What is the population of Nanjing?
Nanjing has a city population of 9,314,685. That is the population within the city's own boundary, not its wider metropolitan area. City population, GeoNames.
About Nanjing
With a city-proper population of 9,314,685, Nanjing ranks among China's largest urban centers. The metropolitan area extends to 7,496,000 residents across densely settled terrain at 2,169 people per km². Growth remains modest at 0.9% annually, indicating a maturing population base.
Situated at just 22 meters elevation in eastern China, Nanjing is served by Nanjing Lukou International Airport and nearby Changzhou Benniu International Airport. The city has been continuously established since 49 BCE, making it among the world's oldest inhabited urban settlements. Chen Zhichang serves as the current mayor.
This summary is AI-generated from the figures on this page. The figures themselves come from the sources cited beside each value.
Metro population
7,496,000
0.090% of world population
Archive estimateAnnual growth
+0.85%
Archive estimateDensity
2,169/km²
3,456 km² metro area
Key Facts
Country
Region
Rank in region
#1of 155
Founded
-49
Leadership
Chen Zhichang
Coordinates
32.062, 118.778
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 |
| Nanjing | 9.31M |
Airports
Scheduled-service airports within 100 km, nearest first.
- Nanjing Lukou International AirportNKG
37 km from the city centre
- Changzhou Benniu International AirportCZX
95 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 |
Nanjing Population FAQ
Where is Nanjing?
Nanjing is in Jiangsu, China, 898 km from the capital, Beijing. Its coordinates are 32.062, 118.778.
How big is Nanjing compared with other cities in China?
It is the 10th largest of the 2,091 cities listed in China, holding 0.7% of the national population.