List of largest cities in the Arab world. A city is a large human settlement. It can be defined as a permanent and densely settled place with administratively defined boundaries whose members work primarily on non-agricultural tasks. Cities generally have extensive systems for housing, transportation, sanitation, utilities, land use, production of goods, and communication. Their density facilitates interaction between people, government organisations and businesses, sometimes benefiting different parties in the process, such as improving efficiency of goods and service distribution.
Historically, city-dwellers have been a small proportion of humanity overall, but following two centuries of unprecedented and rapid urbanization, more than half of the world population now lives in cities, which has had profound consequences for global sustainability. Present-day cities usually form the core of larger metropolitan areas and urban areas—creating numerous commuters traveling towards city centres for employment, entertainment, and education. However, in a world of intensifying globalisation, all cities are to varying degrees also connected globally beyond these regions. This increased influence means that cities also have significant influences on global issues, such as sustainable development, global warming and global health. Because of these major influences on global issues, the international community has prioritized investment in sustainable cities through Sustainable Development Goal 11. Due to the efficiency of transportation and the smaller land consumption, dense cities hold the potential to have a smaller ecological footprint per inhabitant than more sparsely populated areas. Therefore, compact cities are often referred to as a crucial element of fighting climate change. However, this concentration can also have significant negative consequences, such as forming urban heat islands, concentrating pollution, and stressing water supplies and other resources.
Other important traits of cities besides population include the capital status and relative continued occupation of the city. For example, country capitals such as Beijing, London, Mexico City, Moscow, Nairobi, New Delhi, Paris, Rome, Athens, Seoul, Singapore, Tokyo, and Washington, D.C. reflect the identity and apex of their respective nations. Some historic capitals, such as Kyoto, maintain their reflection of cultural identity even without modern capital status. Religious holy sites offer another example of capital status within a religion, Jerusalem, Mecca, Varanasi, Ayodhya, Haridwar and Prayagraj each hold significance. The cities of Jericho, Faiyum, Damascus, Athens, Aleppo and Argos are among those laying claim to the longest continual inhabitation.
Here is a List of largest cities in the Arab world
Cairo
Cairo is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world. The Greater Cairo metropolitan area, with a population of 21.3 million, is the second largest urban agglomeration in Africa (behind Lagos), the largest in the Arab world and the Middle East, and the sixth-largest in the world.
| Website | Cairo.gov.eg |
|---|
| Population
(2021-census)
|
|
|---|---|
| • Megacity | 10,025,657 |
| • Estimate
(2021)
|
10,025,657 |
| • Density | 3,249/km2 (8,410/sq mi) |
| • Metro | 21,323,000 |
| • Demonym | Cairene |
Cairo is associated with ancient Egypt, as the Giza pyramid complex and the ancient city of Memphis are located in its geographical area. Located near the Nile Delta, Cairo was developed in 969 AD during the Fatimid dynasty, but the land composing the present-day city was the site of Ancient National Capitals whose remnants remain visible in parts of Old Cairo. Cairo has long been a centre of the region’s political and cultural life, and is titled “the city of a thousand minarets” for its preponderance of Islamic architecture. Cairo’s historic center was awarded World Heritage Site-status in 1979. Cairo is considered a World City with a “Beta +” classification according to GaWC.
Baghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located along the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient Akkadian city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon. In the eighth century, Baghdad was chosen as the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate, and became its most notable major development project. Within a short time, the city evolved into a significant cultural, commercial, and intellectual center of the Muslim world. This, in addition to housing several key academic institutions, including the House of Wisdom, as well as a multiethnic and multi-religious environment, garnered it a worldwide reputation as the “Center of Learning”.
| Website | Mayoralty of Baghdad |
|---|
| Established | 762 CE |
|---|---|
| Founded by | Caliph al-Mansur |
| Population | |
|---|---|
| • Estimate (2018) | 8,126,755 |
| • Rank | 1st in Iraq |
Baghdad was the largest city in the world for much of the Abbasid era during the Islamic Golden Age, peaking at a population of more than a million. The city was largely destroyed at the hands of the Mongol Empire in 1258, resulting in a decline that would linger through many centuries due to frequent plagues and multiple successive empires. With the recognition of Iraq as an independent state (formerly the British Mandate of Mesopotamia) in 1932, Baghdad gradually regained some of its former prominence as a significant center of Arab culture, with a population variously estimated at 6 or over 7 million. Compared to its large population, it has a small area at just 673 square kilometers (260 sq mi). The city has faced severe infrastructural damage due to the Iraq War, which began with the United States-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and lasted until 2011, and the subsequent insurgency and renewed war that lasted until 2017, resulting in a substantial loss of cultural heritage and historical artifacts. During this period, Baghdad had one of the highest rates of terrorist attacks in the world. However, terrorist attacks have been rarer since the territorial defeat of the Islamic State militant group in Iraq in 2017
Riyadh
Riyadh is the capital of Saudi Arabia and the largest city on the Arabian Peninsula. Located in the center of the an-Nafud desert, on the eastern part of the Najd plateau, the city sits at an average of 600 meters (2,000 ft) above sea level, and receives around 5 million tourists each year, making it the forty-ninth most visited city in the world and the 6th in the Middle East. Riyadh had a population of 7.6 million people in 2019, making it the most-populous city in Saudi Arabia, 3rd most populous in the Middle East, and 38th most populous in Asia.
