GLOBAL URBANIZATION: Percentage Urban and Size of Metropolitan Areas for 1970, 1990, 2014, and 2030 (projection)
Note the increasing urbanization of the world, along with the burgeoning size of cities, particularly in the Global South (Africa, Asia, Latin America and Middle East), where msot of the urban population increasingly lives. To take just one indicator, consider the number of megacities of over 10 million people, which increased from 3 in 1970 to 10 in 1990, 25 in 2014, and is projected to skyrocket to 39 in 2030. Here is the regional breakdown:
- 1970: 3 megacities – USA, 1; Japan, 2
- 1990: 10 megactiies – USA, 2; Latin America, 3; South Asia, 2; S. Korea, 1; and Japan, 2
- 2014: 25 megacities – USA, 2; Latin America, 4; Europe, 2; Russia, 1; Middle East, 2; Subsaharan Africa, 2; South Asia, 4; China, 4; Southeast Asia, 2; and Japan, 2
- 2030: 39 megacities – USA, 2; Latin America, 5; Europe, 2; Russia, 1; Middle East, 2; Subsaharan Africa, 5; South Asia, 10; China 5; Southeast Asia, 5; Japan, 2
Source: World Urbanization Prospects 2014, United Nations Population Division
from Stowe Boyd http://stoweboyd.com/post/134792656252
