Abu dhabi: Half of future urban population growth is expected to originate from seven countries, as revealed during the event titled 'Future Urbanization: How Will Your Cities Change in the Coming Decades?' This event was part of the 13th session of the World Urban Forum (WUF13), where Cheryl Sawyer, a representative of the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, shared key insights from the UN report 'World Urbanization Prospects 2025', APA reports.
According to Azeri-Press News Agency, the report highlights a significant increase in urbanization over the decades. Between 1950 and 2025, the proportion of the global population residing in cities rose from 20 percent to 45 percent. This shift coincided with the global population expanding from 2.5 billion to 8.2 billion, while the rural population's share decreased from 40 percent to 20 percent.
The report underscores that by 2050, two-thirds of the expected population growth will be concentrated in cities, with most of the remaining growth occurring in towns. The rural population is anticipated to decline after its peak in the 2040s. Utilizing the new 'Degree of Urbanization' methodology, Jakarta was identified as the world's largest city in 2025, overtaking Tokyo, which traditionally held this position.
The number of megacities has grown from 8 in 1975 to 33 in 2025, with predictions of reaching 37 by 2050. The five largest cities identified are Jakarta, Lagos, Tokyo, Cairo, and Delhi, while the majority of cities worldwide remain small and medium-sized. Out of 12,000 cities analyzed, 96 percent have populations under 1 million, and 81 percent are below 250,000. The report emphasizes that most population growth results from the expansion of existing cities rather than the emergence of new ones.
The report further reveals that nearly half of urban population growth from 2025 to 2050 will occur in seven countries: India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Egypt, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Bangladesh, and Ethiopia. The analysis of settlement structures indicates that in 104 countries, the majority population resides in cities; in 71 countries, towns dominate; while in 62 countries, rural areas prevail. Currently, 45 percent of the world's population lives in cities, 36 percent in towns, and 19 percent in rural regions, according to the UN report.