| Website | High Commission for the Development of Riyadh Riyadh Municipality |
|---|
| Population (2018) | |
|---|---|
| • Total | 7,676,654 |
| • Density | 3,900/km2 (10,000/sq mi) |
The first mentioning of the city by the name Riyadh was in 1590, by an early Arab chronicler. In 1737, Deham Ibn Dawwas, who was from the neighboring Manfuha, settled in and took control of the city. Deham built a wall around the city, and the best-known source of the name Riyadh is from this period, thought to be referring to the earlier oasis towns that predated the wall built by Ibn Dawwas. In 1744, Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab formed an alliance with the Emir of Dir’iyah, Muhammad bin Saud, and in 1774, they took Riyadh from Deham. However their state, now known as the First Saudi State, came to a collapse in 1818. Turki ibn Abdullah founded the Second Saudi State in the early 19th century and made Riyadh his capital in 1825. However, his reign over the city was disrupted by a joint Ottoman–Rashidi alliance. Finally, in the early 20th century, ‘Abdulaziz ibn Saud, known in the west simply as Ibn Saud, retrieved his ancestral kingdom of Najd in 1902 and consolidated his rule by 1926 with the final Saudi conquest of Hejaz. After this he named his kingdom Saudi Arabia in September 1932 with Riyadh as the capital
Alexandria
Alexandria is the third-largest city in Egypt after Cairo and Giza, the seventh-largest city in Africa, and a major economic centre. Called the “Bride of the Mediterranean” by locals, Alexandria is the largest city on the Mediterranean, the fourth-largest city in the Arab world, and the ninth-largest urban area in Africa as well as the 79th largest urban area by population on Earth. The city extends about 40 km (25 mi) at the northern coast of Egypt along the Mediterranean Sea. Alexandria is a popular tourist destination, and an important industrial centre due to its natural gas and oil pipelines from Suez.
| Website | Alexandria.gov.eg |
|---|
| Population (2021) | |
|---|---|
| • Total | 5,381,000 |
| • Density | 2,000/km2 (5,200/sq mi) |
Alexandria was founded in c. 331 BC by Alexander the Great in the vicinity of an Egyptian settlement named Rhacotis (that became the Egyptian quarter of the city). Alexandria grew rapidly, becoming a major centre of Hellenic civilisation, and replacing Memphis as Egypt’s capital during the reign of the Ptolemaic pharaohs who succeeded Alexander. It retained this status for almost a millennium, through the period of Roman and Eastern Roman (Byzantine) rule until the Muslim conquest of Egypt in 641 AD, when a new capital was founded at Fustat (later absorbed into Cairo).
Alexandria was best known for the Lighthouse of Alexandria (Pharos), one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, its Great Library (the largest in the ancient world), and the Necropolis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages. Alexandria was the intellectual and cultural centre of the ancient Mediterranean for much of the Hellenistic age and late antiquity. It was at one time the largest city in the ancient world before being eventually overtaken by Rome.
The city was a major centre of early Christianity, and was the centre of the Patriarchate of Alexandria, which was one of the major centres of Christianity in the Eastern Roman Empire. In the modern world, the Coptic Orthodox Church, and the Greek Orthodox Church of Alexandria both lay claim to this ancient heritage.
By the time of the Arab conquest of Egypt in 641 AD, the city had already been largely plundered and lost its significance before re-emerging in the modern era. From the late 18th century, Alexandria became a major centre of the international shipping industry and one of the most important trading centres in the world, both because it profited from the easy overland connection between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, and the lucrative trade in Egyptian cotton.
Amman
Amman is the capital and largest city of Jordan, and the country’s economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of 4,536,500, Amman is the largest city in the Levant region, and the fifth-largest city in the Arab world.
| Website | Greater Amman Municipality |
|---|
| Population (2020) | |
|---|---|
| • Total | 4,536,500 |
| • Density | 2,380/km2 (6,200/sq mi) |
The earliest evidence of settlement in Amman dates to the 8th millennium BC, in a Neolithic site known as ‘Ain Ghazal, where the world’s oldest statues of the human form have been unearthed. During the Iron Age, the city was known as Rabbath Ammon and served as the capital of the Ammonite Kingdom. In the 3rd century BC, Ptolemy II Philadelphus, Pharaoh of Ptolemaic Egypt, rebuilt the city and renamed it “Philadelphia”, making it a regional center of Hellenistic culture. Under Roman rule, Philadelphia was one of the ten Greco-Roman cities of the Decapolis before being directly ruled as part of Arabia Petraea province. The Rashidun Caliphate conquered the city from the Byzantines in the 7th century AD, restored its ancient Semitic name and called it Amman. Throughout most of the Middle Ages, the city alternated between periods of devastation and abandonment and periods of relative prosperity as the center of the Balqa region. Amman was largely abandoned from the 15th century until 1878, when Ottoman authorities began settling Circassian refugees there.
