A city with a population over 20 million is called?

A city with a population over 20 million is called?

• A. Megacity
• B. Metacity
• C. World city
• D. Urban hierarchy

Answer: (B)

Understanding size-based classifications of cities helps us see how urban areas are compared by population. When a city has more than twenty million residents, some geographers use the term metacity to flag this exceptionally large scale. This threshold is higher than the more commonly cited benchmark for a megacity, which is around ten million or more, so metacity specifically signals an even larger category. A world city, by contrast, refers to a city’s global influence and functions rather than its population size. An urban hierarchy is a broader idea describing how cities are ranked within a system by size and role, not a single category tied to a fixed population number. So, for a city with over twenty million people, metacity is the most appropriate label.

Understanding size-based classifications of cities helps us see how urban areas are compared by population. When a city has more than twenty million residents, some geographers use the term metacity to flag this exceptionally large scale. This threshold is higher than the more commonly cited benchmark for a megacity, which is around ten million or more, so metacity specifically signals an even larger category. A world city, by contrast, refers to a city’s global influence and functions rather than its population size. An urban hierarchy is a broader idea describing how cities are ranked within a system by size and role, not a single category tied to a fixed population number. So, for a city with over twenty million people, metacity is the most appropriate label.