Urbanization: Facts and Figures

Total Population Growth In 2000, world population reached 6.1 billion, and is growing at an annual rate of 1.2 per cent, or 77 million people per year. In 1950, 6 ! of the world"s population was in de#eloping countries, with ! in least de#eloped countries. $y 20%0, it is e&pected that 5! of the world"s population will be in de#eloping countries, with 15! in '()s. *he other side of the coin is that the percentage of the world"s population that li#es in de#eloped countries is declining, from %2! in 1950 to an e&pected 15! in 20%0. $y 2050, the number of persons older than 60 years will more than triple, from 606 million today to nearly 2 billion. *he number of persons o#er 0 years of age will increase e#en more, from 69 million in 2000 to %79 million in 2050, more than a fi#e+fold increase. Ubanization: Global Facts and Figures In 1 00, only 2! of the world"s population was urbanised In 1950, only %0! of the world population was urban. In 2000, ,7!. of the world population was urban -ore than half of the world"s population will be li#ing in urban areas by 200 $y 20%0, it is e&pected that 60! of the world population will li#e in urban areas. .lmost 1 0,000 people are added to the urban population each day It is estimated that there are almost a billion poor people in the world, of this o#er 750 million li#e in urban areas without ade/uate shelter and basic ser#ices. Urbanization: Regional Comparisons *he population in urban areas in less de#eloped countries will grow from 1.9 billion in 2000 to %.9 billion in 20%0. $ut in de#eloped countries, the urban population is e&pected to increase #ery slowly, from 0.9 billion in 2000 to 1 billion in 20%0. *he o#erall growth rate for the world for that period is 1 per cent, while the growth rate for urban areas is nearly double, or 1. percent. .t that rate, the world"s urban population will double in % years. 0rowth will be e#en more rapid in the urban areas of less de#eloped regions, a#eraging 2.% per cent per year, with a doubling time of %0 years. *he urbanisation process in de#eloped countries has stabilised with about 75! of the population li#ing in urban areas. $y 20%0, ,! of the population in de#eloped countries will be li#ing in urban areas. 'atin .merica and the )aribbean were 50! urbani1ed by 1960 but are now in the region of 75!. *hough .frica is predominantly rural, with only %7.% ! li#ing in urban areas in 1999, with a growth rate of ,. 7!, .frica is the continent with the fastest rate of urbanisation. In 1999, %6.2! of the .sian population was urbanised and the urban growth rate is in the region of %.77! *he urban population of de#eloping countries is e&pected to reach 50! in 2020.

$y 20%0, .sia and .frica will both ha#e higher numbers of urban dwellers than any other ma2or area of the world.

3rban .gglomerations, or -ore -ega )ities In 1950, there was only one city with a population of o#er 10 million inhabitants4 5ew 6or7 )ity. $y 2015, it is e&pected that there will be 2% cities with a population o#er 10 million. 8f the 2% cities e&pected to reach 10 million plus by 2015, 19 of them will be in de#eloping countries. In 2000 there were 22 cities with a population of between 5 and 10 million9 there were ,02 cities with a population of 1 to 5 million9 and ,%% cities in the .5 to 1 million category.

1950
1. 5ew 6or7 12.%

1975
1. *o7yo 2. 5ew 6or7 %. :hanghai ,. -e&ico )ity 5. :ao ;aulo 19. 15.9 11., 11.2 10.0

2000
1. *o7yo 2. -e&ico )ity %. $ombay ,. :ao ;aulo 5. 5ew 6or7 6. 'agos 7. 'os .ngeles . )alcutta 9. :hanghai 10. $uenos .ires 11. (ha7a 12. <arachi 1%. (elhi 1,. =a7arta 15. 8sa7a 16. -etro -anila 17. $ei2ing 1 . >io de =aneiro 19. )airo 26., 1 .1 1 .1 17. 16.6 1%., 1%.1 12.9 12.9 12.6 12.% 11. 11.7 11.0 11.0 10.9 10. 10.6 10.6

2015
1. *o7yo 2. $ombay %. 'agos ,. (ha7a 5. :ao ;aulo 6. <arachi 7. -e&ico )ity . 5ew 6or7 9. =a7arta 10. )alcutta 11. (elhi 12. -etro -anila 1%. :hanghai 1,. 'os .ngeles 15. $uenos .ires 16. )airo 17. Istanbul 1 . $ei2ing 19. >io de =aneiro 20. 8sa7a 21. *ian2in 22. ?yderabad 2%. $ang7o7 26., 26.1 2%.2 21.1 20., 19.2 19.2 17., 17.% 17.% 16. 1,. 1,.6 1,.1 1,.1 1%. 12.5 12.% 11.9 11.0 10.7 10.5 10.1

For further information, please contact 14 Mr. Sharad Shankardass, Spokesperson, or Ms. Zahra Hassan, Press & Media Liaison, Press & Media Relations Unit, Tel: (254 2 !2"#5"$!2"#5#, %a&: (254 2 !24'!', ()*ail: ha+itat.press,-nha+itat.or., /e+site: 000.-nha+itat.or.

35?:;@$.:I):1@02