège, Belgium: 157,800 171,031 [2]
178. Hâora (Howrah - twin city with Kolkata), India: 157,594 [5]
179. Elberfeld (Wuppertal), Germany: 157,000
180. Halle (Saale), Germany: 156,600
181. Tunis, Tunisia (French Empire): 156,000
182. Johannesburg, South Africa: 155,642 (1904) [5]
183. Poonah (Pune), India: 154,000 [5]
184. Colombo, Sri Lanka: 153,691 [5]
185. Aberdeen, Scotland, UK: 153,114 [5] [2]
186. Bologna, Italy: 152,000
187. Strasbourg, Germany (France): 151,000
188. Zürich, Switzerland: 150,700
189. Nangasaki (Nagasaki), Japan: 150,000
190. Nanchang, China: 150,000
191. Ibadan, Nigeria: 150,000 [5]
192. Kai-fong (Kaifeng), China: 150,000
193. Bagdad (Baghdad), Ottoman Empire (Iraq): 150,000
194. Toulouse, France: 149,800
195. Messina, Italy: 149,800
196. Catania, Italy: 149,300
197. Cape Town, South Africa: 148,000 [5]
198. Seville, Spain: 147,300
199. Surabaya, Dutch East Indies (Indonesia): 146,900
200. Saint-Étienne, France: 146,600
201. Sunderland, England, UK: 146,565 [5] [2]
202. Valparaiso, Chile: 145,000 122,447 [2]
203. Saratov, Russian Empire (Russia): 143,000
204. Rostov-on-Don, Russian Empire (Russia): 142,000
205. Dortmund, Germany: 142,000
206. Barmen (Wuppertal), Germany: 141,900
207. Mannheim, Germany: 141,100
208. Danzig (Gdansk), Germany (Poland): 140,600
209. Algiers, Algeria (French Empire): 140,000
210. Salonica (Thessaloniki), Ottoman Empire (Greece): 140,000
211. Gwalior, India: 139,000 [5]
212. Gelsenkirchen, Germany: 138,000
213. Oldham, England, UK: 137,238 [5] [2]
214. Brunn (Brno), Austria-Hungary (Czech Republic): 137,000 [1]
215. Tsinan (Jinan), China: 135,000
216. Ekaterinoslav (Dnipropetrovsk), Russian Empire (Ukraine): 135,000
217. Patna, India: 134,800 [5]
218. Croydon, England, UK: 133,885 [5] [2]
219. Denver, Colorado, USA: 133,859 [4]
220. Nantes, France: 133,000
221. Aachen, Germany: 132,200
222. Trieste, Austria-Hungary (Italy): 132,000 [1] 158,344 [2]
223. Toledo, Ohio, USA: 131,822 [4]
224. Nagoya, Japan: 131,500
225. Bareilly, India: 131,200 [5]
226. Málaga, Spain: 131,100
227. Gottenburg (Gothenburg), Sweden-Norway (Sweden): 130,600
228. Le Havre, France: 130,200
229. Kazan, Russian Empire (Russia): 131,500
230. Allegheny, Pennsylvania, USA: 129,896 [4]
231. Braunschweig (Brunswick), Germany: 128,200
232. Astrakhan, Russian Empire (Russia): 128,000
233. Nagpoor (Nâgpur), India: 127,700 [5]
234. Blackburn, England, UK: 127,527 [5] [2]
235. Halab (Aleppo), Ottoman Empire (Syria): 127,200
236. Kichenau (Chisinau), Russian Empire (Moldova): 125,800
237. Columbus, Ohio, USA: 125,560 [4]
238. Roubaix, France: 124,400
239. Brighton, England, UK: 123,478 [5] [2]
240. Athens, Greece: 123,000 (1896) (4,000 in 1833)
241. Kashmir (Srînagar), India: 122,600 [5]
242. Hiroshima, Japan: 122,300 (1898)
243. Lima, Peru: 122,000 100,000 [2]
244. Kirinula (Jilin City), China: 120,000
245. Bogota, Colombia: 120,000 [2] [3] | 105,000 [1] | 110,000
246. Medina (Marrakech/Marrakesh), Morocco: 120,000
247. Brisbane, Queensland, Australia: 119,428 [5]
248. Sûrat, India: 119,300 [5]
249. Essen, Germany: 118,900
250. Bairut (Beirut), Ottoman Empire (Lebanon): 118,800
251. Worcester, Massachusetts, USA: 118,421 [4]
252. Meerut, India: 118,100 [5]
253. Posan (Poznan), Germany (Poland): 117,000
254. Rouen, France: 116,300
255. Batavia (Jakarta) Dutch East Indies (Indonesia): 115,000 [1]
256. Willesden, England, UK: 114,815 [5] [2]
257. Geneva, Switzerland: 114,500
258. Karachi, India (Pakistan): 114,000 [1] [5]
259. Rhondda, Wales, UK: 113,735 [5] [2]
260. Recife, Brazil: 113,100 111,556 [2]
261. Preston, England, UK: 112,982 [5] [2]
262. Rosario, Argentina: 112,462 91,669 [2]
263. Norwich, England, UK: 111,728 [5] [2]
264. Birkenhead, England, UK: 110,926 [5] [2]
265. Lanchu (Lanzhou), China: 110,000
266. Tula, Russian Empire (Russia): 110,000
267. Gateshead, England, UK: 109,887 [5] [2]
268. Basel, Switzerland: 109,800
269. Surakarta (Solo), Dutch East Indies (Indonesia): 109,500
270. Reims, France: 108,400
271. Syracuse, New York, USA: 108,374 [4]
272. New Haven, Connecticut, USA: 108,027 [4]
273. Krakow, Austria-Hungary (Poland): 108,000 [1]
274. Kiel, Germany: 108,000
275. Fez (Fes), Morocco: 108,000
276. Plymwouth, England, UK: 107,509 [5] [2]
277. Crefeld (Krefeld), Germany: 106,900
278. Madura (Madurai), India: 106,000 [5]
279. Kassel, Germany: 106,000
280. Derby, England, UK: 105,785 [5] [2]
281. Paterson, New Jersey, USA: 105,171 [4]
282. Nice, France: 105,109 (1901)
283. Halifax, England, UK: 104,933 [5] [2]
284. Southampton, England, UK: 104,911 [5] [2]
285. Fall River, Massachusetts, USA: 104,863 [4]
286. Tanjore (Tiruchchirâppalli/Trichinopoly), India: 104,700 [5]
287. Baroda (Vadodara), India: 103,800 [5]
288. Ha nôi (Hanoi), French Indochina (Vietnam): 103,200
289. St. Joseph, Missouri, USA: 102,979 [4]
290. Nancy, France: 102,600
291. Omaha, Nebraska, USA: 102,555 [4]
292. Tottenham, England, UK: 102,519 [5] [2]
293. Los Angeles, California, USA: 102,479 [4]
294. Memphis, Tennessee, USA: 102,320 [4]
295. Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA: 102,026 [4]
296. Utrecht, The Netherlands: 102,000
297. Toulon, France: 101,600
298. Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico: 101,200
299. Szeged (Szegedin), Austria-Hungary (Hungary): 100,300 87,410 [2]
300. Xiamen, China: 100,000
301. Guiyang, China: 100,000

