Rhine-Ruhr

Data as of · Metro Power Rankings

#26

Global Rank

62.8

Power Score

Continental Metro

% of Country Score

14.1%

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Germany • Europe • Language power

Population
11.1M
GDP
$681B
GDP per capita
$61,359
Land area
10,536 km² (4,068 mi²)
Density
1,054/km² (2,729/mi²)
GAWC class
4

Primary city Cologne

State / province North Rhine-Westphalia

Language German

Mayor of Cologne Torsten Burmester

Social Democratic Party of Germany · since 2025

Sources: Wikipedia · Wikidata

Conurbations · Tier BMegacity
Stands out, per personRail stations: high vs size peers
▲

Largest City

Largest metro area in Germany

Rhine-Ruhr metro area

50.94, 6.96
Loading map…
Sport

Top Team

The single sporting franchise this metro is identified with.

Borussia DortmundFootball/Soccer

From The Team That Wins the City. One pick per metro across 312 metros worldwide.

Walkable Elite Quarters

Neighborhoods that clear the dense, historic, walkable, elite residential test.

Düsseldorf: Oberkassel / Carlstadt

From The Last of the Marylebones. A small qualifying set out of the full corpus.

Dimension Breakdown

Value and global rank across all 16 dimensions

Stands out for Metro Stations, Top Universities, Hospitals, & Research, Major League Teams/Venues.

Major League Teams/Venues↗15#T-16
Total Teams↗28#T-15
Major Sporting Events↗1#T-107
Major Companies↗22#T-65
Market Cap Score↗$1.3T#29
Cultural Events4#T-22
Universities↗8#T-30
Top Universities, Hospitals, & Research↗7#T-13
Notable Museums & Landmarks↗8#T-34
Ports, Exchanges & Infrastructure↗3#T-48
Airport Score↗7.0#T-21
Luxury Stars (Michelin)↗4.0#T-193
Metro Stations↗606#4
Commuter Rail Stations↗246#17
Train Hubs↗5#T-7
Skyscrapers2#T-210
World #1Top 5Outside top 5

Most similar metros

Closest profiles across all 16 dimensions
MilanItaly#21BrusselsBelgium#40PhiladelphiaUnited States#29Sao PauloBrazil#26FrankfurtGermany#51BerlinGermany#30

