Cities are (still) a pretty cool thing…

Metadata

  • Author: Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA)
  • Category: pdf
  • URL: population.un.org/wup/asset…

Highlights

  1. The world has become increasingly urban; more people live in cities today than in towns or rural areas.

  2. The number of “megacities” (10 million inhabitants or more) continues to grow; over half are in Asia.

  3. More people live in small and medium-sized cities than in megacities; many of these smaller settlements are among the fastest growing, especially in Africa and Asia.

  4. Growth of the world’s city population between now and 2050 will be concentrated in seven countries.

  5. City population growth is uneven; most cities are growing, but thousands have shrinking populations.

  6. Towns are home to more than a third of humanity and are critical for sustainable development.

  7. As the world’s rural population approaches its peak size, it faces unprecedented challenges.

  8. The expansion of built-up areas is outpacing population growth worldwide.

  9. The Degree of Urbanization methodology reveals the world is more urbanized than national statistics suggest.

  10. Sustainable development requires integrated planning that treats cities, towns and rural areas as interconnected and interdependent.