The coming decades will see the growth of colossal mega-cities as the world’s population increasingly moves into urban environments. A new United Nations report on Wednesday predicts that two-thirds of world population will live in cities by 2050, notably in China, India and Nigeria.
Today, 55% of the world’s population is urban, a figure which is expected to grow to 68% by 2050, with the addition of 2.5 billion new city residents, according to projections by the Population Division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
Tokyo is currently the world’s largest city with 37 million people, followed by Delhi with 29 million, Shanghai with 26 million, and Mexico City and São Paulo, each with around 22 million inhabitants. Cairo, Mumbai, Beijing and Dhaka all have close to 20 million inhabitants.
However, Delhi will overtake Tokyo in top spot by around 2028, the report said. At about the same time, India is expected to surpass China as the country with the world’s largest total population.
There will also be more megacities. In 1990 there were just 10 megacities, classed as places with populations of 10 million or more. There are now 33 megacities and by 2030, 43 megacities are projected, mostly in developing countries.
But, a few cities in Japan and South Korea, for example, Nagasaki and Busan have experienced population decline since 2000. Several cities in eastern Europe, such as in Poland, Romania, Russia and Ukraine, have lost population since the turn of the century.
“Many countries will face challenges in meeting the needs of their growing urban populations, including for housing, transportation, energy systems and other infrastructure; as well as for employment and basic services such as education and healthcare,” the U.N. report noted.
However, urbanisation could be seen as positive, said John Wilmoth, director of the population division.
“The increasing concentration of people in cities provides a way of more economically providing services,” he said. “We find that urban populations have better access to health care and education.”
World Urbanization Prospects
Will You Support Our Work?
People turns to WhatsOn to understand what's goingOn? We have been empowering through hope & understanding for the last forty years. We’re an independent social enterprise & our journalism is powered by our supporters. Financial contributions from our readers allows us to keep our journalism free for all & to change the world for better. Please support us, with your donation - no matter how small. Your donation makes a real difference, it empowers our activist & academy, and engages wider community groups, & universities - connecting more people. WhatsOn is a change maker, let’s get our future back together!