Sports

28 teams

Major League Teams/Venues

Football/Soccer • Germany🥇👑

Borussia Dortmund

Dortmund • Level: 1

8 titles2 Cont.5 cupsDomestic leagues →

Football/Soccer • Germany🥇

Borussia Mönchengladbach

Mönchengladbach • Level: 1

5 titles2 Cont.3 cupsDomestic leagues →

Football/Soccer • Germany🥇

FC Schalke 04

Gelsenkirchen • Level: 1

7 titles1 Cont.6 cupsDomestic leagues →

Football/Soccer • Germany🥇

1. FC Köln

Cologne • Level: 1

3 titles4 cupsDomestic leagues →

Football/Soccer • Germany🥇

Bayer Leverkusen

Leverkusen • Level: 1

1 title1 Cont.2 cupsDomestic leagues →

Handball • Int'l Handball🥇

No Bundesliga titles

Bergischer HC

Wuppertal

Notable Venues8 venues

Football/Soccer

BayArena

Leverkusen

Football/Soccer

Borussia-Park

Mönchengladbach

Football/Soccer

Merkur Spiel-Arena

Düsseldorf

Football/Soccer

RheinEnergieStadion

Cologne

Football/Soccer

Signal Iduna Park

Dortmund

Football/Soccer

Veltins-Arena

Gelsenkirchen

Football/Soccer

Vonovia Ruhrstadion

Bochum

Hockey • Handball

Lanxess Arena

Cologne

Other Teams

Football/Soccer Teams8 teams

Football/Soccer • Germany

VfL Bochum

Bochum • Level: 2

No titlesDomestic leagues →

Football/Soccer • Germany

MSV Duisburg

Duisburg • Level: 3

No titlesDomestic leagues →

Football/Soccer • Germany

Fortuna Düsseldorf

Düsseldorf • Level: 3

1 title2 cupsDomestic leagues →

Football/Soccer • Germany

Rot-Weiß Essen

Essen • Level: 3

1 title1 cupDomestic leagues →

Football/Soccer • Germany

Fortuna Köln

Cologne • Level: 3

No titlesDomestic leagues →

Football/Soccer • Germany

Viktoria Köln

Cologne • Level: 3

No titlesDomestic leagues →

W Football/Soccer • Frauen-Bundesliga

1. FC Köln Women

Cologne

W Football/Soccer • Frauen-Bundesliga

Bayer 04 Leverkusen Women

Leverkusen

Other Men’s Teams5 teams

American Football • American Football League Europe

Rhein Fire

Dusseldorf

Basketball • Int'l Basketball

Phoenix Hagen

Hagen

Basketball • Int'l Basketball

Telekom Baskets Bonn

Bonn

Hockey • Minor/Jr/Int'l Hockey

Krefeld Pinguine

Krefeld

Hockey • Minor/Jr/Int'l Hockey

Kölner Haie

Cologne

Defunct/Relocated Teams2 teams

American Football • NFL Europe • Defunct

Rhein Fire

1995–2007

2 World Bowls5 WB apps

Also: Birmingham Fire (Birmingham (AL), 1991–1992)

American Football • NFL Europe • Defunct

Cologne Centurions

2004–2007

No World Bowls

Major Sporting Events

Championship Finals1 event

2004 Champions League Final

Football Final

2004 • Gelsenkirchen

Complete Event Timeline1 event

2004 Champions League Final

Championship Finals

2004 • Gelsenkirchen

Against expectation how Rhine-Ruhr’s teams have done against the odds they went in with.
  • German top-flight clubs based here have beaten their pre-match odds by 11.6 match points across 13,262 club-matches since 1963, across 16 clubs.

How this is measured →

Championship History

37 titles

Every major championship won by a team while it represented Rhine-Ruhr, across all sports, newest first. 37 in total. Each links to the team and the competition's full honour roll.

Bayer Leverkusen
2024· 2024-05-18
Bundesliga
Borussia Dortmund
2012· 2012-05-05
Bundesliga
Borussia Dortmund
2011· 2011-05-14
Bundesliga
FCR Duisburg
2009· 2009-05-22
UEFA Women's Cup
Borussia Dortmund
2002· 2002-05-04
Bundesliga
Borussia Dortmund
1998· 1997-12-02
Intercontinental Cup
Borussia Dortmund
1997· 1997-05-28
Champions League
FC Schalke 04
1997· 1997-05-21
UEFA Cup
Borussia Dortmund
1996· 1996-05-18
Bundesliga
Borussia Dortmund
1995· 1995-06-17
Bundesliga
TUSEM Essen
1989· 1989-04-30
Handball-Bundesliga
Bayer Leverkusen
1988· 1988-05-18
UEFA Cup

Top Companies

12 companies
1Aldi
$363B
Private
2REWE Group
$299B
Private
3Deutsche Telekom
$140B
Public
4DHL Group (Deutsche Post)
$74B
Public
5Bayer
$56B
Public
6E.ON
$56B
Public
7Rheinmetall
$54B
Public
8RWE
$50B
Public
9Henkel
$36B
Public
10Hochtief
$32B
Public
11Uniper
$20B
Public
12Vonovia
$15B
Public

Total Market Cap: $1.3T across 22 companies

Source data as of October 31, 2026 (companiesmarketcap.com)

Cultural Assets

Cultural Events

Annual Events

Cologne Karneval

Cologne • Parade

Gamescom

Cologne • Trade Show

Notable One-off Events

2017 COP 23 Conference

Bonn • International Summit

2011 Eurovision Song Contest

Merkur Spiel-Arena • Music Event

2005 World Youth Day

Cologne • Religious Celebrations

Notable Museums & Landmarks

Museums & Galleries2 items

House of the History

Bonn • History

Deutsches Museum Bonn

Bonn • Science

Performing Arts Venues1 item

Cologne Philharmonie

Cologne • Concert Hall

Parks, Zoos & Theme Parks3 items

Phantasialand

Brühl • Theme Park

Cologne Zoo

Cologne • Zoo

Zoologischer Garten Wuppertal

Wuppertal • Zoo

Landmarks & Civic2 items

Cologne Cathedral

Cologne • Religious site

CentrO

Oberhausen • Shopping

Languages of Rhine-Ruhr

German first in North Rhine-Westphalia; 1 languages hold a role.