Amman’s first municipal council was established in 1909. Amman witnessed rapid growth after its designation as Transjordan’s capital in 1921, receiving migrations from different Jordanian and Levantine cities, and after several successive waves of refugees: Palestinians in 1948 and 1967; Iraqis in 1990 and 2003; and Syrians since 2011. It was initially built on seven hills but now spans over 19 hills combining 22 areas, which are administered by the Greater Amman Municipality. Areas of Amman have gained their names from either the hills (Jabal) or the valleys (Wadi) they occupy, such as Jabal Lweibdeh and Wadi Abdoun. East Amman is predominantly filled with historic sites that frequently host cultural activities, while West Amman is more modern and serves as the economic center of the city.
Approximately one million visitors arrived in Amman in 2018, which made it the 89th most-visited city in the world and the 12th most-visited Arab city. Amman has a relatively fast growing economy, and it is ranked as a Beta− global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. Moreover, it was named one of the Middle East and North Africa’s best cities according to economic, labor, environmental, and socio-cultural factors. The city is among the most popular locations in the Arab world for multinational corporations to set up their regional offices, alongside Doha and only behind Dubai. The city is served by a Bus Rapid Transit public transportation system, whose first phase became operational as of 2021. Another BRT system under-construction will connect the city to nearby Zarqa.
Jeddah
Jeddah, is a city in the Hejaz region of Saudi Arabia and the country’s commercial center. With a population of about 4,697,000 people as of 2021, Jeddah is the largest city in Makkah Province, the largest city in Hejaz, the second-largest city in Saudi Arabia (after the capital Riyadh), and the tenth-largest in the Middle East. Jeddah Islamic Port, is on the Red Sea, is the thirty-sixth largest seaport in the world and the second-largest and second-busiest seaport in the Middle East (after Dubai’s Port of Jebel Ali).
| Website | jeddah |
|---|
| Population (2014) | |
|---|---|
| • City | 3,976,000 |
| • Density | 2,500/km2 (6,400/sq mi) |
Jeddah is the principal gateway to Mecca, the holiest city in Islam, 65 kilometers (40 mi) to the east, while Medina, the second-holiest city, is 360 kilometers (220 mi) to the north.
Economically, Jeddah is focusing on further developing capital investment in scientific and engineering leadership within Saudi Arabia, and the Middle East. Jeddah was independently ranked fourth in the Africa – Mid-East region in terms of innovation in 2009 in the Innovation Cities Index.
Jeddah is one of Saudi Arabia’s primary resort cities and was named a Beta world city by the Globalization and World Cities Study Group and Network (GaWC). Given the city’s close proximity to the Red Sea, fishing and seafood dominate the food culture unlike other parts of the country. In Arabic, the city’s motto is “Jeddah Ghair”, which translates to “Jeddah is different”. The motto has been widely used among both locals as well as foreign visitors. The city is widely perceived as the most liberal city in Saudi Arabia and is a popular tourist destination in the region.
Algiers
Algiers is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city’s population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145 and in 2011 was estimated to be around 3,500,000. An estimate puts the population of the larger metropolitan city to be around 5,000,000. Algiers is located on the Mediterranean Sea and in the north-central portion of Algeria.
| Population (2011) | |
|---|---|
| • Capital city | 3,915,811 |
| • Density | 11,000/km2 (28,000/sq mi) |
| • Metro | 7,896,923 |
| • Metro density | 6,600/km2 (17,000/sq mi) |
Algiers is situated on the west side of a bay of the Mediterranean Sea. The modern part of the city is built on the level ground by the seashore; the old part, the ancient city of the deys, climbs the steep hill behind the modern town and is crowned by the Casbah or citadel, 122 metres (400 ft) above the sea. The casbah and the two quays form a triangle.
Casablanca
Casablanca is the largest city of Morocco. Located on the Atlantic coast of the Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, it is the second largest city in the Maghreb region and the eighth-largest in the Arab world. Casablanca is Morocco’s chief port and one of the largest financial centers in Africa. According to the 2019 population estimate, the city has a population of about 3.71 million in the urban area and over 4.27 million in the Greater Casablanca. Casablanca is considered the economic and business center of Morocco, although the national political capital is Rabat.
| Population (2014) | |
|---|---|
| • City | 3,359,818 |
| • Rank | 1st in Morocco |
| • Metro | 4,270,750 |
| Website | www |
|---|
The leading Moroccan companies and many international corporations doing business in the country have their headquarters and main industrial facilities in Casablanca. Recent industrial statistics show Casablanca holds its recorded position as the primary industrial zone of the nation. The Port of Casablanca is one of the largest artificial ports in the world, and the second largest port in North Africa, after Tanger-Med (40 km (25 mi) east of Tangier). Casablanca also hosts the primary naval base for the Royal Moroccan Navy.
