These Are The Middle East's Most-Populated Cities The Middle East is home to some of the world’s fastest-growing and most densely populated cities. Rapid population growth, rural-to-urban migration, and economic concentration have driven major cities to expand well beyond their historic cores. This map, via Visual Capitalist's Niccolo Conte , highlights the most populated cities in the region in 2...
These Are The Middle East's Most-Populated Cities The Middle East is home to some of the world’s fastest-growing and most densely populated cities. Rapid population growth, rural-to-urban migration, and economic concentration have driven major cities to expand well beyond their historic cores. This map, via Visual Capitalist's Niccolo Conte , highlights the most populated cities in the region in 2025. The data for this visualization comes from the United Nations . Cairo Stands Alone at the Top Cairo ranks as the Middle East’s most populated city, with more than 25.5 million residents in 2025. The Egyptian capital has expanded steadily for decades, driven by high birth rates and sustained migration from rural areas. Alexandria and several other Egyptian cities also rank highly. Rank Location City 2025 population 1 🇪🇬 Egypt Al-Qahirah (Cairo) 25,566,000 2 🇹🇷 Türkiye Istanbul 15,015,000 3 🇮🇷 Iran Tehrān (Tehran) 9,175,000 4 🇪🇬 Egypt Alexandria 7,267,000 5 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Ar-Riyāḑ (Riyadh) 6,916,000 6 🇯🇴 Jordan Ammān (Amman) 6,404,000 7 🇮🇶 Iraq Baghdād (Baghdad) 6,391,000 8 🇮🇷 Iran Mashhad 5,398,000 9 🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates Dubai 5,284,000 10 🇸🇾 Syria Dimashq (Damascus) 4,288,000 11 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Jeddah 4,284,000 12 🇰🇼 Kuwait Al Kuwayt (Kuwait City) 4,265,000 13 🇪🇬 Egypt Luxor 4,188,000 14 🇾🇪 Yemen Şan'ā' (Sana'a) 4,019,000 15 🇹🇷 Türkiye Ankara 3,612,000 16 🇮🇷 Iran Karaj 3,599,000 17 🇸🇾 Syria Aleppo 2,922,000 18 🇹🇷 Türkiye Izmir 2,650,000 19 🇮🇱 Israel Tel Aviv 2,643,000 20 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Dammam 2,336,000 21 🇹🇷 Türkiye Bursa 2,282,000 22 🇶🇦 Qatar Ad-Dawhah (Doha) 2,194,000 23 🇪🇬 Egypt Banha 2,089,000 24 🇮🇶 Iraq Basra 2,034,000 25 🇮🇷 Iran Isfahan 1,844,000 26 🇱🇧 Lebanon Bayrūt (Beirut) 1,794,000 27 🇪🇬 Egypt El Mansura 1,713,000 28 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia Mecca 1,692,000 29 🇮🇶 Iraq Mosul 1,665,000 30 🇮🇷 Iran Ahwaz 1,639,000 Türkiye and Iran Anchor Urban Growth Türkiye places multiple cities in the top 20, led by Istanbul with over 15 million people, followed by Ankara and Izmi...