Metropolis facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

A metropolis is a word that means a very big city, that usually has over 500,000 people living in it. A metropolis often has many smaller towns and cities inside its area. The word is very old and began in Greece.

In a broader sense, it refers to the city or state of origin of a colony (as of ancient Greece), a city regarded as a center of a specified activity, or a large important city.

Old uses

In the past many large cities were called a metropolis due to their size or importance; such as: Alexandria, Angkor, Antioch, Athens, Babylon, Baghdad, Beirut, Benares, Byblos, Cahokia, Carthage, Constantinople, Corinth, Damascus, Dholavira, Ephesus, Great Zimbabwe, Harappa, Jerusalem, Leptis Magna, Nanjing, Nineveh, Macchu Picchu, Mohenjo-Daro, Rome, Sarai, Side, Siracuse, Tenochtitlan, Teotihuacan, Tikal, Tyre, Xian and Ur.

Modern Metropolises

Tokyo, the world's largest metropolis

São Paulo, the largest metropolis of the Southern Hemisphere

The Colosseum at night

Cairo Skyline

Dhaka is the largest city in Bangladesh

Mumbai is India's largest city

Jakarta, the largest and busiest city in Indonesia

Karachi is Pakistan's largest city with about 23.5 million population

Metro Manila, the most populous metropolitan area in the Philippines

Berlin is Germany's largest city

London is the largest city in the UK

Toronto is Canada's largest city

New York City is the largest city in the U.S.

Sydney is Australia's largest city and metropolis

São Paulo is Brazil's largest city

Skyline of Tokyo, with Mount Fuji in the background

Levent, Istanbul, Turkey

Aerial view of Buenos Aires

Africa

Americas

North America

Middle America

South America

Asia

Eastern Asia

Seoul
Shanghai
Shantou
Shenyang
Shenzhen
Shijiazhuang
Shizuoka
Suzhou
Taichung
Tainan
Taipei
Taiyuan
Tangshan
Tianjin
Tokyo
Ulsan
Ürümqi
Wuhan
Wuxi
Xiamen
Xi'an
Xining
Xuzhou
Yinchuan
Yokohama
Zhengzhou
Zhuhai
Zibo

Southern Asia

Southeastern Asia

Western/Central Asia

Europe

Central Europe

Eastern Europe

Northern Europe

Southern Europe

Western Europe

Oceania

Images for kids

New York has garnered the nickname Metropolis to describe the city in the daytime in popular culture, contrasting with Gotham, sometimes used to describe New York at night.
Taipei Skyline with the Taipei 101
Dhaka is Bangladesh's largest city
Mumbai is the largest city in India
Jakarta, the largest and busiest city in Indonesia
Tehran is Iran's largest city
Skyline of Singapore metropolis
Skyline of Dubai
Sarajevo, the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Warsaw, the capital and largest city of Poland
Mexico City is Mexico's capital and largest city
New York is the largest city in the U.S.
São Paulo is Brazil's largest city
Financial district of Santiago, Chile.
Sapporo, Hokkaidō region
Sendai, Tōhoku region
Tokyo, Kantō region
Nagoya, Chūbu region
Osaka, Kansai region
Hiroshima, Chūgoku region
Fukuoka, Kyushu region
Kuala Lumpur, the largest city in Malaysia
Berlin is Germany's largest city.
Rhine-Ruhr is Germany's largest metropolis (the photo shows Dortmund).
Frankfurt is one of Germany's most important cities.
Moscow, the capital and largest city of Russia
Saint Petersburg, the cultural capital and the second-largest city
Yekaterinburg, the fourth-largest city in the country.
Madrid (capital city of Spain)
Madrid skyline at night
Toronto is Canada's largest city.
Montreal is Canada's largest French-speaking city.
Vancouver is Canada's largest coastal city and most important port.
Sydney is Australia's largest metropolis.
Melbourne is Australia's second-largest metropolis.
Brisbane is Australia's third-largest metropolis.
Perth is the largest city in Western Australia.
Adelaide is the largest city in South Australia.
Gold Coast is Australia's largest regional city.