Baku: In 2025, the global urban population reached approximately 4.8 billion people. By 2050, this figure is projected to rise to 6.5 billion, Zehra Zmrt Sel§uk, Director General of the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries, said during the session titled 'Strengthening the Role of Small and Medium Enterprises as Key Actors in Building Sustainable, Inclusive and Resilient Cities' held within the framework of WUF13, APA reports.

According to Azeri-Press News Agency, Sel§uk highlighted the current situation in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries, where over 1.1 billion people live in urban centers. She noted that these cities will need to accommodate an additional 750 million people in the coming years.

She further explained that the share of OECD member countries in the global urbanization process is on the rise. While approximately one quarter of the world's urban population lived in OECD countries in 2025, this figure is expected to approach 30 percent by 2050. This indicates that urbanization trends in OECD member countries will develop more rapidly compared to other regions of the world.