Which world city has the highest Year First Inhabited?

Sidon has the highest Year First Inhabited, at 4000 BC, followed by Aleppo (5000 BC) and Athens (5000 BC).

Which world city has the lowest Year First Inhabited?

Damascus has the lowest Year First Inhabited, at 10000 BC.

What is the median Year First Inhabited across world cities?

The median is 5000 BC across the 7 world cities with data.

Where does this oldest cities in the world data come from?

Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: UNESCO World Heritage Centre; Archaeological Institute of America. Last updated 2026-10-28.

World City rankings

Oldest Cities in the World

Name: Oldest Cities in the World
Creator: Rankodex

Sidon has the highest Year First Inhabited (4000 BC), followed by Aleppo (5000 BC) and Athens (5000 BC). Damascus has the lowest (10000 BC).

Culture History7 cities · 1 metricUpdated Oct 28, 2026Original page

2 sources

ShowingYear First InhabitedBetter directionWhether a higher or a lower value is better. A green arrow means higher is better, a red arrow means lower is better, and no arrow means neither.More in the glossary →

7 of 1,103 cities

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Year First Inhabited

Darker means higher. Click a place to highlight it.

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All 7 ranked

Highest first.

Distribution Median and middle halfThe median is the middle value: half of places are above it, half below. The middle half is the range holding the central 50% of places.More in the glossary →

Each dot is one city; the lines mark the median and the middle half.

Median

5000 BC

Middle half 7000 BC – 5000 BC

Average

6143 BC

7 cities

Highest

4000 BC

Sidon

Lowest

10000 BC

Damascus

Data

Click a column to sort, a row to highlight that place on the charts.

7 cities · # = rank by Year First Inhabited

#
1	Sidon	4000 BC
2	Aleppo	5000 BC
2	Athens	5000 BC
2	Beirut	5000 BC
2	Byblos	5000 BC
6	Jericho	9000 BC
7	Damascus	10000 BC

What correlates with Year First Inhabited?

Not enough places to compare

Correlations need at least 10 cities with data; this metric covers 7.

Quick answers

Which world city has the highest Year First Inhabited?: Sidon has the highest Year First Inhabited, at 4000 BC, followed by Aleppo (5000 BC) and Athens (5000 BC).
Which world city has the lowest Year First Inhabited?: Damascus has the lowest Year First Inhabited, at 10000 BC.
What is the median Year First Inhabited across world cities?: The median is 5000 BC across the 7 world cities with data.
Where does this oldest cities in the world data come from?: Rankodex compiles it from World Population Review and the primary sources it cites: UNESCO World Heritage Centre; Archaeological Institute of America. Last updated 2026-10-28.