Cities are on the rise
Nearly 70 percent will be urban by 2050, according to the 2009 revision of the United Nations’ ‘World Urbanization Prospects’ report. The milestone of 50 percent was achieved by 2008 - the number of people who inhabit the world’s cities ticked into the majority, for the first time ever.
The grow of Urbanites
The world population is expected to surpass nine billion and urban dwellers to surpass six billion. Two in three people born in the next 30 years will live in cities.
More recently, we have seen fast growth in Africa and, most spectacularly, in Asia.
World Urban Areas in April 2011
422 cities with population of over 1 million
205 cities with population of over 2 million
65 cities with population of over 5 million
27 cities with population of over 10 million
(Demographia, World Agglomerations, April 2011)
By 2025: 800 additional cities with 100,000+ inhabitants
(700 are in the developing world) (Urban Age Institute, 2011)
By 2015: 1,000 cities with more than 250,000 inhabitants
(Urban Age Institute, 2011)
The growth of urban dwellers
2009 2050
Africa 40% 62%
Asia 42% 65%
Central America 72% 84%
Europe 73% 84%
North America 82% 90%
Oceania 70% 75%
South America 84% 92%
(Source: UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs)