City proper

A city proper is the geographical area contained within city limits.^[1]^[2] The term proper is not exclusive to cities; it can describe the geographical area within the boundaries of any given locality. The United Nations defines the term as "is the single political jurisdiction which contains the historical city centre."^[3]

City proper is one of the three basic concepts used to define urban areas and populations.^[4] The other two are urban agglomeration, and the metropolitan area. In some countries, city limits that act as the demarcation for the city proper are drawn very wide, in some very narrow. This can be cause for recurring controversy.^[5]^[6]

List of cities by country

List of cities proper by population density

List of largest cities

List of national capitals by population

List of towns and cities with 100,000 or more inhabitants

(Slightly outdated study that became the basis for List of metropolitan areas by population)

WHICH ARE THE LARGEST? WHY PUBLISHED POPULATIONS FOR MAJOR WORLD URBAN AREAS VARY SO GREATLY

Archived 2013-01-15 at the Wayback Machine (An attempt to clarify China's population statistics, with special emphasis on the [hukou system])

Misconceptions and Complexities in the Study of China’s Cities: Definitions, Statistics, and Implications

(Nearly two-thirds of the world's urban population, more than one and a half billion people, live in the cities of the South. Within little more than a generation their number will triple)