What Is the Second Largest City on Earth?

The Second Largest City in the World in 2008 was Mumbai, India, with a population of 13.5 million people.

In 1985, Mexico City ranked as the second most populous city on earth, after the Chinese city of Shanghai, and the second most populous metropolitan area, after New York. Back then, Mexico City had a population of almost 9 million, and the district known as Greater Mexico City claimed a population of about 14 million, 20 percent of the entire population of Mexico!

The population of Mexico City is growing from both within and without. The birthrate there is high, and each year thousands of Mexicans move to the nation’s capital from other parts of the country.

As recently as 1950, Mexico City had a population of only about 2 million. In 2008, Mexico City’s population was 8.8 million.