5 Observations

5.1 Number of Urban Centres per Country

The table below shows the number of urban centres per country that had more than 100,000 inhabitants in the year 1900. It also shows the population. These numbers also reflect the number of cities within each country's colonial empire. Only the top 9 countries with the most urban centres are colour coded. Top 10 urban centres are included below. 

1. British Empire - 419,920,000 - 83
   1. London, England, UK: 4,670,177 [x] 4,536,541 [5] 4,536,063 [2]
   2. Calcutta (Kolkata), India: 1,026,900 [1] 847,796 [5]
   3. Bombay (Mumbai), India: 776,006 [5]
   4. Glasgow, Scotland, UK: 761,709 [5] [2]
   5. Liverpool, England, UK: 684,958 [5] [2]
   6. Cairo, Ottoman/British Empires (Egypt): 600,000 [5]
   7. Manchester, England, UK: 543,872 [5] [2]
   8. Birmingham, England, UK: 522,204 [5] [2]
   9. Madras (Chennai), India: 509,300 [5]
   10. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia: 496,079 [5]
2. United States - 76,212,168 - 40
   1. New York City, New York, USA: 3,437,202 [4]
   2. Chicago, Illinois, USA: 1,698,575 [4]
   3. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA: 1,293,697 [4]
   4. St. Louis, Missouri, USA: 575,238 [4]
   5. Boston, Massachusetts, USA: 560,892 [4]
   6. Baltimore, Maryland, USA: 508,957 [4]
   7. Cleveland, Ohio, USA: 381,768 [4]
   8. Buffalo, New York, USA: 352,387 [4]
   9. San Francisco,California, USA: 342,782 [4]
   10. Cincinnati, Ohio, USA: 325,902 [4]
3. Germany - 56,000,000 - 31
   1. Berlin, Germany: 1,888,848
   2. Hamburg, Germany: 705,738
   3. Munich, Germany: 499,000
   4. Leipzig, Germany: 456,100
   5. Breslau (Wroclaw), Germany (Poland): 422,700
   6. Dresden, Germany: 396,100
   7. Cologne, Germany: 372,500
   8. Frankfurt, Germany: 288,989
   9. Nuremberg, Germany: 261,100
   10. Hannover (Hanover), Germany: 235,600
4. Qing Dynasty (China) - 415,001,488 - 25
   1. Peking (Beijing), China: 1,000,000 [1]
   2. Tien-Tsin (Tianjin), China: 750,000
   3. Foochow (Fuzhou), China: 630,000
   4. Chung-king (Chongqing), China: 620,000
   5. Shanghae (Shanghai), China: 619,000
   6. Canton (Guangzhou), China: 585,000 [1]
   7. Wuhan, China: 450,000
   8. Hangchow (Hangzhou), China: 350,000
   9. Ching tu (Chengdu), China: ~300,000 (400,000 in 1911)
   10. Soochow (Suzhou), China: 280,000
5. Russian Empire - 132,000,000 - 19
   1. Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire (Russia): 1,439,400
   2. Moskow (Moscow), Russian Empire (Russia): 1,170,000
   3. Warsaw, Russian Empire (Poland): 756,400
   4. Odessa, Russian Empire (Ukraine): 449,000
   5. Łódź, Russian Empire (Poland): 351,600
   6. Riga, Russian Empire (Latvia): 294,000
   7. Kiev, Russian Empire (Ukraine): 247,700 (1897)
   8. Kharkov (Kharkiv), Russian Empire (Ukraine): 197,000
   9. Tashkand (Tashkent), Russian Empire (Uzbekistan): 180,000
   10. Baku, Russian Empire (Azerbaijan): 179,000
6. French Empire - 76,090,000 - 19
   1. Paris, France: 2,714,068
   2. Marseille, France: 491,200
   3. Lyon, France: 441,800
   4. Bordeaux, France: 257,500
   5. Lille, France: 210,700
   6. Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), French Indochina (Vietnam): 170,000 [1]
   7. Tunis, Tunisia (French Empire): 156,000 [1]
   8. Toulouse, France: 149,800
   9. Saint-Étienne, France: 146,600
   10. Algiers, Algeria (French Empire): 140,000
7. Italy - 32,000,000 - 11
   1. Naples, Italy: 563,500
   2. Milan, Italy: 491,500
   3. Rome, Italy: 462,800
   4. Turin, Italy: 335,700
   5. Palermo, Italy: 309,700
   6. Genoa, Italy: 234,700
   7. Florence, Italy: 205,600
   8. Venice, Italy: 171,000
   9. Bologna, Italy: 152,000
   10. Messina, Italy: 149,800
8. Austria-Hungary - 51,356,465 - 9
   1. Vienna, Austria-Hungary (Austria): 1,769,137 1,635,647 [2]
   2. Budapest, Austria-Hungary (Hungary), 733,358 505,763 [2]
   3. Prague, Austria-Hungary (Czech Republic): 200,000 184,109 [2]
   4. Gratz (Graz), Austria-Hungary (Austria): 168,808 113,540 [2]
