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World Measure
The population almanac240 countries · 31,365 cities · UN WPP 2024
City profile · China · Asia

Datong

Shanxi · China
City population
1,850,000
#76
in China
#3
in Shanxi
#229
worldwide
BeijingDatong
40.094, 113.291 · 265 km from Beijing
City population
1,850,000
Within the city boundary, not a metro area
Rank in China
#76
of 2,091 cities of 15,000+
World rank
#229
of 31,365 cities listed
Share of China
0.1%
of the national population

About Datong

At 1.85 million people, this city in Shanxi holds 0.1% of China's national population—a share that underscores the country's size, as the world's third-largest city by this measure ranks 229th globally. Located 265 km from Beijing, it sits at 1,054 m elevation and functions as the third-largest city in its province, with Shuozhou at 433,700 people and Ulanqab at 550,231 people within 114 km and 101 km respectively.

This summary is AI-generated from the figures on this page. The figures themselves come from the sources cited beside each value.

Position in China
#76of 2,091
LargestSmallest
Position in Shanxi
#3of 18
LargestSmallest

Key Facts

Country
China
Region
Shanxi
Rank in region
#3of 18
Distance to capital
265 km
to Beijing
Elevation
1,054 m
Approximate — modelled, not surveyed
Time zone
Asia/Shanghai
Coordinates
40.094, 113.291
Record updated
2025-12-14
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 China

Closest listed cities by great-circle distance from the city centre.

40KMBeichengqu72K people101KMUlanqab550K people105KMJining259K people114KMShuozhou434K people153KMYangjiaying18K people

Compared with the World's Largest Cities

City-proper population against the fifteen largest cities in the dataset.

  1. Shanghai24.9M
  2. Beijing19M
  3. Shenzhen17.5M
  4. Guangzhou16.1M
  5. Kinshasa16M
  6. Istanbul15.7M
  7. Lagos15.4M
  8. Ho Chi Minh City14M
  9. Chengdu13.6M
  10. Lahore13M
  11. Mumbai12.7M
  12. São Paulo12.4M
  13. Mexico City12.3M
  14. Karachi11.6M
  15. Tianjin11.1M
  16. Datong1.85M
City-proper figures only. Administrative boundaries differ between countries, so these are not directly comparable to metropolitan-area estimates.
Datong compared with the fifteen largest cities
NameCity population
Shanghai24.9M
Beijing19M
Shenzhen17.5M
Guangzhou16.1M
Kinshasa16M
Istanbul15.7M
Lagos15.4M
Ho Chi Minh City14M
Chengdu13.6M
Lahore13M
Mumbai12.7M
São Paulo12.4M
Mexico City12.3M
Karachi11.6M
Tianjin11.1M
Datong1.85M

Datong Population FAQ

What is the population of Datong?

Datong has a city population of 1,850,000. That is the population within the city's own boundary, not its wider metropolitan area. City population, GeoNames.

Where is Datong?

Datong is in Shanxi, China, 265 km from the capital, Beijing. Its coordinates are 40.094, 113.291.

How big is Datong compared with other cities in China?

It is the 76th largest of the 2,091 cities of 15,000 or more listed in China, holding 0.1% of the national population.

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