Dubai
Dubai is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai. Established in the 18th century as a small fishing village, the city grew rapidly in the early 21st century into a cosmopolitan metropolis with a focus on tourism and hospitality. Dubai is one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations. It has the second most five-star hotels in the world and the tallest building in the world, the Burj Khalifa.
| Website | Official website |
|---|
| Population(Q4 2021) | |
|---|---|
| • Metropolis | 3,456,058 |
| • Metro | ~5,000,000 |
Located in the eastern part of the Arabian Peninsula on the coast of the Persian Gulf, Dubai aims to be the business hub of Western Asia.[11] It is also a major global transport hub for passengers and cargo. Oil revenue helped accelerate the development of the city, which was already a major mercantile hub. A centre for regional and international trade since the early 20th century, Dubai’s economy relies on revenues from trade, tourism, aviation, real estate, and financial services. Oil production contributed less than 1 percent of the emirate’s GDP in 2018. According to government data, the population of Dubai is estimated at around 3,456,058 as of 2021.
Khartoum
Khartoum or Khartum is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing north from Lake Victoria, and the Blue Nile, flowing west from Lake Tana in Ethiopia. The place where the two Niles meet is known as al-Mogran or al-Muqran (المقرن; English: “The Confluence”). From there, the Nile continues north towards Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea.
| Population (urban 2021, all others 2013) | |
|---|---|
| • Khartoum | 639,598 |
| • Urban | 6,017,000 |
| • Metro | 5,274,321 |
Divided by these two parts of the Nile, Khartoum is a tripartite metropolis with an estimated population of over five million people, consisting of Khartoum proper, and linked by bridges to Khartoum North (الخرطوم بحري al-Kharṭūm Baḥrī) and Omdurman (أم درمان Umm Durmān) to the west.
Khartoum was founded in 1821 as part of Ottoman Egypt, north of the ancient city of Soba. While the United Kingdom exerted power over Egypt, it left administration of the Sudan to it until Mahdist forces took over Khartoum. The British attempted to evacuate Anglo-Egyptian garrisons from Sudan but the Siege of Khartoum in 1884 resulted in the capture of the city by Mahdist forces and a massacre of the defending Anglo-Egyptian garrison. In 1898 it was reoccupied by British forces, and was the seat of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan government until 1956.
That year the city was designated as the capital of an independent Sudan. In modern times, it has been a site of political unrest, as when three hostages were killed during the Attack on the Saudi Embassy in Khartoum in 1973. In the 21st century, the Justice and Equality Movement engaged in combat there in 2008 with Sudanese government forces as part of the War in Darfur. The Khartoum massacre occurred in 2019 during the Sudanese Revolution.
Khartoum is an economic and trade centre in Northern Africa, with rail lines from Port Sudan and El-Obeid. It is served by Khartoum International Airport, and Khartoum New International Airport is under construction. Several national and cultural institutions are in Khartoum and its metropolitan area, including the National Museum of Sudan, the Khalifa House Museum, the University of Khartoum, and the Sudan University of Science and Technology.
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi is the capital and the second-most populous city of the United Arab Emirates (after Dubai). The city of Abu Dhabi is located on an island in the Persian Gulf, off the Central West Coast. Most of the city and the Emirate reside on the mainland connected to the rest of the country. As of 2021, Abu Dhabi’s urban area had an estimated population of 1.5 million, out of 2.9 million in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, as of 2016. The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority is headquartered in the city, and was the world’s 5rd largest sovereign wealth fund in 2021. Abu Dhabi itself has over a trillion US dollars worth of assets under management in a combination of various sovereign wealth funds headquartered there.
| Population (2021) | |
|---|---|
| • Total | 1,512,000 |
| • Density | 1,600/km2 (4,000/sq mi) |
| Website | tamm.abudhabi |
|---|
Abu Dhabi houses local and federal government offices and is the home of the United Arab Emirates Government and the Supreme Petroleum Council. The city is home to the President of the UAE, who is a member of the Al Nahyan family. Abu Dhabi’s rapid development and urbanization, coupled with the massive oil and gas reserves and production and relatively high average income, have transformed it into a large, developed metropolis. It is the country’s center of politics and industry, and a major culture and commerce center. Abu Dhabi accounts for about two-thirds of the roughly $400 billion UAE economy.
Kuwait City
Kuwait City (Arabic: مدينة الكويت) is the capital and largest city of Kuwait. Located at the heart of the country on the south shore of Kuwait Bay on the Persian Gulf, it is the political, cultural and economical centre of the emirate, containing Kuwait’s Seif Palace, government offices, the headquarters of most Kuwaiti corporations and banks.
| Established | 1613 |
|---|---|
| Population | |
| • Urban | 3 million |
As of 2018, the metropolitan area had roughly 3 million inhabitants (more than 70% of the country’s population). The city itself has no administrative status. All six governorates of the country comprise parts of the urban agglomeration, which is subdived in numerous areas. In a more narrow sense, Kuwait City can also refer only to the town’s historic core, which nowadays is part of the Capital Governorate and seamlessly merges with the adjacent urban areas.
Kuwait City’s trade and transportation needs are served by Kuwait International Airport, Mina Al-Shuwaik (Shuwaik Port) and Mina Al Ahmadi (Ahmadi Port).