   5. Lemberg (Lviv), Austria-Hungary (Ukraine): 159,000 [1] 128,419 [2]
   6. Brunn (Brno), Austria-Hungary (Czech Republic): 137,000 [1]
   7. Trieste, Austria-Hungary (Italy): 132,000 [1] 158,344 [2]
   8. Krakow, Austria-Hungary (Poland): 108,000 [1]
   9. Szeged (Szegedin), Austria-Hungary (Hungary): 100,300 87,410 [2]
9. Ottoman Empire - 30,860,000 - 9
   1. Constantinople (Istanbul), Ottoman Empire (Turkey): 942,900
   2. Cairo, Ottoman/British Empires (Egypt): 600,000 [5]
   3. Alexandria, Ottoman/British Empires (Egypt): 314,000 [5]
   4. Smyrna (Izmir), Ottoman Empire (Turkey): 201,000
   5. Damascus, Ottoman Empire (Syria): 165,000
   6. Bagdad (Baghdad), Ottoman Empire (Iraq): 150,000
   7. Salonica (Thessaloniki), Ottoman Empire (Greece): 140,000
   8. Halab (Aleppo), Ottoman Empire (Syria): 127,200
   9. Bairut (Beirut), Ottoman Empire (Lebanon): 118,800
10. Japan - 42,000,000 - 8
    1. Edo/Yedo (Tokyo), Japan: 1,497,000
    2. Oosaka (Osaka), Japan: 970,000
    3. Kyoto, Japan: 362,000
    4. Yokohama, Japan: 193,800
    5. Kôbe, Japan: 161,100
    6. Nangasaki (Nagasaki), Japan: 150,000
    7. Nagoya, Japan: 131,500
    8. Hiroshima, Japan: 122,300 (1898)
11. Dutch Empire - 51,246,000 - 7
    1. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: 510,000
    2. Rotterdam, The Netherlands: 368,000
    3. Haag (The Hague), The Netherlands: 180,000 (1895)
    4. Surabaya, Dutch East Indies (Indonesia): 146,900
    5. Batavia (Jakarta) Dutch East Indies (Indonesia): 115,000 [1]
    6. Surakarta, Dutch East Indies (Indonesia): 109,500
    7. Utrecht, The Netherlands: 102,000
12. Spain - 20,750,000 - 5
    1. Madrid, Spain: 539,800
    2. Barcelona, Spain: 530,300
    3. Valencia, Spain: 215,700
    4. Seville, Spain: 147,300
    5. Málaga, Spain: 131,100
13. Brazil - 17,000,000 - 4
    1. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: 811,443 522,651 [2]
    2. Sao Paulo, Brazil: 239,820 174,442 [2]
    3. Salvador, Bahia, Brazil: 205,813 [3] 174,412 [2] 181,933 [1]
    4. Recife, Brazil: 113,100 111,556 [2]
14. Belgium - 6,136,000 - 4
    1. Brussels, Belgium: 626,000 570,844 [2, excludes suburbs]
    2. Antwerp, Belgium: 275,100 282,018 [2]
    3. Ghent, Belgium: 198,000 [1] 163,030 [2]
    4. Liège, Belgium: 157,800 171,031 [2]
15. Sweden-Norway - 7,560,000 - 3
    1. Stockholm, Sweden-Norway (Sweden): 300,000
    2. Christiania (Oslo), Sweden-Norway (Norway): 227,000
    3. Gottenburg (Gothenburg), Sweden-Norway (Sweden): 130,600
16. Switzerland - 3,525,300 - 3
    1. Zürich, Switzerland: 150,700
    2. Geneva, Switzerland: 114,500
    3. Basel, Switzerland: 109,800
17. Persia (Iran) - 7,000,000 - 2
    1. Tebriz (Tabriz), Persia (Iran): 200,000
    2. Tehran, Persia (Iran): 200,000 (15,000 in 1795)
18. Portuguese Empire - 12,434,000 - 2 (All within Portugal)
    1. Lisbon, Portugal: 356,000
    2. Oporto (Porto), Portugal: 172,400
19. Chile - 2,867,000 - 2
    1. Santiago, Chile: 296,600 256,413 [2]
    2. Valparaiso, Chile: 145,000 122,447 [2]
20. Mexico - 12,050,000 - 2
    1. Mexico City, Mexico: 400,000
    2. Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico: 101,200
21. Argentina - 5,800,000 - 2
    1. Buenos Ayres (Buenos Aires), Argentina: 950,891 663,854 [2]
    2. Rosario, Argentina: 112,462 91,669 [2]
22. Morocco - 4,162,000 - 2
    1. Fez (Fes), Morocco: 108,000
    2. Medina (Marrakech/Marrakesh), Morocco: 120,000
23. Greece - 2,800,000 - 1
    1. Athens, Greece: 123,000 (1896) (4,000 in 1833)
24. Denmark - 2,182,000 - 1
    1. Copenhagen, Denmark: 600,000 375,251 [2]
25. Korea - 12,000,000 - 1
    1. King-ki-Tao (Seoul), Korea (South Korea): 195,000
26. Siam (Thailand) - 7,200,000 - 1
    1. Bangkok, Siam (Thailand): 300,000
27. Roumania (Romania) - 6,630,000 - 1
    1. Bucharest, Roumania (Romania): 246,033
28. Uruguay - 1,026,000 - 1
    1. Montevideo, Uruguay: 268,000 252,000 [2]
29. Peru - 3,700,000 - 1
    1. Lima, Peru: 122,000 100,000 [2]
30. Colombia - 4,604,000 - 1
    1. Bogota, Colombia: 120,000 [2] [3] | 105,000 [1] | 110,000

