India among 7 countries to shape future growth of city population of world: UN

The United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA) in its report titled ‘The 'World Urbanisation Prospects 2025: Summary of Results’, has said that India is among seven countries that will shape the future growth of the city population of the world as they are expected to add more than 500 million city residents between 2025 and 2050, accounting for over half of the projected 986 million increase in the global number of city dwellers over that period. The success or failure of urbanisation in these key countries will shape global development outcomes. Their ability to manage city growth sustainably will have profound implications not only for their populations but also for global progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals and climate objectives.

It said that the world is becoming increasingly urban, with cities now home to 45 per cent of the global population of 8.2 billion. It noted that the growth of the world's city population between now and 2050 will be concentrated in seven countries: India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Bangladesh and Ethiopia. These seven countries, which host nearly one third (30 per cent) of the global population in 2025, will shape the future growth of the city population and are projected to contribute over half of the global growth of city dwellers by 2050.

The report said that the two most populous countries, India and China, will also have the largest populations residing in towns between now and 2050. As of 2025, the proportion of people living in towns has reached 44 per cent in India and 40 per cent in China. Together, India and China account for more than 1.2 billion town population, representing over 40 per cent of the population living in towns globally. However, both countries also have substantial city populations, with a combined population of nearly 1.2 billion (627 million in China and 589 million in India in 2025).

Between 1950 and 1975, both countries experienced rapid growth in their city populations, but this pace slowed between 1975 and 2000 and in subsequent years, largely due to declining fertility rates and slower overall population growth. Despite this deceleration, city population growth has outpaced town population growth, resulting in a decrease in the share of people living in towns. Each country still has more than 200 million people residing in rural areas, a figure that is expected to remain relatively stable through 2050.

The report said that the number of megacities quadrupled from eight in 1975 to 33 in 2025, with 19 in Asia. Projections indicate that there will be 37 megacities globally by 2050, as the populations of Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Dar es Salaam (United Republic of Tanzania), Hajipur (India) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) grow to over 10 million. Among the 33 megacities with 10 million inhabitants or more in 2025, 19 are in Asia. India alone has five megacities, and China has four. Worldwide, more than 3,000 cities experienced population decline between 2015 and 2025.