Population Reports' Q&As

Meeting the Urban Challenge

An Urban Future

Does most of the world's urban population live in big cities or in smaller urban settlements?

Most of the world's urban population lives in smaller urban settlements, not the largest urban agglomerations. In 2000 about 37% of the world's urban population lived in cities of 1 million or more; 53% lived in urban centers with fewer than 500,000 inhabitants. The UN projects that the largest share of the increase in the urban population through 2015 will be in such smaller urban areas, reflecting both population growth and reclassification of rural areas to urban (131).

Disclaimer: The information provided on this web site is not official U.S. Government information and does not represent the views or positions of the U.S. Agency for International Development or the U.S. Government.