Damascus
Damascus is the capital of Syria, the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth holiest city in Islam
| Website | www |
|---|
| Population (2019 estimate) | |
|---|---|
| • Capital | 2,079,000 |
| • Urban | 2.90 million |
It is colloquially known in Syria as aš-Šām (الشَّام) and titled the “City of Jasmine” (مَدِينَةُ الْيَاسْمِينِ Madīnat al-Yāsmīn).[1] Damascus is a major cultural center of the Levant and the Arab world. The city had an estimated population of 2,079,000 in 2019.
In southwestern Syria, Damascus is the center of a large metropolitan area. Its population in 2004 was estimated to be 2.7 million people. Embedded on the eastern foothills of the Anti-Lebanon mountain range 80 kilometres (50 mi) inland from the eastern shore of the Mediterranean on a plateau 680 metres (2,230 ft) above sea level, Damascus experiences a dry climate because of the rain shadow effect. The Barada River flows through Damascus.
Damascus is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. First settled in the second millennium BC, it was chosen as the capital of the Umayyad Caliphate from 661 to 750. After the victory of the Abbasid dynasty, the seat of Islamic power was moved to Baghdad. Damascus saw its importance decline throughout the Abbasid era, only to regain significant importance in the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods. Today, it is the seat of the central government of Syria. As of September 2019, eight years into the Syrian Civil War, Damascus was named the least livable city out of 140 global cities in the Global Liveability Ranking.
Irbid
Irbid (Arabic: إِربِد), known in ancient times as Arabella or Arbela (Άρβηλα in Ancient Greek), is the capital and largest city of the Irbid Governorate. It also has the second largest metropolitan population in Jordan after Amman, with a population of around 2,003,800. Irbid is located about 70 kilometres (43 mi) north of Amman on the northern ridge of the Gilead, equidistant from Pella, Beit Ras (Capitolias), and Um Qais, and approximately 20 kilometres (12 mi) south of the Syrian border.
| Website | www |
|---|
| Population (2020) | |
|---|---|
| • City | 569,068 |
| • Density | 1,400/km2 (3,600/sq mi) |
Irbid was built on successive Early Bronze Age settlements and was possibly the biblical Beth Arbel and the Arbila of the Decapolis, a Hellenistic league of the 1st century BCE through the 2nd century CE. The population of Irbid swelled in the late 19th century, and prior to 1948 it served as a significant centre of transit trade.
Irbid is the second largest metropolitan in Jordan by population after Amman. But as a city Irbid is the third largest one after Amman and Az Zarqa. The province of Irbid Governorate has the second largest population, and the highest population density in the kingdom.
The city is a major ground transportation hub between Amman, Syria to the north, and Mafraq to the east.
The Irbid region is also home to several colleges and universities. The two most prominent universities are Jordan University of Science and Technology and Yarmouk University.
Tunis
Tunis is the capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as “Grand Tunis”, has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. As of 2020, it is the fourth-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casablanca, Algiers and Tripoli) and the sixteenth-largest in the Arab world.
| Population (April 23, 2014) | |
|---|---|
| • Capital city | 638,845 |
| • Density | 3,004/km2 (7,780/sq mi) |
| • Metro | 2,869,529 |
| Website | Official website |
|---|
Situated on a large Mediterranean Sea gulf (the Gulf of Tunis), behind the Lake of Tunis and the port of La Goulette (Ḥalq il-Wād), the city extends along the coastal plain and the hills that surround it. At its core lies its ancient medina, a World Heritage Site. East of the medina through the Sea Gate (also known as the Bab el Bhar and the Porte de France) begins the modern city, or Ville Nouvelle, traversed by the grand Avenue Habib Bourguiba (often referred to by media and travel guides as “the Tunisian Champs-Élysées”), where the colonial-era buildings provide a clear contrast to smaller, older structures. Further east by the sea lie the suburbs of Carthage, La Marsa, and Sidi Bou Said. As the capital of the country, Tunis is the focus of Tunisian political and administrative life and also the center of the country’s commercial and cultural activities.
Sana’a
Sanaa, also spelled Sanaʽa or Sana, is the largest city in Yemen and the centre of Sanaa Governorate. The city is not part of the Governorate, but forms the separate administrative district of “Amanat Al-Asemah”. Under the Yemeni constitution, Sanaʽa is the capital of the country, although the seat of the Yemeni government moved to Aden, the former capital of South Yemen in the aftermath of the Houthi occupation. Aden was declared as the temporary capital by President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi in March 2015.
| Population (2017) | |
|---|---|
| • Total | 2,545,000 |
At an elevation of 2,300 metres (7,500 ft), Sanaa is one of the highest capital cities in the world and is next to the Sarawat Mountains of Jabal An-Nabi Shu’ayb and Jabal Tiyal, considered to be the highest mountains in the country and amongst the highest in the region. Sanaa has a population of approximately 3,937,500 (2012), making it Yemen’s largest city. As of 2020, the greater Sanaa urban area makes up about 10% of Yemen’s total population.