An interesting observation is how only two of the cities in the Russian Empire's top ten are still part of Russia today. 

A pie chart showing the number of urban centres per country with a population of more than 100,000 inhabitants in the year 1900.

5.2 Number of Urban Centres by Modern Day Political Divisions

It's an interesting perspective to rank by modern day political divisions. The following table is ranked by the number of urban centres per modern political division and includes a list of the top ten. I include the same colour coding as used in the rest of this article to indicate if the predecessor state that had sovereignty over the city was part of the top 9 containing the most urban centres in 1900.

1. United States: 38
   1. New York City, New York, USA: 3,437,202 [4]
   2. Chicago, Illinois, USA: 1,698,575 [4]
   3. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA: 1,293,697 [4]
   4. St. Louis, Missouri, USA: 575,238 [4]
   5. Boston, Massachusetts, USA: 560,892 [4]
   6. Baltimore, Maryland, USA: 508,957 [4]
   7. Cleveland, Ohio, USA: 381,768 [4]
   8. Buffalo, New York, USA: 352,387 [4]
   9. San Francisco,California, USA: 342,782 [4]
   10. Cincinnati, Ohio, USA: 325,902 [4]
2. United Kingdom: 38
   1. London, England, UK: 4,670,177 [x] 4,536,541 [5] 4,536,063 [2]
   2. Glasgow, Scotland, UK: 761,709 [5] [2]
   3. Liverpool, England, UK: 684,958 [5] [2]
   4. Manchester, England, UK: 543,872 [5] [2]
   5. Birmingham, England, UK: 522,204 [5] [2]
   6. Leeds, England, UK: 428,968 [5] [2]
   7. Sheffield, England, UK: 380,793 [5] [2]
   8. Belfast, Ireland (Northern Ireland), UK: 348,965 [5] [2] [1.]
   9. Bristol, England, UK: 328,945 [5] [2]
   10. Edinburgh, Scotland, UK: 316,837 [5] [2]
3. Germany: 29
   1. Berlin, Germany: 1,888,848
   2. Hamburg, Germany: 705,738
   3. Munich, Germany: 499,000
   4. Leipzig, Germany: 456,100
   5. Dresden, Germany: 396,100
   6. Cologne, Germany: 372,500
   7. Frankfurt, Germany: 288,989
   8. Nuremberg, Germany: 261,100
   9. Hannover (Hanover), Germany: 235,600
   10. Magdeburg, Germany: 229,700
4. India: 27
   1. Calcutta (Kolkata), India: 1,026,900 [1] 847,796 [5]
   2. Bombay (Mumbai), India: 776,006 [5]
   3. Madras (Chennai), India: 509,300 [5]
   4. Hyderabad, India: 448,500 [5]
   5. Lucknow, India: 264,000 [5]
   6. Benares (Vârânasi), India: 209,300 [5]
   7. Delhi, India: 207,000 [5]
   8. Kanpur, India: 197,200 [5]
   9. Agra, India: 188,300 [5]
   10. Ahmadâbâd (Ahmedabad), India: 185,900 [5]
5. China: 26
   1. Peking (Beijing), China: 1,000,000 [1]
   2. Tien-Tsin (Tianjin), China: 750,000
   3. Foochow (Fuzhou), China: 630,000
   4. Chung-king (Chongqing), China: 620,000
   5. Shanghae (Shanghai), China: 619,000
   6. Canton (Guangzhou), China: 585,000 [1]
   7. Wuhan, China: 450,000
   8. Hangchow (Hangzhou), China: 350,000
   9. Ching tu (Chengdu), China: ~300,000 (400,000 in 1911)
   10. Hong Kong, (China): 283,978 [5]
6. France: 16
   1. Paris, France: 2,714,068
   2. Marseille, France: 491,200
   3. Lyon, France: 441,800
   4. Bordeaux, France: 257,500
   5. Lille, France: 210,700
   6. Toulouse, France: 149,800
   7. Saint-Étienne, France: 146,600
   8. Nantes, France: 133,000
   9. Le Havre, France: 130,200
   10. Roubaix, France: 124,400
7. Italy: 12
   1. Naples, Italy: 563,500
   2. Milan, Italy: 491,500
   3. Rome, Italy: 462,800
   4. Turin, Italy: 335,700
   5. Palermo, Italy: 309,700
   6. Genoa, Italy: 234,700
