Chongqing is significantly larger than Chengdu in both population and total land area. As of 2025, Chongqing is recognized as the most populous city in China with a total permanent population of approximately 32 million residents, compared to Chengdu’s population of about 21.5 million. This vast difference is largely due to Chongqing's unique status as a direct-administered municipality covering an area of 82,400 square kilometers, which is nearly six times the size of Chengdu's 14,335 square kilometers. While Chengdu is a major megacity and the most populous in the fertile Sichuan Basin, Chongqing’s massive administrative territory is closer in scale to a small province, allowing it to house a much larger total population across its mountainous and hilly landscape.