The Old City of Sanaa, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, has a distinctive architectural character, most notably expressed in its multi-storey buildings decorated with geometric patterns. In the conflict that raged in 2015, bombs hit UNESCO sites in the old city. The Al Saleh Mosque, the largest in Sana’a, is located in the Old City.
Sanaa faces a severe water crisis, with water being drawn from its aquifer three times faster than it is replenished. The city is predicted to run completely out of water by around 2030, making it the first national capital in the world to do so. Access to drinking water is very limited in Sanaa, and there are problems with water quality.
Doha
Doha is the capital and most populous city of Qatar. It has a population of 2,382,000 (2018). The city is located on the coast of the Persian gulf in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor. It is Qatar’s fastest growing city, with over 80% of the nation’s population living in Doha or its surrounding suburbs. It is the political and economic center of the country.
| Population (2018) | |
|---|---|
| • City proper | 2,382,000 |
| • Density | 18,000/km2 (47,000/sq mi) |
| Country | Qatar |
|---|---|
| Municipality | Ad-Dawhah |
Doha was founded in the 1820s as an offshoot of Al Bidda. It was officially declared as the country’s capital in 1971, when Qatar gained independence from being a British protectorate. As the commercial capital of Qatar and one of the emergent financial centers in the Middle East, Doha is considered a beta-level global city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. Doha accommodates Education City, an area devoted to research and education, and Hamad Medical City, an administrative area of medical care. It also includes Doha Sports City, or Aspire Zone, an international sports destination that includes Khalifa International Stadium, a stadium for the 2022 FIFA World Cup; Hamad Aquatic Centre; and the Aspire Dome.
The city was host to the first ministerial-level meeting of the Doha Development Round of World Trade Organization negotiations. It was also selected as host city of a number of sporting events, including the 2006 Asian Games, the 2011 Pan Arab Games and most of the games at the 2011 AFC Asian Cup. In December 2011, the World Petroleum Council held the 20th World Petroleum Conference in Doha. Additionally, the city hosted the 2012 UNFCCC Climate Negotiations and is set to host the 2022 FIFA World Cup. The city also hosted the 140th Inter-Parliamentary Union Assembly in April 2019.
Aleppo
Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Syrian governorate. With an official population of 4.6 million in 2010.
| Population (2016) | |
|---|---|
| • Total | 1,800,000 |
Aleppo is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world; it may have been inhabited since the sixth millennium BC. Excavations at Tell as-Sawda and Tell al-Ansari, just south of the old city of Aleppo, show that the area was occupied by Amorites by the latter part of the third millennium BC. That is also the time at which Aleppo is first mentioned in cuneiform tablets unearthed in Ebla and Mesopotamia, which speak of it as part of the Amorite state of Yamhad, and note its commercial and military importance. Such a long history is attributed to its strategic location as a trading center between the Mediterranean Sea and Mesopotamia.
For centuries, Aleppo was the largest city in the Syrian region, and the Ottoman Empire’s third-largest after Constantinople (now Istanbul) and Cairo. The city’s significance in history has been its location at one end of the Silk Road, which passed through Central Asia and Mesopotamia. When the Suez Canal was inaugurated in 1869, much trade was diverted to sea and Aleppo began its slow decline. At the fall of the Ottoman Empire after World War I, Aleppo lost its northern hinterland to modern Turkey, as well as the important Baghdad Railway connecting it to Mosul. In the 1940s it lost its main access to the sea, Antakya and İskenderun, also to Turkey. The growth in importance of Damascus in the past few decades further exacerbated the situation. This decline may have helped to preserve the old city of Aleppo, its medieval architecture and traditional heritage. It won the title of the “Islamic Capital of Culture 2006”, and has had a wave of successful restorations of its historic landmarks. The Battle of Aleppo (2012–2016) occurred in the city during the Syrian Civil War, and many parts of the city suffered massive destruction. Affected parts of the city are currently undergoing reconstruction. An estimated 31,000 people were killed in Aleppo during the conflict.
Djibouti
Djibouti (also called Djibouti City and in many early English texts and on many early maps, Jibuti; Arabic: مدينة جيبوتي, French: Ville de Djibouti, Somali: Magaalada Jabuuti, Afar: Magaala Gabuuti) is the eponymous capital and largest city of Djibouti. It is located in the coastal Djibouti Region on the Gulf of Tadjoura.
| Population (2018) | |
|---|---|
| • Capital | 600,000 |
| • Density | 23,000/km2 (60,000/sq mi) |
| • Urban | 302,000 |
| • Urban density | 6,900/km2 (18,000/sq mi) |
Djibouti has a population of around 600,000 inhabitants, which counts for 54% of the country’s population. The settlement was founded in 1888 by the French, on land leased from the ruling Somali and Afar Sultans. During the ensuing period, it served as the capital of French Somaliland and its successor the French Territory of the Afars and Issas.
Known as the Pearl of the Gulf of Tadjoura due to its location, Djibouti is strategically positioned near the world’s busiest shipping lanes and acts as a refueling and transshipment center. The Port of Djibouti is the principal maritime port for imports to and exports from neighboring Ethiopia. Djibouti-Ambouli International Airport is the main domestic airport, connecting the capital to various major global destinations. Djibouti has the second-largest economy of any city in the Horn of Africa after Addis Ababa.
