More than half of the world population now lives in urban areas: UN report

Around 54 per cent of the world’s population currently lives in urban areas, a UN survey report released on Thursday said.

According to 2014 revision of the World urbanisation Prospects report, prepared by the Population Division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, world population living in urban areas is expected to increase from 54 per cent to 66 per cent by 2050 as additional 2.5 billion people are predicted to live in urban areas by 2050.

Highlighting on the need for a successful urban planning agenda and greater attention to be given to smaller cities where nearly half of all people currently reside, the projections by the report indicate that urbanisation combined with overall growth will contribute to the 2.5 billion jump, with 37 per cent of the projected growth in India, which currently has the largest rural population, China and Nigeria, in that order.

New Delhi, which is currently the world’s second most populous city with 25 million inhabitants, is expected to retain its spot through at least 2030, when its population is projected to reach 36 million.

Population of Tokyo, the world’s most populous city, is expected to decline to 37 million from current 38 million by 2030, but would remain at top of the list of most populous city. Shanghai with 23 million inhabitants, and Mexico City, Mumbai and Sao Paolo, each with 21 million inhabitants, followed by Osaka with just over 20 million people, round up the top five spots.

It is predicted that the future demography would change, with these so-called ‘mega-cities’ falling in rank as relatively smaller urban cities, particularly in developing countries, gain in population.

The most urbanised regions rights now include Northern America, where 82 per cent of the population lives in urban areas, followed by Latin America and the Caribbean with 80 per cent, and 73 per cent in Europe.

By contrast, Africa and Asia remain mostly rural, housing nearly 90 per cent of the world’s rural population. However the Urbanisation is on the rise in Asia and Africa. 56 per cent population in Africa and 64 in Asia is expected to be living the urban areas by the year 2050, which is currently 40 and 48 per cent respectively.

“These countries will face numerous challenges in meeting the needs of their growing urban populations,” the report authors said, including for housing, infrastructure, transportation, energy and employment, as well as for basic services such as education and health care.

“Managing urban areas has become one of the most important development challenges of the 21st century,” said John Wilmoth, Director of the Population Division, who spoke to the press at headquarters today, along with François Pelletier, Chief of the Population Estimates and Projections Section. “Our success or failure in building sustainable cities will be a major factor in the success of the post-2015 UN development agenda.”

The new addenda, which the international community is currently crafting, is intended to build on the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which set specific targets on poverty alleviation, education, gender equality, child and maternal health, environmental stability, HIV/AIDS reduction, and a global partnership for development – all by a deadline of 2015.

The authors of the report noted that “well managed, cities offer important opportunities for economic development and for expanding access to basic services, including health care and education, for large numbers of people.” They further added that provision of public goods, such as public transportation, housing, electricity, water and sanitation for a densely settled urban population is typically cheaper and less environmentally damaging than providing a similar level of services to a dispersed rural population.