These Are The Most Heavily Surveilled Cities In The World For 2019

Ryan Miller, PhDAugust 20, 2019

Unsurprisingly, eight of the top 10 most heavily surveilled cities in the world have something in common: they’re all in China.

With 168.03 cameras per 1,000 people, the southwestern city of Chongqing (also know as Chungking) in China ranked at first place on the global list, making it the most surveilled city in the world, that’s according to a study by consumer-oriented tech website.

Researchers studied the number of CCTV cameras in use in 120 major cities around the world and compared those numbers to the respective population of each city. Shenzhen followed closely behind Chongqing with 159.09 cameras per 1,000 people, while Shanghai (3rd place); Tianjin (4th place); and the capital of eastern China’s Shandong province Jinan (5th place).

And with 68.4 cameras per 1,000 people, London ranked at 6th place on the global list of the most surveilled cities in the world for 2019, making it the most surveilled city outside of China. New Delhi was the 20th most heavily surveilled city in the world for 2019.

Atlanta, with 15.56 cameras per 1,000 people, and Chicago, with 13.06 cameras per 1,000 people, were the only U.S. cities to make the top 20.

Shanghai had the overall most CCTV cameras, with more than 2.9 million, but its higher population meant it had only 113.46 cameras per 1,000 people, according to the study.

