


at least twice as large as the next largest city and more than twice as significant"Įssentially, a primate city is considerably larger and more influential than any other city within a country. The primate city concept is meant to explain why some countries have one major city, whereas other countries have smaller cities scattered around their country. This can depend on socioeconomic factors, physical geography, and historical events. There are numerous reasons why primate cities develop instead of following the rank-size rule. The primate city rule is primarily a theory before it is a rule. Other cities in the country tend to be smaller and less developed, with most national focus revolving around the primate city. Primate cities are usually highly-developed and major functions (economic, political, and cultural) are performed there. Primate cities have the highest population of an entire country, hosting at least twice the population of the second largest city. But it's possible! Let's explore primate cities, common characteristics, and some examples. This can make it difficult to imagine a city so large and prominent that it can influence most of a country. In the US, we have a collection of different-sized cities scattered around the nation. These are cities that are considerably larger than other cities within a country. Have you heard of megacities? What about metacities? Global cities? Capital cities? It's likely these cities can also be primate cities.
