What is the population of Chengdu?
Chengdu has a city population of 13,568,357. That is the population within the city's own boundary, not its wider metropolitan area. City population, GeoNames.
About Chengdu
With a city-proper population of 13,568,357, Chengdu ranks among China's largest urban centers. The metropolitan area extends to 9,135,000 residents, growing at 1.3% annually. Situated at 499 m elevation on the Asian continent, the city maintains a population density of 2,482 people per km². Chengdu was established around 31 BCE and remains a significant urban settlement after more than two millennia. Two major airports serve the city: Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport (CTU) and Chengdu Tianfu International Airport (TFU), providing domestic and international connectivity.
This summary is AI-generated from the figures on this page. The figures themselves come from the sources cited beside each value.
Metro population
9,135,000
0.110% of world population
Archive estimateAnnual growth
+1.25%
Archive estimateDensity
2,482/km²
3,681 km² metro area
Key Facts
Country
Region
Rank in region
#1of 64
Founded
-31
Coordinates
30.667, 104.067
Record updated
13 April 2026
Entry edited, not measured
City population, GeoNames. GeoNames publishes no year for its population figures, so “record updated” is when the entry was last edited — not the date the population was measured. Elevation is modelled from a digital elevation model rather than surveyed, so it is approximate.
Nearby Cities
All 2,091 in ChinaClosest listed cities by great-circle distance from the city centre.
Compared with the World's Largest Cities
City-proper population against the fifteen largest cities in the dataset.
| Name | City population |
|---|---|
| Shanghai | 24.9M |
| Beijing | 19M |
| Shenzhen | 17.5M |
| Guangzhou | 16.1M |
| Kinshasa | 16M |
| Istanbul | 15.7M |
| Lagos | 15.4M |
| Ho Chi Minh City | 14M |
| Chengdu | 13.6M |
| Lahore | 13M |
| Mumbai | 12.7M |
| São Paulo | 12.4M |
| Mexico City | 12.3M |
| Karachi | 11.6M |
| Tianjin | 11.1M |
Airports
Scheduled-service airports within 100 km, nearest first.
- Chengdu Shuangliu International AirportCTU
17 km from the city centre
- Chengdu Tianfu International AirportTFU
53 km from the city centre
Source: OurAirports, matched by distance.
Population Trend in China
No free source publishes city population back to 1950, so the parent country's series is shown instead.
| Year | Population |
|---|---|
| 1950 | 544,044,358 |
| 1960 | 654,802,069 |
| 1970 | 823,308,967 |
| 1980 | 983,163,542 |
| 1990 | 1,153,582,724 |
| 2000 | 1,269,581,175 |
| 2010 | 1,351,561,514 |
| 2020 | 1,426,106,093 |
| 2030 | 1,398,153,832 |
| 2040 | 1,342,816,657 |
| 2050 | 1,260,289,093 |
| 2060 | 1,135,127,191 |
| 2070 | 998,784,319 |
| 2080 | 870,252,344 |
| 2090 | 744,902,836 |
| 2100 | 633,368,113 |
Chengdu Population FAQ
Where is Chengdu?
Chengdu is in Sichuan, China, 1,517 km from the capital, Beijing. Its coordinates are 30.667, 104.067.
How big is Chengdu compared with other cities in China?
It is the 5th largest of the 2,091 cities listed in China, holding 1.0% of the national population.