   7. Florence, Italy: 205,600
   8. Venice, Italy: 171,000
   9. Bologna, Italy: 152,000
   10. Messina, Italy: 149,800
8. Russia: 8
   1. Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire (Russia): 1,439,400
   2. Moskow (Moscow), Russian Empire (Russia): 1,170,000 
   3. Königsberg (Kaliningrad), Germany (Russia): 188,000
   4. Saratov, Russian Empire (Russia): 143,000
   5. Rostov-on-Don, Russian Empire (Russia): 142,000
   6. Kazan, Russian Empire (Russia): 131,500
   7. Astrakhan, Russian Empire (Russia): 128,000
   8. Tula, Russian Empire (Russia): 110,000 
9. Japan: 8
   1. Edo/Yedo (Tokyo), Japan: 1,497,000
   2. Oosaka (Osaka), Japan: 970,000
   3. Kyoto, Japan: 362,000
   4. Yokohama, Japan: 193,800
   5. Kôbe, Japan: 161,100
   6. Nangasaki (Nagasaki), Japan: 150,000
   7. Nagoya, Japan: 131,500
   8. Hiroshima, Japan: 122,300 (1898)
10. Poland: 7
    1. Warsaw, Russian Empire (Poland): 756,400
    2. Breslau (Wroclaw), Germany (Poland): 422,700
    3. Łódź, Russian Empire (Poland): 351,600
    4. Stettin (Szczecin), Germany (Poland): 210,700
    5. Danzig (Gdansk), Germany (Poland): 140,600
    6. Posan (Poznan), Germany (Poland): 117,000
    7. Krakow, Austria-Hungary (Poland): 108,000 [1]
11. Spain: 5
    1. Madrid, Spain: 539,800
    2. Barcelona, Spain: 530,300
    3. Valencia, Spain: 215,700
    4. Seville, Spain: 147,300
    5. Málaga, Spain: 131,100
12. Ukraine: 5
    1. Odessa, Russian Empire (Ukraine): 449,000
    2. Kiev, Russian Empire (Ukraine): 247,700 (1897)
    3. Kharkov (Kharkiv), Russian Empire (Ukraine): 197,000
    4. Lemberg (Lviv), Austria-Hungary (Ukraine): 159,000 [1] 128,419 [2]
    5. Ekaterinoslav (Dnipropetrovsk), Russian Empire (Ukraine): 135,000
13. Brazil: 4
    1. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: 811,443 522,651 [2]
    2. Sao Paulo, Brazil: 239,820 174,442 [2]
    3. Salvador, Bahia, Brazil: 205,813 [3] 174,412 [2] 181,933 [1]
    4. Recife, Brazil: 113,100 111,556 [2]
14. Belgium: 4
    1. Brussels, Belgium: 626,000 570,844 [2, excludes suburbs]
    2. Antwerp, Belgium: 275,100 282,018 [2]
    3. Ghent, Belgium: 198,000 [1] 163,030 [2]
    4. Liège, Belgium: 157,800 171,031 [2]
15. The Netherlands: 4
    1. Amsterdam, The Netherlands: 510,000
    2. Rotterdam, The Netherlands: 368,000
    3. Haag (The Hague), The Netherlands: 180,000 (1895)
    4. Utrecht, The Netherlands: 102,000
16. Australia: 4
    1. Melbourne, Victoria, Australia: 496,079 [5]
    2. Sydney, New South Wales, Australia: 487,932 [5]
    3. Adelaide, South Australia, Australia: 162,261 [5]
    4. Brisbane, Queensland, Australia: 119,428 [5]
17. Indonesia: 3
    1. Surabaya, Dutch East Indies (Indonesia): 146,900
    2. Batavia (Jakarta) Dutch East Indies (Indonesia): 115,000 [1]
    3. Surakarta, Dutch East Indies (Indonesia): 109,500
18. Switzerland: 3
    1. Zürich, Switzerland: 150,700
    2. Geneva, Switzerland: 114,500
    3. Basel, Switzerland: 109,800
19. Sweden: 2
    1. Stockholm, Sweden-Norway (Sweden): 300,000
    2. Gottenburg (Gothenburg), Sweden-Norway (Sweden): 130,600
20. Portugal: 2
    1. Lisbon, Portugal: 356,000
    2. Oporto (Porto), Portugal: 172,400
21. Turkey: 2
    1. Constantinople (Istanbul), Ottoman Empire (Turkey): 942,900
    2. Smyrna (Izmir), Ottoman Empire (Turkey): 201,000
22. Iran: 2
    1. Tebriz (Tabriz), Persia (Iran): 200,000
    2. Tehran, Persia (Iran): 200,000 (15,000 in 1795)
23. Hungary: 2