El Aaiún
Laâyoune is the largest city of the disputed territory of Western Sahara, with a population of 217,732 in 2014. The city is under de facto administration by Morocco. The modern city is thought to have been founded by the Spanish captain Antonio de Oro in 1938. In 1940, Spain designated it as the capital of the Spanish Sahara. Laâyoune is the capital of the Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra region administered by Morocco, under the supervision of the UN peacekeeping mission MINURSO.
| Settled | 1934 |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1938 |
| Founded by | Antonio de Oro |
| Population (2014) | |
|---|---|
| • Total | 217,732 |
| Non-Self-Governing Territory | Western Sahara |
|---|---|
| Region | Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra |
| Province | Laâyoune |
| Claimed by |  Kingdom of Morocco Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic |
| Controlled by | Kingdom of Morocco |
The town is divided in two by the dry river of Saguia el-Hamra. On the south side is the old lower town, constructed by Spanish colonists. A cathedral from that era is still active; its priests serve this city and Dakhla further south.
Bamako
Bamako is the capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2009 population of 1,810,366 and an estimated 2020 population of 2.71 million. It is located on the Niger River, near the rapids that divide the upper and middle Niger valleys in the southwestern part of the country.
| Population (2009 Census) | |
|---|---|
| • Capital city | 2,713,000 |
| • Density | 7,384.11/km2 (19,124.8/sq mi) |
| • Metro | 2,757,234 |
| • Metro density | 160.85/km2 (416.6/sq mi) |
Bamako is the nation’s administrative centre. The city proper is a cercle in its own right. Bamako’s river port is located in nearby Koulikoro, along with a major regional trade and conference center. Bamako is the seventh-largest West African urban center after Lagos, Abidjan, Kano, Ibadan, Dakar, and Accra. Locally manufactured goods include textiles, processed meat, and metal goods as well as mining. Commercial fishing occurs on the Niger River. The name Bamako (ߓߡߊ߬ߞߐ߬ Bàmakɔ̌ in Bambara) comes from the Bambara word meaning “crocodile river”
Asmara
Asmara , or Asmera, is the capital and most populous city of Eritrea, in the country’s Central Region. It sits at an elevation of 2,325 metres (7,628 ft), making it the sixth highest capital in the world by altitude.
| Population (2020) | |
|---|---|
| • Capital | 963,000 |
| • Rank | 1st in Eritrea |
| • Density | 19,911/km2 (51,570/sq mi) |
| • Metro | 1,258,001 |
The city is located at the tip of an escarpment that is both the northwestern edge of the Eritrean Highlands and the Great Rift Valley in neighbouring Ethiopia. In 2017, the city was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site for its well-preserved modernist architecture. The site of Asmera was first settled in 800 BC with a population ranging from 100 to 1000. The city was then founded in the 12th century AD after four separate villages unified to live together peacefully after long periods of conflict. Under Italian rule the city of Asmara was made capital of Eritrea in the last years of the 19th century.
Moroni
Moroni is the largest city, federal capital, and seat of the government of the Union of the Comoros, a sovereign archipelago nation in the Indian Ocean. Moroni means “at the river” (mroni in Shingazidja). Moroni is the capital of the semi-autonomous island of Ngazidja, the largest of the three main islands of the republic. The city’s estimated population in 2003 was 41,557 residents.
| Population (2016) | |
|---|---|
| • Total | 111,326 |
| • Density | 3,700/km2 (9,600/sq mi) |
Moroni, which lies along the Route Nationale 1, has a port and several mosques such as the Badjanani Mosque.
N’Djamena
N’Djamena is the capital and largest city of Chad. It is also a special statute region, divided into 10 districts or arrondissements.
| Population (2009 census) | |
|---|---|
| • City | 916,000 |
| • Density | 9,148/km2 (23,690/sq mi) |
| • Metro | 1,605,696 |
It is a regional market for livestock, salt, dates, and grains. Meat, fish and cotton processing are the chief industries, and the city continues to serve as the centre of economic activity in Chad.
It is a port city located at the confluence of the Logone River with the Chari River, forming a transborder agglomeration with the city of Kousséri (in Cameroon), capital of the Department of Logone-et-Chari, which is on the west bank of both rivers. It had 1,093,492 inhabitants in 2013.
Niamey
Niamey is the capital and largest city of Niger. Niamey lies on the Niger River, primarily situated on the east bank. Niamey’s population was counted as 1,026,848 as of the 2012 census. As of 2017, population projections show the capital district growing at a slower rate than the country as a whole, which has the world’s highest fertility rate.
| Population (2012) | |
|---|---|
| • Total | 1,026,848 |
| • Estimate
(October 1, 2020)
|
1,334,984 |
| Niamey Urban Community | |
The city is located in a pearl millet growing region, while manufacturing industries include bricks, ceramic goods, cement, and weaving.