These are the most heavily surveilled cities in the world for 2019

Rank	City	Country	CCTV Cameras	Population	CCTV Cameras per 1,000 People
1	Chongqing	China	2579890	15354067	168.03
2	Shenzhen	China	1929600	12128721	159.09
3	Shanghai	China	2985984	26317104	113.46
4	Tianjin	China	1244160	13396402	92.87
5	Jinan	China	540463	7321200	73.82
6	London	UK	627707	9176530	68.4
7	Wuhan	China	500000	8266273	60.49
8	Guangzhou	China	684000	12967862	52.75
9	Beijing	China	800000	20035455	39.93
10	Atlanta	US	7800	501178	15.56
11	Singapore	Singapore	86000	5638676	15.25
12	Abu Dhabi	UAE	20000	1452057	13.77
13	Chicago	US	35000	2679044	13.06
14	Urumqi	China	43394	3500000	12.4
15	Sydney	Australia	60000	4859432	12.35
16	Baghdad	Iraq	120000	9760000	12.3
17	Dubai	UAE	35000	2883079	12.14
18	Moscow	Russia	146000	12476171	11.7
19	Berlin	Germany	39765	3556792	11.18
20	New Delhi	India	179000	18600000	9.62
21	Nanchang	China	50400	5463538	9.22
22	Islamabad	Pakistan	9950	1095064	9.09
23	Warsaw	Poland	13935	1775933	7.85
24	Vienna	Austria	14141	1915338	7.38
25	Istanbul	Turkey	107000	14967667	7.15
26	Hong Kong	Hong Kong	50000	7451000	6.71
27	Changsha	China	50000	7918100	6.31
28	Washington, D.C.	US	4000	713549	5.61
29	St. Petersburg	Russia	30000	5426959	5.53
30	Canberra	Australia	2472	452497	5.46
31	Bangkok	Thailand	53429	10350204	5.16
32	Chennai	India	50000	10711243	4.67
33	Madrid	Spain	29000	6559041	4.42
34	Seoul	South Korea	37883	9962393	3.8
35	Auckland	New Zealand	5577	1582028	3.53
36	Budapest	Hungary	6000	1763913	3.4
37	Athens	Greece	10612	3154152	3.36
38	San Francisco	US	2753	897536	3.07
39	Paris	France	33479	10958187	3.06
40	Lucknow	India	9300	3589795	2.59
41	Salvador	Brazil	7300	2857329	2.55
42	San Diego	US	3600	1453775	2.48
43	Toronto	Canada	14955	6139404	2.44
44	Sofia	Bulgaria	3000	1276937	2.35
45	Nice	France	2145	941800	2.28
46	Boston	US	1552	694784	2.23
47	Prague	Czech Republic	2820	1298804	2.17
48	Cardiff	UK	1022	474187	2.16
49	Kiev	Ukraine	6200	2950819	2.1
50	Rome	Italy	8300	4234019	1.96
51	Pune	India	11297	6451618	1.75
52	Khartoum	Sudan	4000	2423069	1.65
53	Kampala	Uganda	2547	1650800	1.54
54	Brussels	Belgium	3165	2065284	1.53
55	Guatemala City	Guatemala	4000	2643247	1.51
56	Milan	Italy	4143	3136077	1.32
57	New York	US	11000	8601186	1.28
58	Porto Alegre	Brazil	1812	1479101	1.23
59	Mexico City	Mexico	26400	21671908	1.22
60	Bucharest	Romania	1934	1812290	1.07
61	Hyderabad	India	10000	9741397	1.03
62	Lagos	Nigeria	14200	13903620	1.02
63	Puebla	Mexico	1576	1544500	1.02
64	Fortaleza	Brazil	2543	2643247	0.96
65	Miami	US	456	491724	0.93
66	Tallinn	Estonia	400	434562	0.92
67	Curitiba	Brazil	1550	1917185	0.81
68	Detroit	US	500	662172	0.76
69	Tel Aviv	Israel	3000	4096962	0.73
70	Buenos Aires	Argentina	10963	15057273	0.73
71	Lima	Peru	7547	10554712	0.72
72	Ho Chi Minh City	Vietnam	6150	8993082	0.68
73	Zagreb	Croatia	468	685233	0.68
74	Lahore	Pakistan	8000	12188196	0.66
75	Tokyo	Japan	24500	37435191	0.65
76	Yangon	Myanmar	2995	5243989	0.57
77	Jakarta	Indonesia	6000	10638689	0.56
78	Houston	US	1300	2359480	0.55
79	Hanoi	Vietnam	4400	8053663	0.55
80	Casablanca	Morocco	1960	3716093	0.53
81	Luxembourg	Luxembourg	139	284638	0.49
82	Mumbai	India	9800	20185064	0.49
83	Philadelphia	US	730	1576596	0.46
84	Bogotá	Colombia	4856	10779376	0.45
85	Santiago	Chile	3000	6723516	0.45
86	Ahmedabad	India	3472	7868633	0.44
87	Recife	Brazil	700	1637834	0.43
88	Edinburgh	UK	226	530741	0.43
89	Campinas	Brazil	500	1194094	0.42
90	Medellín	Colombia	1495	3966906	0.38
91	Cape Town	South Africa	1578	4524111	0.35
92	Rio de Janeiro	Brazil	4500	13374275	0.34
93	Reykjavik	Iceland	40	128793	0.31
94	Montréal	Canada	1220	4195523	0.29
95	Tbilisi	Georgia	300	1158700	0.26
96	Dallas	US	347	1379735	0.25
97	Busan	South Korea	780	3465633	0.23
98	Johannesburg	South Africa	1200	5635127	0.21
99	Kitakyushu	Japan	194	945595	0.21
100	Belfast	Northern Ireland	120	626760	0.19
101	Amsterdam	The Netherlands	203	1140339	0.18
102	Tehran	Iran	1500	9013663	0.17
103	Belo Horizonte	Brazil	403	2501576	0.16
104	San Jose	Costa Rica	215	1404242	0.15
105	Karachi	Pakistan	2200	15741406	0.14
106	Kuala Lumpur	Malaysia	1000	7780301	0.13
107	São Paulo	Brazil	2623	21846507	0.12
108	Bangalore	India	1301	11882666	0.11
109	Brasilia	Brazil	453	4558991	0.1
110	Surat	India	614	6873756	0.09
111	Dhaka	Bangladesh	1000	20283552	0.05
112	Stockholm	Sweden	70	1608037	0.04
113	Cairo	Egypt	500	20484965	0.02
114	Manila	Philippines	300	13698889	0.02
115	Riyadh	Saudi Arabia	150	7070665	0.02
116	Melbourne	Australia	93	4870388	0.02
117	Nairobi	Kenya	42	4556381	0.01

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Ryan Miller, PhD

Dr. Ryan Miller, PhD in Global Media & Publishing, is an Executive Editor for Business and Finance at CEOWORLD Magazine, with a focus on public relations strategy, global financial intelligence, and corporate storytelling. Originally from New York City and educated in the U.K., Ryan brings over 14 years of experience in financial journalism, media strategy, and executive communications.

Before joining CEOWORLD, he worked as a senior editor for a pan-European business news network and later as a communications consultant for international development banks and private equity firms. At CEOWORLD, Ryan leads a team of contributors and analysts producing content that blends market insights with reputation strategy—ideal for CEOs, investors, and brand stewards.

He holds a degree in Business Communication and an MSc in Global Finance. Ryan frequently lectures on financial media ethics and corporate social responsibility at conferences and academic institutions. His editorial work explores how financial performance and public narrative interact in shaping long-term brand equity. Through his role, Ryan champions diversity in financial reporting and is committed to making high-level business intelligence both accessible and actionable for global decision-makers.

Email Ryan Miller at ryan@ceoworld.biz

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