    1. Budapest, Austria-Hungary (Hungary), 733,358 505,763 [2]
    2. Szeged (Szegedin), Austria-Hungary (Hungary): 100,300 87,410 [2]
24. Austria: 2
    1. Vienna, Austria-Hungary (Austria): 1,769,137 1,635,647 [2]
    2. Gratz (Graz), Austria-Hungary (Austria): 168,808 113,540 [2]
25. Argentina: 2
    1. Buenos Ayres (Buenos Aires), Argentina: 950,891 663,854 [2]
    2. Rosario, Argentina: 112,462 91,669 [2]
26. Egypt: 2
    1. Cairo, Ottoman/British Empires (Egypt): 600,000 [5]
    2. Alexandria, Ottoman/British Empires (Egypt): 314,000 [5]
27. Mexico: 2
    1. Mexico City, Mexico: 400,000
    2. Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico: 101,200
28. Myanmar: 2
    1. Rangoon (Yangôn), India (Burmah/Burma/Myanmar): 234,900 [5]
    2. Mandalay, India (Burmah/Burma/Myanmar: 183,800 [5]
29. Czech Republic: 2
    1. Prague, Austria-Hungary (Czech Republic): 200,000 184,109 [2]
    2. Brunn (Brno), Austria-Hungary (Czech Republic): 137,000 [1]
30. Canada: 2
    1. Montreal, Quebec, Canada: 267,730 [5]
    2. Toronto, Ontario, Canada: 208,040 [5]
31. Chile: 2
    1. Santiago, Chile: 296,600 256,413 [2]
    2. Valparaiso, Chile: 145,000 122,447 [2]
32. Vietnam: 2
    1. Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City), French Indochina (Vietnam): 170,000 [1]
    2. Ha nôi (Hanoi), French Indochina (Vietnam): 103,200
33. Syria: 2
    1. Damascus, Ottoman Empire (Syria): 165,000
    2. Halab (Aleppo), Ottoman Empire (Syria): 127,200
34. Greece: 2
    1. Smyrna (Izmir), Ottoman Empire (Turkey): 201,000
    2. Athens, Greece: 123,000 (1896) (4,000 in 1833)
35. South Africa: 2
    1. Johannesburg, South Africa: 155,642 (1904) [5]
    2. Cape Town, South Africa: 148,000 [5]
36. Pakistan: 2
    1. Lahore, India (Pakistan): 203,000 [5]
    2. Karachi, India (Pakistan): 114,000 [1] [5]
37. Morocco: 2
    1. Fez (Fes), Morocco: 108,000
    2. Medina (Marrakech/Marrakesh), Morocco: 120,000
38. Iraq: 1
    1. Bagdad (Baghdad), Ottoman Empire (Iraq): 150,000
39. Ireland: 1
    1. Dublin, Ireland, UK: 289,108 [5] [2] [1.]
40. Uzbekistan: 1
    1. Tashkand (Tashkent), Russian Empire (Uzbekistan): 180,000
41. Georgia: 1
    1. Tiflis (Tbilisi), Russian Empire (Georgia): 175,000
42. Azerbaijan: 1
    1. Baku, Russian Empire (Azerbaijan): 179,000
43. Norway: 1
    1. Christiania (Oslo), Sweden-Norway (Norway): 227,000
44. Latvia: 1
    1. Riga, Russian Empire (Latvia): 294,000
45. Lithuania: 1
    1. Vilna (Vilnius), Russian Empire (Lithuania): 162,600
46. Algeria: 1
    1. Algiers, Algeria (French Empire): 140,000
47. Denmark: 1
    1. Copenhagen, Denmark: 600,000 375,251 [2]
48. Thailand: 1
    1. Bangkok, Siam (Thailand): 300,000
49. Romania: 1
    1. Bucharest, Roumania (Romania): 246,033
50. Uruguay: 1
    1. Montevideo, Uruguay: 268,000 252,000 [2]
51. Cuba: 1
    1. Havana, Cuba: 235,981
52. South Korea: 1
    1. King-ki-Tao (Seoul), Korea (South Korea): 195,000
53. Singapore: 1
    1. Singapore, (Singapore): 193,089 [5]
54. Philippines: 1
    1. Manila, Philippines: 190,000 [1]
55. Tunisia: 1
    1. Tunis, Tunisia (French Empire): 156,000 [1]
56. Sri Lanka: 1
    1. Colombo, Sri Lanka: 153,691 [5]
57. Nigeria: 1
    1. Ibadan, Nigeria: 150,000 [5]
58. Moldova: 1
    1. Kichenau (Chisinau), Russian Empire (Moldova): 125,800
59. Peru: 1
    1. Lima, Peru: 122,000 100,000 [2]
60. Lebanon: 1
    1. Bairut (Beirut), Ottoman Empire (Lebanon): 118,800
61. Colombia: 1
    1. Bogota, Colombia: 120,000 [2] [3] | 105,000 [1] | 110,000 

