Last edited 02 Mar 2022

Cosmopolitan

In very broad terms, the word “cosmopolitan” refers to something that has experience of, or includes people, from a wide range of different parts of the world. It might be considered to be the antonym of “provincial”.

It is derived from "cosmos" (universe) and "politês" (citizen).

A cosmopolitan person may have experiences of a range of different places and cultures and is to some extent comfortable in or with all of them, as well as crossing the borders between them – recognising that they all have equal value.

A city might be considered cosmopolitan if its inhabitants interact freely despite being from a wide range of backgrounds and places and having varied belief systems. Cosmopolitan cities are diverse but harmonious.

An article by WorldAtlas in 2018, considered the most cosmopolitan cites in the word were:

  1. Dubai.
  2. Brussels.
  3. Toronto.
  4. Auckland.
  5. Sydney.
  6. Los Angeles.
  7. Singapore.
  8. London.
  9. New York.
  10. Melbourne.
  11. Amsterdam.
  12. Frankfurt.
  13. Paris.

Cosmopolitanism is a philosophy based on the idea that people are all members of a single global community – they are "world citizens".

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