Half world's people to live in cities by 2007
February 17, 2005 10:15 AM
Half world's people to live in cities by 2007
By Irwin ArieffUNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Half the world's population will live in cities in two years, a huge jump from the 30percent residing in urban areas in 1950, U.N. demographers have reported.Some 3.2 billion of the world's 6.5 billion people live in cities today, and the number will climb to 5 billion -- anestimated 61 percent of the global population -- by 2030, the U.N. Commission on Population and Development saidin a report on Wednesday.The number of very large urban areas was also rising, the commission said. Twenty cities now have 10 million ormore inhabitants, compared with just four -- Tokyo, New York-Newark, Shanghai and Mexico City -- in 1975 and justtwo -- New York-Newark and Tokyo -- in 1950.The five biggest cities today in population are Tokyo, with 35.3 million people, Mexico City (19.2 million), NewYork-Newark (18.5 million), Bombay (18.3 million) and Sao Paulo (18.3 million).The next 15 largest are Delhi, Calcutta, Buenos Aires, Jakarta, Shanghai, Dhaka, Los Angeles, Karachi, Rio deJaneiro, Osaka-Kobe, Cairo, Lagos, Beijing, metropolitan Manila and Moscow.By 2015, the five largest cities will be Tokyo, with 36.2 million residents, Bombay with 22.6 million, Delhi with 20.9million, Mexico City with 20.6 million and Sao Paulo with 20 million, it said.Despite the growing number of vast urban agglomerations, about half of all city dwellers live in far smaller urbanareas of fewer than 500,000 inhabitants, according to the report.Urban residence patterns vary depending on an area's development status, the commission found. Aboutthree-quarters of people in more developed regions lived in cities, while just 43 percent lived in them in less developedareas, it said.
Half world's people to live in cities by 2007
By Irwin ArieffUNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Half the world's population will live in cities in two years, a huge jump from the 30percent residing in urban areas in 1950, U.N. demographers have reported.Some 3.2 billion of the world's 6.5 billion people live in cities today, and the number will climb to 5 billion -- anestimated 61 percent of the global population -- by 2030, the U.N. Commission on Population and Development saidin a report on Wednesday.The number of very large urban areas was also rising, the commission said. Twenty cities now have 10 million ormore inhabitants, compared with just four -- Tokyo, New York-Newark, Shanghai and Mexico City -- in 1975 and justtwo -- New York-Newark and Tokyo -- in 1950.The five biggest cities today in population are Tokyo, with 35.3 million people, Mexico City (19.2 million), NewYork-Newark (18.5 million), Bombay (18.3 million) and Sao Paulo (18.3 million).The next 15 largest are Delhi, Calcutta, Buenos Aires, Jakarta, Shanghai, Dhaka, Los Angeles, Karachi, Rio deJaneiro, Osaka-Kobe, Cairo, Lagos, Beijing, metropolitan Manila and Moscow.By 2015, the five largest cities will be Tokyo, with 36.2 million residents, Bombay with 22.6 million, Delhi with 20.9million, Mexico City with 20.6 million and Sao Paulo with 20 million, it said.Despite the growing number of vast urban agglomerations, about half of all city dwellers live in far smaller urbanareas of fewer than 500,000 inhabitants, according to the report.Urban residence patterns vary depending on an area's development status, the commission found. Aboutthree-quarters of people in more developed regions lived in cities, while just 43 percent lived in them in less developedareas, it said.
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