What Is a Primate City?

Hint: It has a lot of humans

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I stand firmly against the primate city.

The good news, as you’ll see, is that I don’t live with one.

The bad news, of course, is that I do.

Let me explain.

A Definition

A primate city is one that is disproportionately larger and more influential than all other cities in its state, region, or country.

The original required such a city to be twice as large as the next largest city and more than twice as significant.

Significance, as you might imagine, is measured by economic, cultural, and political factors.

Some Examples

At the national level, there are tons of examples. Here are a few.

In Thailand, Bangkok is about 13 times more populated than its nearest competitor.

In France, Paris outpaces its closest competition by a factor of 5.5.

London, in the United Kingdom, outdoes number two Birmingham by a factor of 3.9.

And Tokyo, in Japan, is more than twice the size of the country’s runner up.

These examples are particularly extreme, as not only are these cities economic and…