A pie chart showing the number of urban centres with more than 100,000 inhabitants in the year 1900 by modern political divisions. 

One thing that stand out is how there are twice as many countries constituting the area of the previous countries & empires from 1900. This is largely due to the decline of colonialism & the breakup of larger empires. A number of cities have also shifted from power to power (ex. Konigsberg, Germany is now Kaliningrad, Russia).

It's also interesting to note how the United Kingdom & the United States have exactly the same number of urban centres over 100,000 inhabitants once you remove their external possessions (the UK's possession of India contributed to a significant number of the British Empire's large cities).

One point that may surprise people are how many cities in the USA had a population of more than 100,000 in 1900. Although North America is traditionally considered the "New World" from a European perspective it was during the Industrial Revolution that cities really began to grow. By 1900 the second industrial revolution was already well underway. Many of the countries listed above were already highly industrialized with mills, railways, canals, & worker's housing abounding.

5.3 Number of Urban Centres per Continent

The table below lists the number of urban centres in the year 1900 with more than 100,000 inhabitants by continent. I also include the population of each continent for the year 1900. Note, I considered Baku, Azerbaijan & Tbilisi, Georgia to be part of Europe in the following table & consequent pie chart. 

1. Europe: 408,000,000 156
2. Asia: 947,000,000 83
3. North America: 106,000,000 43
4. South America: 38,000,000 12
5. Africa: 120,000,000 9
6. Oceania: 6,000,000 4

A pie chart showing the number of urban centres with more than 100,000 inhabitants by continent.

5.4 Compared to Today's Population Data (City Proper)

Below, the populations of the top 20 most populated urban centres in the world in the year 1900 are compared to their c. 2014 populations. For this comparison only official quotes of the city proper is used opposed to metropolitan or urban populations. Latest population data available as of 10th April, 2014. Included in the table below is both the most recent population data & the surface area of the city in kilometres squared.

1. London, England, UK: 8,308,369 | 1,572.15
2. New York City, New York, USA: 8,405,837 | 783.84
3. Paris, France: 2,243,833 | 2,844.8
4. Berlin, Germany: 3,517,424 | 891.75
5. Vienna, Austria-Hungary (Austria): 1,765,649 | 414.65
6. Chicago, Illinois, USA: 2,714,856 | 606.1
7. Tokyo, Japan: 9,071,577 | 622.99
8. Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire (Russia): 5,131,967 | 1,439
9. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA: 1,526,006 | 367
10. Moscow, Russian Empire (Russia): 12,111,194 | 2,510.12
11. Calcutta (Kolkata), India: 4,486,679 | 185
12. Beijing, China: 11,716,620 | 1,368.32
13. Osaka, Japan: 2,666,371 | 223
14. Buenos Aires, Argentina: 2,890,151 | 203
15. Constantinople (Istanbul), Ottoman Empire (Turkey): 14,160,467 | 2,189.79
16. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: 6,429,923 | 1,200.27
17. Bombay (Mumbai), India: 12,478,447 | 603.4
18. Glasgow, Scotland, UK: 595,080 | 175.5
19. Warsaw, Russian Empire (Poland): 1,715,517 | 517.24
20. Tianjin, China: 9,341,844 | 4,037

The chart above compares the populations of the top ten most populated urban centres in the year 1900 with their populations today.

The chart above compares the populations of the 10-20th most populated urban centres in the year 1900 with their populations today.

Interestingly, Glasgow's proper population has actually decreased since the year 1900. If more cities were plotted one would also see this occur with other British & American cities. Examples given in the table below. 

• St. Louis, Missouri: 1900: 575,238 | 2014: 318,416 - Difference = 256,822
• Liverpool, England: 1900: 684,958 | 2014: 466,415 - Difference = 218,543
• Glasgow, Scotland: 1900: 761,709 | 2014: 595,080 - Difference = 166,629
• Buffalo, New York: 1900: 352,387 | 2014: 259,384 - Difference = 93,003
• Manchester, England: 1900: 543,872: 2014: 502,900 - Difference = 40,972
• Cincinnati, Ohio: 1900: 325,902 | 2014: 296,943 - Difference = 28,959
• Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: 1900: 321,616 | 2014: 306,211 - Difference = 15,405

Much of the decrease is due to suburbanization, deindustrialization, & a number of other factors (I go into more detail about these processes in one of my previous blog posts). Although the city proper populations have decreased, urban amalgamation populations have not. This is illustrated by the data in the next section. 

5.5 Compared to Today's Urban Population Data (Urban Amalgamation)

Below, the populations of the top 20 most populated urban centres in the world in the year 1900 are compared to their c. 2014 urban populations. For this comparison the largest urban area (ie including the metropolitan area & commuter towns) is used. In the table below the surface area is not included because reliable information was not available.