Nouakchott
Nouakchott is the capital and largest city of Mauritania. It is one of the largest cities in the Sahel. The city also serves as the administrative and economic center of Mauritania.
| Population (2019 census) | |
|---|---|
| • Total | 1,195,600 |
| • Density | 1,200/km2 (3,000/sq mi) |
| Website | crn |
|---|
Nouakchott was a mid-sized village of little importance until 1958 when it was chosen as the capital of the nascent nation of Mauritania. At the time, it was designed and built to accommodate 15,000 people. However, beginning in the 1970s, a vast number of Mauritanians began moving to Nouakchott because environmental conditions in their home villages had become too harsh due to drought and increasing desertification. As of 2013, the city had a population of just under a million people. Many of the newcomers settled in slum areas of the city that were poorly maintained and extremely overcrowded. However, more recently, the living conditions of some of these inhabitants have improved.
The city is the hub of the Mauritanian economy. It is home to a deepwater port and Nouakchott–Oumtounsy International Airport, one of the country’s two international airports. It also hosts the University of Nouakchott and several other more specialized institutions of higher learning.
Rabat
Rabat is the capital city of Morocco and the country’s seventh largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. It is also the capital city of the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra administrative region. Rabat is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the river Bou Regreg, opposite Salé, the city’s main commuter town.
| Website | www.rabat.ma |
|---|
| Population (2014) | |
|---|---|
| • City | 577,827 |
| • Rank | 7th in Morocco |
| • Density | 4,900/km2 (13,000/sq mi) |
| • Metro | 2,120,192 |
Rabat was founded in the 12th century by the Almohad ruler Abd al-Mu’min as a military town. The city steadily grew but went into an extended period of decline following the collapse of the Almohads. In the 17th century Rabat became a haven for Barbary pirates. The French established a protectorate over Morocco in 1912 and made Rabat its administrative center. Morocco achieved independence in 1955 and Rabat became its capital.
Rabat, Temara, and Salé form a conurbation of over 1.8 million people. Silt-related problems have diminished Rabat’s role as a port; however, Rabat, and Salé still maintain important textile, food processing and construction industries. In addition, tourism and the presence of all foreign embassies in Morocco serve to make Rabat one of the most important cities in the country. The Moroccan capital was ranked at second place by CNN in its “Top Travel Destinations of 2013”. It is one of four Imperial cities of Morocco, and the medina of Rabat is listed as a World Heritage Site. Rabat is accessible by train through the ONCF system and by plane through the nearby Rabat–Salé Airport.
Tripoli
Tripoli is the capital and largest city of Libya, with a population of about three million people in 2019.[1] It is located in the northwest of Libya on the edge of the desert, on a point of rocky land projecting into the Mediterranean Sea and forming a bay. It includes the port of Tripoli and the country’s largest commercial and manufacturing center. It is also the site of the University of Tripoli. The vast Bab al-Azizia barracks, which includes the former family estate of Muammar Gaddafi, is also located in the city. Colonel Gaddafi largely ruled the country from his residence in this barracks.
| Website | www.tlc.gov.ly |
|---|
| Population (2019) | |
|---|---|
| • Total | 1,170,000 |
| • Density | 2,912/km2 (7,540/sq mi) |
Tripoli was founded in the 7th century BC by the Phoenicians, who gave it the Libyco-Berber name Oyat (Punic: 𐤅𐤉𐤏𐤕, Wyʿt) before passing into the hands of the Greek rulers of Cyrenaica as Oea (Greek: Ὀία, Oía). Due to the city’s long history, there are many sites of archeological significance in Tripoli. Tripoli may also refer to the sha’biyah (top-level administrative division in the Libyan system), the Tripoli District.
Mogadishu
Mogadishu , locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital city and most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting with traders all round the Indian Ocean for millennia and has an estimated population of 2,388,000 (2021). Mogadishu is located in the coastal Banadir region on the Indian Ocean, which unlike other Somali regions, is considered a municipality rather than a maamul goboleed (federal state).
| Population (2021) | |
|---|---|
| • Urban | 3,650,227 |
Mogadishu has a long history, which ranges from the ancient period up until the present, serving as the capital of the Sultanate of Mogadishu in the 9th-13th century, which for many centuries controlled the Indian Ocean gold trade, and eventually came under the Ajuran Empire in the 13th century which was an important player in the medieval Silk Road maritime trade. Mogadishu enjoyed the height of its prosperity during the 14th and 15th centuries and was during the early modern period considered the wealthiest city on the East African coast, as well as the center of a thriving textile industry. In the 17th century, Mogadishu and parts of southern Somalia fell under the Hiraab Imamate and in the 19th century came under the Geledi Sultanate’s sphere of influence.
The onset of Italian colonialism occurred in stages, with Italian treaties signed in the 1880s followed by economic engagement between Somali clans and the Italian Benadir Company and then direct governance by the Italian government after 1906 and the British Military Administration of Somalia after World War Two and the UN Italian Trust Territory in the 1950s. This was followed by independence in 1960, the Hantiwadaag (socialist) era during Barre’s presidency (1969–1991), a three-decade civil war afterward, and as of the late 2010s and 2020s a period of reconstruction.