RoleLanguage
De factoGerman
AdministrativeGerman
NationalGerman
English reach, North Rhine-Westphalia
64%
Tier 3 country
Effective working languages
1.85
Rank 25 of 43; 2 working languages in Germany

North Rhine-Westphalia on the languages board · Language power

Sound of Rhine-Ruhr

#156 by artist origin · combined 9.1 (US 0.8 / UK 2.7) · signature decade 2020s · Full sound profile →

Top artists: Kraftwerk, Kim Petras, Sash!, Can

Number-one singles by Rhine-Ruhr artists2

Screen of Rhine-Ruhr

#74 by film pedigree · score 54.7 · 10 people in a century of top-grossing films and Oscar nominations · Full screen profile →

Leading figures: Luise Rainer, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Wim Wenders, Frances H. Flaherty, Frederick Stephani

Art of Rhine-Ruhr

#30 for celebrated art · 40 canon works in its museums

The Art hub →

Leading museums: Wallraf–Richartz Museum, Museum Folkwang, Museum Ludwig

16 notable artists born here, most in the 1800s: Max Ernst, Josef Albers, Albert Bierstadt

Education & Research

Top 2000 Universities8 entries
#123

University of Bonn

Bonn, Germany

#189

University of Cologne

Cologne, Germany

#316

University of Duisburg-Essen

Duisburg, Germany

#323

Ruhr University Bochum

Bochum, Germany

#385

University of Düsseldorf

Düsseldorf, Germany

#588

Technical University of Dortmund

Dortmund, Germany

#907

University of Wuppertal

Wuppertal, Germany

#1669

Witten/Herdecke University

Witten, Germany

Top 250 Hospitals4 entries

Uniklinik Köln

Cologne • Hospital

Universitätsklinikum Bonn

Bonn • Hospital

Universitätsklinikum Düsseldorf

Düsseldorf • Hospital

Universitätsklinikum Essen

Essen • Hospital

Notable Infrastructure

Airport4 entries

Düsseldorf Airport

Düsseldorf • 2 - Major International

Cologne/Bonn Airport

Cologne/Bonn • 3 - International

Weeze Airport

Weeze • 4 - Regional

Dortmund Airport

Dortmund • 4 - Regional

Notable Train Hubs5 entries

Köln Hauptbahnhof

Cologne • Intercity Rail Hub

Düsseldorf Hauptbahnhof

Düsseldorf • Intercity Rail Hub

Essen Hbf

Essen • Intercity Rail Hub

Duisburg Hbf

Duisburg • Intercity Rail Hub

Dortmund Hbf

Dortmund • Intercity Rail Hub

Metro System (606 stations)6 entries

Bochum Stadtbahn

Bochum • 21 stations

Bonn Stadtbahn

Bonn • 81 stations

Cologne Stadtbahn

Cologne • 235 stations

Dortmund Stadtbahn

Dortmund • 125 stations

Düsseldorf Stadtbahn

Düsseldorf • 99 stations

Essen Stadtbahn

Essen • 45 stations

Suburban Rail (246 stations)2 entries

Cologne S-Bahn

Ruhr/Cologne/Dusseldorf • 65 stations

Rhein-Ruhr S-Bahn

Ruhr/Cologne/Dusseldorf • 181 stations

Trade Venue3 entries

Koelnmesse

Cologne • Trade Venue

Messe Düsseldorf

Düsseldorf • Trade Venue

Messe Essen

Essen • Trade Venue

Luxury Hospitality

2 properties
2-Star Michelin2 entries

Hansa-Stube

Cologne

Ox & Klee

Cologne