Urbanization Facts

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%, or 77 million people per year.

· In 1950, 68% of the world’s population was in developing countries, with 8% in least developed countries.

· By 2030, it is expected that 85% of the world’s population will be in developing countries, with 15% in LDCs.

· The other side of the coin is that the percentage of the world’s population that lives in developed countries is declining, from 32% in 1950 to an expected 15% in 2030.

· By 2050, the number of persons older than 60 years will more than triple, from 606 million today to nearly 2 billion. The number of persons over 80 years of age will increase even more, from 69 million in 2000 to 379 million in 2050, more than a five-fold increase.

Ubanization: Global Facts and Figures
· In 1800, only 2% of the world’s population was urbanised

· In 1950, only 30% of the world population was urban.

· In 2000, 47%. of the world population was urban

· More than half of the world’s population will be living in urban areas by 2008

· By 2030, it is expected that 60% of the world population will live in urban areas.

· Almost 180,000 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 over 750
million live in urban areas without adequate shelter and basic services.

Urbanization: Regional Comparisons
· The population in urban areas in less developed countries will grow from 1.9 billion in 2000 to 3.9 billion in 2030.

· But in developed countries, the urban population is expected to increase very slowly, from 0.9 billion in 2000 to 1 billion in 2030.

· The overall growth rate for the world for that period is 1 per cent, while the growth rate for urban areas is nearly double, or 1.8 percent. At that rate, the world’s urban population will double in 38 years.

· Growth will be even more rapid in the urban areas of less developed regions, averaging 2.3 per cent per year, with a doubling time of 30 years.

· The urbanisation process in developed countries has stabilised with about 75% of the population living in urban areas. By 2030, 84% of the population in developed countries will be living in urban areas.

· Latin America and the Caribbean were 50% urbanized by 1960 but are now in the region of 75%.

· Though Africa is predominantly rural, with only 37.3 % living in urban areas in 1999, with a growth rate of 4.87%, Africa is the continent with the fastest rate of urbanisation.

· In 1999, 36.2% of the Asian population was urbanised and the urban growth rate is in the region of 3.77%

· The urban population of developing countries is expected to reach 50% in 2020.

· By 2030, Asia and Africa will both have higher numbers of urban dwellers than any other major area of the world.

Urban Agglomerations, or More Mega Cities
· In 1950, there was only one city with a population of over 10 million inhabitants: New York City.

· By 2015, it is expected that there will be 23 cities with a population over 10 million.

· Of the 23 cities expected to reach 10 million plus by 2015, 19 of them will be in developing countries.

· In 2000 there were 22 cities with a population of between 5 and 10 million; there were 402 cities with a population of 1 to 5 million; and 433 cities in the .5 to 1 million category.

This information found at http://www.unhabitat.org/downloads/docs/3160_99185_backgrounder5.doc

I also came across another really great site that has fact sheets and data tables. It is really interesting to see the changes and growth that has ocurred over the past years. I suggest you take a look. There is alot of good information on the site. The site is listed below:
http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/WUP2005/2005wup.htm