The Largest Stadiums in the World

The largest stadium in the world by capacity is the Rungrado 1st of May Stadium in Pyongyang, North Korea, which seats roughly 114,000 people. It dwarfs almost every other venue on earth and is used mainly for mass games, football matches and athletics rather than a single sport.

Ranking the world’s biggest stadiums is trickier than it sounds. Capacities change with renovations and safety rules, and historic venues once held far more standing spectators than modern seated ones. Here is the leaderboard of the largest stadiums in the world today, the biggest by sport, and the context behind the numbers. All figures are as of the 2025 season.

The record holder: Rungrado 1st of May Stadium

Opened in 1989 on Rungra Island in the Taedong River, the Rungrado 1st of May Stadium is a multi-purpose arena best known for hosting North Korea’s enormous choreographed mass-games spectacles. Its scalloped roof and vast bowl give it a capacity of around 114,000, comfortably the largest of any stadium in regular use. Because it is a state-run venue in a closed country, exact figures are hard to verify, but it is consistently ranked as the world’s biggest.

The full leaderboard of the largest stadiums

The table below ranks the largest stadiums in the world by capacity. Primary use is noted, since venues span several sports.

Rank	Capacity	Stadium	Location	Primary use
1	~114,000	Rungrado 1st of May Stadium	Pyongyang, North Korea	Multi-purpose
2	132,000	Narendra Modi Stadium	Ahmedabad, India	Cricket
3	107,601	Michigan Stadium	Ann Arbor, USA	American football
4	106,572	Beaver Stadium	University Park, USA	American football
5	102,780	Ohio Stadium	Columbus, USA	American football
6	102,733	Kyle Field	College Station, USA	American football
7	102,321	Tiger Stadium	Baton Rouge, USA	American football
8	101,915	Neyland Stadium	Knoxville, USA	American football
9	100,077	Bryant-Denny Stadium	Tuscaloosa, USA	American football
10	100,024	Melbourne Cricket Ground	Melbourne, Australia	Cricket / Australian football

The Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, rebuilt in 2020, actually seats more than Rungrado on paper at about 132,000, and some databases now list it as the world’s largest. Because its enormous capacity is a recent addition and figures are still settling, the North Korean venue is more commonly cited as the traditional record holder, with Ahmedabad the largest cricket ground.

The biggest by sport

Different sports crown different giants. Michigan Stadium (the Big House) is the largest in the United States and the biggest venue built for American football. The Melbourne Cricket Ground, at about 100,000, is the largest in the Southern Hemisphere and one of sport’s most storied grounds. In football, Spain’s Camp Nou leads Europe with a capacity near 99,000 that is being pushed past 100,000 by renovation, while South Africa’s FNB Stadium is the largest in Africa.

Great venues are also the stage for record-setting athletic feats, from the sprinting of the fastest man in the world to the serving power of the fastest serves in tennis history.

How capacities have changed

The world’s biggest crowds actually predate today’s rankings. Brazil’s Maracana held an estimated 199,000 for the 1950 World Cup final, and old terraced grounds packed in standing spectators that modern all-seater safety rules no longer allow. As a result, current capacity lists reward newer, seated stadiums and shift constantly as venues are expanded or downsized. Future construction, including sites for the 2028 Olympics venues, continues to reshape the list.

Why the record matters

A stadium’s size is a statement of ambition, whether for a nation, a university or a football club. The Rungrado 1st of May Stadium stands at the top today, but the rankings are unusually fluid, blending politics, sport and architecture. That is what makes the list of the world’s largest stadiums endlessly debated.

The short version: the Rungrado 1st of May Stadium in North Korea is the world’s largest stadium in regular use at about 114,000, with India’s Narendra Modi Stadium (132,000) the largest cricket ground and Michigan Stadium (107,601) the biggest in the United States, as of the 2025 season.

Want more on the theme? Read The Highest-Attendance Sporting Events next.