List of largest cities in the Arab world

This is a list of the largest cities in the Arab world. The Arab world includes 22 countries that are members of the Arab League, shown here as member states. These cities are important because they are home to many people and play key roles in the culture, economy, and history of their countries. Learning about them helps us understand the size and diversity of the Arab world.

Largest cities

Here is a list of the biggest cities in the Arab world, ordered by how many people live in them.

Rank	Country	City	Population	Founding date	Image
1	Egypt	Cairo	23,200,000	968 CE
2	Iraq	Baghdad	8,000,000	762 CE
3	Saudi Arabia	Riyadh	7,900,000	1746 CE
4	Sudan	Khartoum	7,400,000	1824 CE
5	United Arab Emirates	Dubai	6,650,000	1833 CE
6	Egypt	Alexandria	6,350,000	332 BCE
7	Jordan	Amman	6,300,000	7250 BCE
8	Kuwait	Kuwait City	4,825,000	1613 CE
9	Morocco	Casablanca	4,500,000	7th century
10	Algeria	Algiers	4,400,000	944 CE
11	Syria	Damascus	4,050,000	~8,000–10,000 BCE
12	Saudi Arabia	Jeddah	4,000,000	522 BCE
13	Yemen	Sanaa	3,400,000	~500 BCE (possibly earlier)
14	Saudi Arabia	Dammam	3,000,000	1923
15	Tunisia	Tunis	2,775,000	814 BCE
16	Saudi Arabia	Mecca	2,775,000	2nd century CE
17	Qatar	Doha	2,700,000	1823 CE
18	Somalia	Mogadishu	2,325,000	10th Century
19	Morocco	Rabat	2,150,000	10th century
20	Syria	Aleppo	2,025,000	~5,000 BCE
21	Palestine	Gaza City	1,990,000	15th century BC
22	Lebanon	Beirut	1,970,000	~3000 BCE (outer estimate)
23	United Arab Emirates	Abu Dhabi	1,960,000	1761 CE
24	Libya	Tripoli	1,930,000	7th century BC
25	Iraq	Basra	1,750,000	636 AD
26	Oman	Muscat	1,700,000	550 BCE
27	Algeria	Oran	1,670,000	AD 944
28	Bahrain	Manama	1,580,000	1345 or earlier
29	Iraq	Mosul	1,580,000	~700 BCE
30	Saudi Arabia	Medina	1,560,000	9th century BC
31	Mauritania	Nouakchott	1,550,000	1903
32	Morocco	Tangier	1,460,000	10th century BCE
33	Somalia	Hargeisa	1,401,000	1860
34	Morocco	Fez	1,330,000	789
35	Morocco	Agadir	1,300,000	12th century
36	Yemen	Taiz	1,276,000	first half of the 12th century CE
37	Iraq	Erbil	1,240,000	~2300 BCE
38	Tunisia	Sousse	1,200,000	800–909
39	Iraq	Kirkuk	1,190,000	2335 BC
40	Morocco	Marrakesh	1,150,000	1070
41	Jordan	Irbid	1,090,000	~3,200 BCE (possibly earlier)
42	Saudi Arabia	Hofuf	1,070,000	1871
43	Iraq	Najaf	1,070,000	791 AD
44	United Arab Emirates	Al Ain	1,060,000	985 CE
45	Saudi Arabia	Khamis Mushait	1,050,000	1760s
46	Yemen	Aden	1,021,000	8th century BC
47	Egypt	Mansoura	993,000	1219