Comparing the Most Populous Cities by Century, 1500 to Present
OER PROJECT: WH/ LESSON 9.4 ACTIVITYCOMPARING MOST POPULOUS CITIES, 1500 TO PRESENTUnless otherwise noted, this work is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Credit: “Comparing Most Populous Cities, 1500 to Present,” OER Project, https://www.oerproject.com/1PurposeComparing humanpopulation patterns at different times across the globe can help identify large-scale trendsand help you begin to think about what might have caused them.ProcessExamine the population chart on pagethree,andthen answer the questions below.1.In 1500, whichcontinent heldthe largest number of top 10 most populous cities?2.When did this start to change, and what do you think caused the change?3.Based on the information in this chart, during which period was urbanization the most intense?
OER PROJECT: WH/ LESSON 9.4 ACTIVITYCOMPARING MOST POPULOUS CITIES, 1500 TO PRESENT24.Write three to five sentences about the data in this chart. Whatstorycould you tell aboutthe last five centuries usingonlythis data?Data Sources: 1500–1900Reba, M. L., F. Reitsma, and K. C. Seto. 2018. Historical Urban Population: 3700 BC–AD 2000. Palisades, NY: NASA Socioeconomic Data and Applications Center (SEDAC). https://www.earthdata.nasa.gov/data/catalog/esdis-ciesin-sedac-uspat-hup-1.01950–2025 (Note: Data for 2025 are estimates made in 2018 UN report.)United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2018). World Urbanization Prospects: The 2018 Revision, Online Edition. Ritchie, H., Roser, M., andOrtiz-Ospina, E. (2018). “Urbanization: City Populations to 2035.”Our World in Data. Retrieved from https://ourworldindata.org/grapher/city-populations-to-2035
OER PROJECT: WH/ LESSON 9.4 ACTIVITYCOMPARING MOST POPULOUS CITIES, 1500 TO PRESENT31900 CE1950 CE2000CE2025CECityPopula2onCityPopula2onCityPopula2onCityPopula2on1London, UK6,480,000New York, US12,338,000To k y o, Japan34,449,000To k y o37,036,5002New York, US4,242,000To k y o , J a p a n 11,274,000Osaka, Japan18,660,000Delhi34,665,3003Paris, France3,330,000London, UK8.360,000Mexico City, Mexico18,457,000Shanghai30,482,0004Berlin, Germany2,707,000Osaka, Japan7,005,000New York, US17,813,000Dhaka24,652,2315Chicago, US1,717,000Paris, France 6,283,000São Paulo, Brazil17,014,000Cairo, Egypt23,074,3526Vienna, Austria1,698,000Moscow, Russia5,356,000Mumbai, India16,146,000São Paulo22,990,0007To k y o , J a p a n1,497,000Buenos Aires, Argenena5,166,000Delhi, India15,691,000Mexico City, Mexico22,752,2718St. Petersburg, Russia1,439,000Chicago, US5,100,000Shanghai, China14,246,000Beijing22,596,0009Manchester, UK1,435,000Calcuga, India4,604,000Cairo, Egypt13,625,000Mumbai (Bombay)22,088,00010Philadelphia, US1,418,000Shanghai, China4,288,000Kolkata (Calcuga)13,097,000New York-Newark19,154,3001500 CE1600 CE1700 CE1800 CECityPopula2onCityPopula2onCityPopula2onCityPopula2on1Beijing, China672,000Beijing, China706,000Istanbul, Turkey700,000Beijing, China1,100,0002Vijayanagar, India500,000Istanbul, Turkey700,000Edo (Tokyo), Japan689,000London, England861,0003Cairo, Egypt400,000Agra, India500,000Beijing, China650,000Guangzhou, China800,0004Hangzhou, China250,000Osaka, Japan304,000London, England550,000Edo (Tokyo), Japan685,0005Ta b r i z , I ra n250,000Kyoto, Japan570,000Paris, France530,000Istanbul,Turkey570,0006Istanbul, Turkey200,000Hangzhou, China547,000Ahmedabad, India385,000Paris, France547,0007Gaur, India200,000Paris, France430,000Osaka, Japan380,000Naples, Italy430,0008Paris, France185,000Naples, Italy387,000Esfahan, Iran350,000Hangzhou, China387,0009Guangzhou, China150,000Bijapur, India383,000Kyoto, Japan350,000Osaka, Japan383,00010Nanjing, China147,000Cairo, Egypt377,000Hangzhou, China303,000Kyoto, Japan377,000