Population Reports' Q&As

Meeting the Urban Challenge

An Urban Future

What are the criteria that most governments use to define urban settlements?

Most governments define urban settlements based on one or a combination of criteria, including:

• Population size,
• Population density, and
• Social and economic factors, such as the proportion of the labor force engaged in nonagricultural activities; the administrative or political status of a locality, such as national, provincial, or district capitals; or census designations (44).

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