1. London, England, UK: 15,010,295
2. New York City, New York, USA: 20,673,000
3. Paris, France: 10,869,000
4. Berlin, Germany: 3,401,147
5. Vienna, Austria-Hungary (Austria): 2,419,000
6. Chicago, Illinois, USA: 9,522,434
7. Tokyo, Japan: 37,239,000
8. Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire: 4,899,000
9. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA: 6,018,800
10. Moscow, Russian Empire: 15,788,999
11. Calcutta (Kolkata), India: 14,630,000
12. Beijing, China: 21,150,000
13. Osaka, Japan: 18,768,395
14. Buenos Aires, Argentina: 13,776,000
15. Constantinople (Istanbul), Ottoman Empire (Turkey): 14,160,467
16. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: 11,616,000 
17. Bombay (Mumbai), India: 20,748,395
18. Glasgow, Scotland, UK: 2,850,000
19. Warsaw, Russian Empire (Poland): 2,666,278
20. Tianjin, China: 11,524,238

The chart above compares the populations of the top ten most populated urban centres in the year 1900 with the population of their present urban amalgamations. 

The chart above compares the populations of the 10-20th most populated urban centres in the year 1900 with the population of their present urban amalgamations.

Based of these charts, cities on the Asian continent appear to have increased in population the most. As mentioned in the previous section, although some city proper populations have decreased (ie. UK & the USA), the populations of urban amalgamations have not largely due to the trend of suburbanization.

5.6 An Interactive Map of the Urban Centres

Below is a map showing the distribution of all of the urban centres in the world listed in the data. I maintain the colour-coding as close as possible to that used in this article. On the map as star icon represents 1,000,000+ inhabitants, diamond 500,000-1,000,000, square 250,000-500,000, and circle 100,000-250,000. When you click on an icon it will display a description that shows that urban centre's population in 1900 and its relative rank. 

I've updated the data on this article since making the map, the rank in the description of each icon is slightly inaccurate. So it's best to refer to the data in the article. Nevertheless it gives you a good ballpark measurement. Here's a link to a version of the map where Google Street View is enabled: Map The only issue is that my overlay seems to intermittently crash from time to time so you might have to reload the map now and then.

There's a full screen option on the map in the upper right of its interface, that version has a search bar that you can use to search for any of the urban centres.

6 Further Reading and Related Articles

For links to all of my related writings you can visit my Population Data and Architecture Articles page.

• The Population of Every Urban Centre in North America with more than 5,000 inhabitants in the year 1900.
• The Population of Every Urban Centre in Canada and the USA with more than 5,000 Inhabitants in 1900.

• The Population of Every Incorporated Urban Centre in Canada & Newfoundland in the Year 1901.
• An Interactive Map of the American Urban Centres that Ranked in the Top 100 Most Populated 1790-1900.

7 References

Currently the reference numbering is in the process of being updated. For now, if you see a reference below with two numbers the first number will be the new reference and the second one is the current reference number which corresponds to the numbers used in this article.

1. Darling & son Ltd, (1901). Census of the British Empire. Portsmouth, United Kingdom: University of Portsmouth. Retrieved from the Cornell University Library, Vision of Britain, and Histpop. Histpop Pages: Queensland, Australia; Victoria, Australia; New South Wales, Australia; South Australia; Western Australia; Ireland; Municipal & Police Burghs of Scotland;

5. 1. Darling & son Ltd, (1901). Census of the British Empire. London, England. Retrieved from the Cornell University Library and Histpop.

1. 18. Biguzzi, A. (2013) World city pop. Retrieved from: http://worldcitypop.com/1_data.asp

2. 9. Rand McNally and Company. (1903). Rand McNally & Co.'s Enlarged Business Atlas and Shippers' Guide. Retrieved from the David Rumsey Collection. Text pages with population data: Central and South America; Europe; Europe and Asia; Asia and China; Korea and the Philippines; The Philippines and Africa; Oceania;

3. 6. Lahmeyer, J. (2006). Population statistics. Retrieved from http://www.populstat.info/

4. 2. U.S. Bureau of the Census (1900). Data sheets: Urban Centres that have Ranked within the Top One-Hundred from 1790-1990. Related Wikipedia article.

6. 25. Abrams, L., & Brown, C. G., (2010). A history of everyday life in twentieth century Scotland. Edinburgh, Scotland: Edinburgh University Press Ltd. Retrieved from Google Books.

7. 26. Candler, T., (1974). Four Thousand Years of Urban Growth. St. David's University Press. 

10. 27. Stanford, E. (1900). Stanford's library map of the world on Merctor's projection. Retrieved from the David Rumsey Collection. 

12. 28. University of Michigan. (2006). Population growth over human history. Retrieved from globalchange.umich.edu/globalchange2/current/lectures/human_pop/human_pop.html  

13. 29. University of Botswana History Department. (2000). Estimated world population, 1800-1950. Retrieved from: thuto.org/ubh/ub/h202/wpop1.htm

Wikipedia sources: Historic urban community sizes. List of towns & cities in England by historical population. World population. List of urban area by population. List of cities by proper population.