thumbnail

100 Biggest Cities of the British Empire in 1921 with a Map

With the help of a map, can you name the 100 most populous cities of the British Empire at its peak in 1921?
Click on the map to zoom in.
Population figures are based off official 1921 census data and 3000 Years of Urban Growth by Tertius Chandler and Gerald Fox.
Click on the map to zoom in if certain cities are hard to see.
Quiz by Dekkie
Rate:
Last updated: May 30, 2022
You have not attempted this quiz yet.
First submittedMay 30, 2022
Times taken1,456
Average score56.0%
Rating4.64
Report this quizReport
10:00
Enter answer here
0
 / 100 guessed
The quiz is paused. You have remaining.
Scoring
You scored / = %
This beats or equals % of test takers also scored 100%
The average score is
Your high score is
Your fastest time is
Keep scrolling down for answers and more stats ...
 
Population
City
Possession
4.48m
London
United Kingdom
1.18m
Bombay
India
1.05m
Glasgow
United Kingdom
1m
Cairo
Egypt
919k
Birmingham
United Kingdom
908k
Calcutta
India
899k
Sydney
Australia
803k
Liverpool
United Kingdom
767k
Melbourne
Australia
730k
Manchester
United Kingdom
625k
Hong Kong
Hong Kong
619k
Montreal
Canada
527k
Madras
India
522k
Toronto
Canada
500k
Alexandria
Egypt
491k
Sheffield
United Kingdom
458k
Leeds
United Kingdom
450k
SIngapore
Straits Settlements
421k
Edinburgh
United Kingdom
408k
Belfast
United Kingdom
404k
Hyderabad
India
377k
Bristol
United Kingdom
377k
Dublin
United Kingdom
342k
Rangoon
India
304k
Delhi
India
301k
West Ham
United Kingdom
287k
Kingston upon Hull
United Kingdom
286k
Bradford
United Kingdom
286k
Johannesburg
South Africa
282k
Lahore
India
275k
Newcastle upon Tyne
United Kingdom
274k
Ahmedabad
India
263k
Nottingham
United Kingdom
255k
Adelaide
Australia
Population
City
Possession
250k
Baghdad
Iraq
247k
Portsmouth
United Kingdom
241k
Lucknow
India
240k
Stoke-on-Trent
United Kingdom
234k
Leicester
United Kingdom
234k
Salford
United Kingdom
224k
Colombo
Ceylon
217k
Karachi
India
216k
Cawnpore
India
215k
Poona
India
210k
Brisbane
Australia
210k
Plymouth
United Kingdom
202k
Cape Town
South Africa
200k
Cardiff
United Kingdom
198k
Benares
India
195k
Howrah
India
191k
Croydon
United Kingdom
186k
Agra
India
179k
Bolton
United Kingdom
179k
Winnipeg
Canada
168k
Dundee
United Kingdom
167k
Aberdeen
United Kingdom
166k
Willesden
United Kingdom
161k
Southampton
United Kingdom
160k
Amritsar
India
159k
Sunderland
United Kingdom
158k
Auckland
New Zealand
158k
Swansea
United Kingdom
157k
Allahabad
India
155k
Perth
Australia
149k
Mandalay
India
147k
Tottenham
United Kingdom
146k
Birkenhead
United Kingdom
Population
City
Possession
145k
Nagpur
India
145k
Oldham
United Kingdom
143k
East Ham
United Kingdom
142k
Brighton
United Kingdom
142k
Srinagar
India
139k
Madura
India
137k
Ibadan
Nigeria
131k
Middlesbrough
United Kingdom
130k
Bareilly
India
130k
Derby
United Kingdom
129k
Walthamstow
United Kingdom
128k
Coventry
United Kingdom
128k
Leyton
United Kingdom
127k
Blackburn
United Kingdom
125k
Gateshead
United Kingdom
123k
Meerut
India
123k
Stockport
United Kingdom
121k
Norwich
United Kingdom
120k
Jaipur
India
120k
Patna
India
120k
Solapur
India
120k
Trichinopoly
India
119k
Bangalore
India
119k
Dacca
India
117k
Preston
United Kingdom
117k
South Shields
United Kingdom
117k
Surat
India
117k
Vancouver
Canada
114k
Hamilton
Canada
113k
Ajmer
India
110k
Huddersfield
United KIngdom
109k
Jubbulpore
India
108k
Ottawa
Canada
2 Comments
+3
Level 74
Nov 14, 2022
Interesting how many are British, as opposed to cities in Africa, the Middle East, or Malaysia.
+2
Level 55
Nov 14, 2022
A lot of the Middle Eastern cities had declined in population at this point, but started to slowly pick up growth again, e.g. Kudüs (Jerusalem) grew from approx. 15k in 1872 to 62k by 1922. For the other regions, it's mostly due to them being way more rural at this point in time.