Chūkyō metropolitan area 中京圏 | |
|---|---|
 Nagoya | |
 | |
| Country |  Japan |
| Prefecture | Aichi |
| Area | |
| • Metro | 3,704 km2 (1,430 sq mi) |
| Population (Demographia World Urban Areas 2019［http://demographia.com/db-worldua.pdf]) | |
| • Metro | 9,439,000 |
| • Metro density | 2,549/km2 (6,600/sq mi) |
| GDP[1] | |
| • Metro | JP¥57,460 billion (2021) US$523 billion (2021) |
Chūkyō (中京圏,Chūkyō-ken), or theChūkyō region (中京地方,Chūkyō-chihō), is a majormetropolitan area inJapan that is centered on the city ofNagoya (the "Chūkyō", i.e., the "capital in the middle") inAichi Prefecture. The area makes up the most urbanized part of theTōkai region. The population is 9,439,000 in 3,704 square kilometers of built-up land area.[2]Nevertheless, like most of Japan's major metro areas, the core of it lies on a fertilealluvial plain, in this case, theNōbi Plain.
Nagoya metropolitan area Nagoya MEA | |
|---|---|
 (2015) | |
 | |
| Country | Japan |
| Prefectures | |
| Core cities | |
| Area (2011)[3] | |
• Total | 2,791.72 km2 (1,077.89 sq mi) |
| • Inhabitable area | 1,902.02 km2 (734.37 sq mi) |
| Population (2015)[4] | |
• Total | 6,871,632 |
| • Rank | 3rd in Japan |
| • Density | 2,461.43/km2 (6,375.08/sq mi) |
It is among the 50 most populous metropolitan areas in the world, and is the third most populousmetropolitan area in Japan (afterGreater Tokyo andOsaka-Kobe-Kyoto), containing roughly 7% of Japan's population. Historically, this region has taken a back seat to the other two power centers, both politically and economically; however, the agglomeration of Nagoya is the world's 22nd-largest metro area economy, in terms of gross metropolitan product atpurchasing power parity in 2014, according to a study by theBrookings Institution.[5] The GDP of Greater Nagoya, NagoyaMetropolitan Employment Area, was US$256.3 billion in 2010.[3][6]
| Prefecture | Gross prefecture product (in billion JP¥, 2021)[1] | Gross prefecture product (in billion US$, 2021) |
|---|---|---|
 Aichi | 40,733 | 371 |
 Mie | 8,795 | 80 |
 Gifu | 7,932 | 72 |
| Chūkyō | 57,460 | 523 |
The metropolitan area stretches beyond the central city of Nagoya to other municipalities in Aichi Prefecture, as well as neighboringGifu andMieprefectures.
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There are at least 38 passenger train lines in the Greater Nagoya area. JR runs six, Nagoya Subway seven, Meitetsu 18, Kintetsu four, and five other operators one each.
Per Japanese census data,[7][8][9] and[10][circular reference] , Chūkyō metropolitan area, also known as greater Nagoya, has had continuous population growth.
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 2,237,000 | — |
| 1960 | 4,297,000 | +92.1% |
| 1970 | 6,603,000 | +53.7% |
| 1980 | 7,777,000 | +17.8% |
| 1990 | 8,407,000 | +8.1% |
| 2000 | 8,740,000 | +4.0% |
| 2010 | 9,107,414 | +4.2% |
| 2020 | 9,552,132 | +4.9% |
The area defined by theChukyo Area Person-Trip Survey, a study of commuter movement, is slightly different from the census definition. It includes southern Aichi and areas immediately north of Gifu City. It adds two cities in Aichi Prefecture (Tahara andToyohashi) and two cities in Gifu Prefecture (Mino andSeki). Additionally, it excludes two cities in Gifu Prefecture (Ena andNakatsugawa).
