ImmigrationDBVerified immigration data
On this page

Cities with the largest foreign populations

Published city records ranked by the official number of foreign residents; definitions remain source-specific.

JSON Markdown

London, United Kingdom is first in the current published ranking at 3,575,719 people; compare its source date and geographic grain before using the result.

Items compared
30
Countries represented
16
Last checked
2026-08-03

Source-backed answers

Compare each answer with its unit and checked date; the complete source ledger is below.

Showing all 30 rows

Original rankCity or placePublished valueSource and scope
1London, United Kingdom3,575,719 people2026-07-29
Source Scope: Greater London · Period: 2021-03-21
2Dubai, United Arab Emirates3,362,800 people2026-08-03
Source Scope: city · Period: 2023-12-31
3New York, United States3,106,219 people2026-08-03
Source Scope: city · Period: 2024-12-31
4Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates2,356,638 people2026-08-03
Source Scope: city · Period: 2016-12-31
5Sydney, Australia1,958,674 people2026-07-15
Source Scope: city · Period: 2021-08-10
6Melton, Australia1,951,946 people2026-08-03
Source Scope: city · Period: 2021-12-31
7Melbourne, Australia1,742,428 people2026-07-15
Source Scope: city · Period: 2021-08-10
8Berlin, Germany994,590 people2026-05-28
Source Scope: city · Period: 2025-12-31
9Perth, Australia757,036 people2026-07-15
Source Scope: city · Period: 2021-08-10
10Vienna, Austria751,778 people2026-07-15
Source Scope: city · Period: 2026-01-01
11Brisbane, Australia676,222 people2026-07-15
Source Scope: city · Period: 2021-08-10
12Sharjah, United Arab Emirates655,301 people2026-08-03
Source Scope: city · Period: 2005-12-31
13Madrid, Spain619,086 people2026-07-15
Source Scope: city · Period: 2024-01-01
14Amsterdam, Netherlands562,270 people2026-07-15
Source Scope: city · Period: 2025-01-01
15Toronto, Canada477,230 people2026-07-15
Source Scope: city · Period: 2021-05-11
16Barcelona, Spain414,063 people2026-07-15
Source Scope: city · Period: 2024-01-01
17Munich, Germany403,149 people2026-07-26
Source Scope: city · Period: 2022-05-15
18Hamburg, Germany387,845 people2026-05-28
Source Scope: city · Period: 2025-12-31
19Rotterdam, Netherlands385,206 people2026-07-15
Source Scope: city · Period: 2025-01-01
20Rome, Italy355,837 people2026-07-15
Source Scope: city · Period: 2026-01-01
21Prague, Czechia354,323 people2026-07-18
Source Scope: city · Period: 2024-12-31
22's-Gravenhage, Netherlands344,814 people2026-07-15
Source Scope: city · Period: 2025-01-01
23Paris, France315,554 people2026-07-18
Source Scope: city · Period: 2023-01-01
24Montreal, Canada288,660 people2026-07-15
Source Scope: city · Period: 2021-05-11
25Seoul, South Korea275,049 people2026-07-22
Source Scope: city · Period: 2026-03-31
26Milano, Italy267,986 people2026-07-15
Source Scope: city · Period: 2026-01-01
27Oslo, Norway254,830 people2026-07-15
Source Scope: city · Period: 2026-01-01
28Osaka, Japan214,337 people2026-08-03
Source Scope: city · Period: 2026-08-03
29Frankfurt am Main, Germany210,337 people2026-07-26
Source Scope: city · Period: 2022-05-15
30Lisbon, Portugal202,430 people2026-07-29
Source Scope: city · Period: 2024-12-31

What the numbers say

  • London, United Kingdom leads at 3,575,719 people.
  • Lisbon, Portugal sits at the other end with 202,430 people.
  • The middle of this ranking is 477,230 people, across 30 places that publish the metric.
  • The spread between first and last is 3,373,289 people.

What this measures

Every row is a published foreign residents observation measured in people, ranked highest first. The values were observed between 2005 and 2026. A place appears only when it publishes this exact metric, so an absent place means missing data rather than a low value.

  • Compare the displayed value, unit, source date and geographic grain together.
  • A city label does not change a regional observation into a city measurement.
Rows
30 places
Geographic grain
2 grains: Greater London, city
Observation period
2005-12-31 to 2026-08-03
Last checked
2026-08-03
With an official source link
30 of 30

Cite this page

Open a format to select or copy this ImmigrationDB compilation citation. The native disclosure and text fallback work without JavaScript.

APA citation
ImmigrationDB. (2026, September 12). Cities with the largest foreign populations [ImmigrationDB compilation; snapshot approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0; version approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0]. ImmigrationDB. https://immigrationdb.com/reports/cities-with-largest-foreign-populations/ Retrieved 2026-09-12. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
BibTeX citation
@misc{immigrationdb_immigrationdb_cities-with-the-largest-foreign-populations_487607a0da8c,
  author = {ImmigrationDB},
  title = {Cities with the largest foreign populations},
  publisher = {ImmigrationDB},
  year = {2026},
  date = {2026-09-12},
  version = {approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0},
  snapshot = {approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0},
  url = {https://immigrationdb.com/reports/cities-with-largest-foreign-populations/},
  note = {Retrieved 2026-09-12. ImmigrationDB compilation. Compilation license: CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/},
}
Markdown citation
[Cities with the largest foreign populations](https://immigrationdb.com/reports/cities-with-largest-foreign-populations/) — ImmigrationDB; ImmigrationDB; snapshot approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0; version approved-static-d7ed373c115d60d0; retrieved 2026-09-12; built 2026-09-12.

This citation identifies the ImmigrationDB compilation/page. Underlying source publishers and datasets retain their own terms; inspect the Sources section and cite those records separately. View the underlying source records.

Sources

  1. ONS Census 2021 TS012 country of birth, London local authoritiesOffice for National Statistics · Checked 2026-07-29
  2. Dubai Data and Statistics Establishment (DSC)Dubai Data and Statistics Establishment (DSC) · Checked 2026-08-03
  3. Census Reporter (underlying U.S. Census ACS)Census Reporter (underlying U.S. Census ACS) · Checked 2026-08-03
  4. Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi (SCAD)Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi (SCAD) · Checked 2026-08-03
  5. Official 2021 Census GCP G01 Birthplace_Elsewhere_P: persons born outside Australia, at exact associated 2021 SUA grain. This is foreign-born, not foreign nationality.Australian Bureau of Statistics · Checked 2026-07-15
  6. Australian Bureau of StatisticsAustralian Bureau of Statistics · Checked 2026-08-03
  7. Destatis — foreign population by Land and yearsDestatis · Checked 2026-05-28
  8. Bevölkerung am 01.01.2026 nach Staatsangehörigkeit und administrativen GebietseinheitenStatistik Austria · Checked 2026-07-15
  9. Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre (FCSC)Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre (FCSC) · Checked 2026-08-03
  10. Official INE municipal population by country of nationality; foreign total derived as Total nationality minus España.INE · Checked 2026-07-15
  11. CBS Kerncijfers wijken en buurten 2025, municipality-grain passenger-car universe (Personenauto's totaal) divided by the same-table municipality population.CBS · Checked 2026-07-15
  12. Statistics Canada Census Profile 2021 characteristic 1512: not Canadian citizens, population in private households, 25% sample data, at CSD grain. This is the exact foreign-citizenship interpretation used for foreign_population_total; it is not immigrant status.Statistics Canada · Checked 2026-07-15