Demographia

International: Selected Cities with
Declining Population
Ranked by Annual Loss Rate

This page is under continuous development. Demographia would appreciate any additional information. At the bottom of the table is a revision date.

CAUTIONARY NOTE:
The list includes cities as defined as municipalities or local government areas. It does not include urban areas or metropolitan areas.
For urban terms definitions see Urban Terms Defined.

      Peak Population Latest Population    
Rank Nation City Year Population Year Population Change from Peak Annual Rate
1 US St. Louis 1950 857,000 2000 348,000 -59.4% -1.786%
2 Latvia Riga 1990 910,000 2001 757,000 -16.8% -1.660%
3 Estonia Talinn 1990 479,000 2001 400,000 -16.5% -1.625%
4 Slovenia Maribor 1991 108,000 2002 92,000 -14.8% -1.447%
5 US Pittsburgh 1950 677,000 2000 335,000 -50.5% -1.397%
6 US Buffalo 1950 580,000 2000 293,000 -49.5% -1.356%
7 US Detroit 1950 1,850,000 2000 951,000 -48.6% -1.322%
8 US Cleveland 1950 915,000 2000 478,000 -47.8% -1.290%
9 Italy Milano 1971 1,687,000 2001 1,183,000 -29.9% -1.176%
10 Portugal Porto 1981 330,000 2001 263,000 -20.3% -1.128%
11 Italy Genova 1971 844,000 2001 604,000 -28.4% -1.109%
12 UK Belfast 1951 444,000 1991 295,000 -33.6% -1.017%
13 Ukraine Kharkov 1991 1,623,000 2001 1,470,000 -9.4% -0.985%
14 Ukraine Donetsk 1991 1,121,000 2001 1,016,000 -9.4% -0.979%
15 Portugal Lisboa 1961 818,000 2001 557,000 -31.9% -0.956%
16 Italy Torino 1971 1,142,000 2001 857,000 -25.0% -0.952%
17 UK Liverpool 1931 857,000 2001 439,000 -48.8% -0.951%
18 UK Manchester 1931 766,000 2001 393,000 -48.7% -0.949%
19 Italy Bologna 1971 487,000 2001 370,000 -24.0% -0.912%
20 Phillipines Manila 1995 1,655,000 2000 1,581,000 -4.5% -0.911%
21 UK Glasgow 1931 1,088,000 2001 579,000 -46.8% -0.897%
22 Italy Firenze 1971 456,000 2001 352,000 -22.8% -0.859%
23 Greece Athens 1981 886,000 2001 746,000 -15.8% -0.856%
24 US Cincinnati 1950 504,000 2000 331,000 -34.3% -0.837%
25 Denmark Kobenhavn 1950 768,000 2001 501,000 -34.8% -0.834%
26 Italy Napoli 1971 1,267,000 2001 993,000 -21.6% -0.809%
27 Georgia Tblisi 1989 1,260,000 2001 1,144,000 -9.2% -0.802%
28 Spain Barcelona 1981 1,753,000 2001 1,504,000 -14.2% -0.763%
29 US Baltimore 1950 950,000 2000 651,000 -31.5% -0.753%
30 Bulgaria Sofia 1990 1,190,000 2001 1,096,000 -7.9% -0.745%
31 Hungary Budapest 1981 2,060,000 2001 1,775,000 -13.8% -0.742%
32 France Marseilles 1982 901,000 1999 798,000 -11.4% -0.712%
33 Italy Roma 1981 2,831,000 2001 2,460,000 -13.1% -0.700%
34 Ukraine Odessa 1991 1,101,000 2001 1,027,000 -6.7% -0.693%
35 Germany Duisburg 1980 592,000 2001 512,000 -13.5% -0.689%
36 US Newark 1930 442,000 2000 274,000 -38.0% -0.681%
37 US Washington 1950 802,000 2000 572,000 -28.7% -0.674%
38 Poland Lodz 1989 852,000 2000 793,000 -6.9% -0.650%
39 Slovenia Ljubjiana 1991 276,000 2002 257,000 -6.9% -0.646%
40 Romania Bucharest 1991 2,064,000 2002 1,922,000 -6.9% -0.646%
41 Netherlands Hague 1960 605,000 2001 464,000 -23.3% -0.645%
42 US New Orleans 1960 628,000 2000 485,000 -22.8% -0.644%
43 US Philadelphia 1950 2,072,000 2000 1,518,000 -26.7% -0.620%
44 UK Leeds 1961 511,000 1991 424,000 -17.0% -0.620%
45 US Minneapolis 1950 522,000 2000 383,000 -26.6% -0.617%
46 US Boston 1950 801,000 2000 589,000 -26.5% -0.613%
47 Germany Leipzig 1939 707,000 2001 493,000 -30.3% -0.580%
48 Belgium Brussels 1950 183,000 2001 137,000 -25.1% -0.566%
49 UK Coventry 1981 337,000 2001 301,000 -10.7% -0.563%
50 Japan Osaka 1965 3,156,000 2000 2,599,000 -17.6% -0.553%
51 US Milwaukee 1960 741,000 2000 597,000 -19.4% -0.539%
52 Russia Nizhni Novgorod 1989 1,403,000 2002 1,311,000 -6.6% -0.520%
53 Canada Montreal 1971 1,214,000 2001 1,040,000 -14.3% -0.514%
54 Spain Bilbao 1970 410,000 2001 349,972 -14.6% -0.509%
55 Germany Essen 1960 729,000 2001 592,000 -18.8% -0.506%
56 Germany Dusseldorf 1960 702,000 2001 571,000 -18.7% -0.502%
57 Netherlands Rotterdam 1961 731,000 2001 599,000 -18.1% -0.497%
58 Belgium Antwerp 1984 488,000 2001 449,000 -8.0% -0.489%
59 France Lyon 1950 536,000 1999 422,000 -21.3% -0.487%
60 US Kansas City 1970 507,000 2000 442,000 -12.8% -0.456%
61 US Chicago 1950 3,621,000 2000 2,896,000 -20.0% -0.446%
62 Germany Dresden 1939 630,000 2001 479,000 -24.0% -0.441%
63 Czech Rep. Praha 1991 1,212,000 2001 1,162,000 -4.1% -0.420%
64 UK Sheffield 1981 558,000 2001 513,000 -8.1% -0.420%
65 Netherlands Amsterdam 1961 868,000 2001 735,000 -15.3% -0.415%
66 Switzerland Zurich 1960 428,200 2000 364,000 -15.0% -0.405%
67 France Paris 1921 2,906,000 1999