Nanjing (9.6 million inhabitants): capital of Jiangsu province on the Yangtze — a former imperial capital, home of the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, and a major education and manufacturing centre.
Last updated: October 2026
| Country | China |
|---|---|
| Population | 9.6 million |
Source: UN World Urbanization Prospects, 2022 Revision (metropolitan agglomeration estimate). Observation date: 2022. The Bureau cross-checked major-city figures against UN WUP; smaller-city figures are presented as published and have not been individually re-verified.
Nanjing has a metropolitan population of 9.6 million, according to the UN World Urbanization Prospects (2022 Revision) cited on this page.
Nanjing is in China. It is the capital of Jiangsu province, on the lower Yangtze River in the east of the country.
Nanjing is known as a former capital of China under several dynasties and the Republic of China, for the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum on Purple Mountain, and as a leading university and research city.
Nanjing — “Southern Capital” — has been a capital for nearly two thousand years. It was the seat of the Six Dynasties, the first Ming capital from 1368, the capital of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in the 19th century, and the capital of the Republic of China from 1928 to 1937 and again from 1946 to 1949.
The city’s modern history is marked by the Nanjing Massacre of 1937–38, when Japanese forces killed large numbers of Chinese civilians and soldiers after capturing the city during the Second Sino-Japanese War. The Nanjing Massacre Memorial Hall commemorates the victims, and the city’s Ming-era walls, the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum and the Presidential Palace remain major historical sites.
Nanjing is a major industrial and research centre. Its industries include electronics, automobiles, petrochemicals and steel, and the city hosts some of China’s oldest and most prestigious universities. The Nanjing Jiangbei New Area, across the Yangtze, has been developed as a hub for advanced manufacturing and innovation.
As a Yangtze port city, Nanjing handles substantial river trade, and its position between Shanghai and the interior makes it a logistics and transport junction for eastern China.
