Furthermore, “megacities” (metropolitan areas with 10 million or more inhabitants) will continue to expand, while rural areas will continue to shrink, except in sub-Saharan Africa.
‘A defining force’
These are some of the findings in the World urbanization outlook 2025: summary of resultspublished on Tuesday by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA).
It comes as countries negotiate climate action commitments at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, and underlines the critical role of urbanization in achieving sustainable development and climate resilience.
“Urbanization is a defining force of our time. When managed inclusively and strategically, it can unlock transformative pathways for climate action, economic growth, and social equity.”said Li Junhua, director of UNDESA.
“To achieve balanced territorial development, countries must adopt integrated national policies that align housing, land use, mobility and public services in urban and rural areas.”
Megacities on the rise
The report documents a The number of megacities has quadrupled since 1975.from eight to 33. Nineteen of them are in Asia.
Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta – home to almost 42 million people – is the most populous city in the world, followed by Dhaka, Bangladesh, with almost 40 million people, and Tokyo, Japan, with 33 million.
Egypt’s capital, Cairo, is the only city outside Asia to make the top 10.
The list of megacities is This is expected to increase to 37 by 2050. as the populations of Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Hajipur (India) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) are on track to surpass the 10 million mark.
Small but mighty
Around the world, more people live in small and medium-sized cities, which are growing at a faster rate than megacities, particularly in Africa and Asia.
The experts analyzed about 12,000 cities. The majority, 96 percent, have less than a million inhabitants, while 81 percent have less than 250,000.
He The total number of cities has more than doubled since 1975.and projections indicate that it could exceed 15,000 by mid-century, with most cities having populations of less than 250,000.
Divergent growth patterns
Although many cities continue to expand, the report reveals that others are experiencing population decline.
“Some cities’ populations are shrinking even as their countries’ populations grow.while others are growing despite the national population decline,” he said.
Most of the shrinking cities had fewer than 250,000 inhabitants in 2025. More than a third are in China and 17 percent in India.
However, Mexico City and Chengdu, China, are among very large cities that have also experienced population declines.
Towns and rural areas
Meanwhile, cities – defined as those with at least 5,000 inhabitants – are the most common type of settlement in more than 70 countries, a diverse group that includes Germany, India, Uganda and the United States.
Rural areas remain the most common settlement type in 62 countries, compared to 116 in 1975, and that number is expected to continue to decline to 44 in 2050.
Sub-Saharan Africa is the only region that continues to experience growth in this regard and is expected to account for almost all future rural population growth.