| Top 10 Cities of the Year 1950 | |
| Name | Population | |
| 1 | New York, United States | 12,463,000 |
| 2 | London, United Kingdom | 8,860,000 |
| 3 | Tokyo, Japan | 7,000,000 |
| 4 | Paris, France | 5,900,000 |
| 5 | Shanghai, China | 5,406,000 |
| 6 | Moscow, Russia | 5,100,000 |
| 7 | Buenos Aires, Argentina | 5,000,000 |
| 8 | Chicago, United States | 4,906,000 |
| 9 | Ruhr, Germany | 4,900,000 |
| 10 | Kolkata, India | 4,800,000 |
Most Populous City Through History | Top 10 Cities of the Year 100 | Top 10 Cities of the Year 1000 | Top 10 Cities of the Year 1500 | Top 10 Cities of the Year 1800 | Top 10 Cities of the Year 1900 | Top 10 Cities of the Year 1950
Source: Four Thousand Years of Urban Growth: An Historical Census by Tertius Chandler. 1987, St. David's University Press.
