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

Sapporo

Hokkaido · Japan
City population
1,973,832
#5
in Japan
#1
in Hokkaido
#209
worldwide
TokyoSapporo
43.067, 141.350 · 833 km from Tokyo
City population
1,973,832
Within the city boundary, not a metro area
Rank in Japan
#5
of 1,216 cities of 15,000+
World rank
#209
of 31,365 cities listed
Share of Japan
1.6%
of the national population

About Sapporo

At 1.6% of the national population, this city of 1,973,832 holds a substantial share despite Japan's scale. Located 833 km from Tokyo, it ranks fifth among Japanese cities and dominates Hokkaido with a population far exceeding nearby centres: Ebetsu at 133,953 lies 17 km away, while Ishikari and Kitahiroshima each hold roughly 59,000 people at distances of 19 km and 20 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 Japan
#5of 1,216
LargestSmallest
Position in Hokkaido
#1of 49
LargestSmallest

Key Facts

Country
Japan
Region
Hokkaido
Rank in region
#1of 49
Distance to capital
833 km
to Tokyo
Elevation
26 m
Approximate — modelled, not surveyed
Time zone
Asia/Tokyo
Coordinates
43.067, 141.350
Record updated
2025-11-03
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 1,216 in Japan

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

17KMEbetsu134K people19KMIshikari59K people20KMKitahiroshima59K people22KMTōbetsu17K people27KMEniwa70K 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. Sapporo1.97M
City-proper figures only. Administrative boundaries differ between countries, so these are not directly comparable to metropolitan-area estimates.
Sapporo 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
Sapporo1.97M

Sapporo Population FAQ

What is the population of Sapporo?

Sapporo has a city population of 1,973,832. That is the population within the city's own boundary, not its wider metropolitan area. City population, GeoNames.

Where is Sapporo?

Sapporo is in Hokkaido, Japan, 833 km from the capital, Tokyo. Its coordinates are 43.067, 141.350.

How big is Sapporo compared with other cities in Japan?

It is the 5th largest of the 1,216 cities of 15,000 or more listed in Japan, holding 1.6% of the national population.

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