Primate city

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A primate city is the leading city in its country or region, disproportionately larger than any others in the urban hierarchy.[1] A 'primate city distribution' has one very large city with many much smaller cities and towns, and no intermediate-sized urban centres, in contrast to the linear 'rank-size distribution'.[2] The 'law of the primate city' was first proposed by the geographer Mark Jefferson in 1939.[3] He defines a primate city as being "at least twice as large as the next largest city and more than twice as significant."[4] A primate city is number one in its country in most aspects, like politics, economy, media, culture and universities.



The presence of a primate city in a country may indicate an imbalance in development – usually a progressive core, and a lagging periphery, on which the city depends for labor and other resources.[5] However, the urban structure is not directly dependent on a country's level of economic development.[1]



Among the best known examples of primate cities are alpha world cities such as Paris and by most measures London.[4] Budapest,[6] Dublin, and Vienna[7] have also been described as primate cities. Bangkok has been called "the most primate city on earth", being forty times larger than Thailand's second city.[8]

See also[edit]


  2. ^ GaWC Research Bulletin 186
  8. ^ Baker, Chris; Pasuk Phongpaichit (2009). A history of Thailand (2nd ed. ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 199. ISBN 0-521-76768-7.