UN World Population Prospects 2025 : Jakarta Tops as Most Populous City, New Delhi Ranks Fourth

In November 2025, the Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), released the “World Urbanization Prospects 2025”, highlighting a dramatic increase in the number of megacities (urban areas with over 10 million (mn) inhabitants).

• Jakarta(Indonesia) has become the world’s most populous city with 41.9 million residents, while Dhaka(Bangladesh) and Tokyo(Japan), rank second and third with 36.6 million and 33.4 million inhabitants, respectively.
• New Delhi, India, ranks fourth among the world’s most populous cities, with a population of 30.2 million.

About World Urbanization Prospects 2025:

Overview: The WUP 2025 is the 22nd edition of the series. It provides annual population estimates for the period 1950–2025 and projections up to 2050.

• The WUP 2025 presents estimates and projections for 237 countries and areas of the world.
• The minimum population threshold for cities has been lowered from 300,000 to 50,000 inhabitants, resulting in an increase in the number of cities analyzed to over 12,000.

Methodology: For the first time, the 2025 edition of the World Urbanization Prospects presents population estimates and projections for three “Degree of Urbanization” categories: cities, towns and rural areas.

New Assessment Measures: The latest assessment incorporated significant methodological changes as the UN adopted new measures, intended to address inconsistencies in how various countries defined urbanisation.

• The new definition specifies a city as a “contiguous agglomeration” of one-kilometre-square grid cells possessing a minimum density of 1,500 inhabitants per square kilometre and a total population of at least 50,000.

Top 5 Most Populous Cities in 2025:

Key Highlights:

Shifts in Global City Rankings: Tokyo has dropped to third place, having previously been the world’s largest city in the UN’s 2000 assessment.

Other Top 10 Most Populous Cities: Shanghai(China), ranks fifth with 29.6 million residents, while Guangzhou(China), is sixth with 27.6 million.

• Cairo(Egypt), the only non-Asian city in the top ten, is seventh with 25.56 million, followed by Manila(Philippines), with 24.7 million.
• Kolkata(West Bengal, WB), and Seoul, South Korea, both have populations of 22.5 million, ranking ninth and tenth, respectively.

Rising Urbanization: The world is becoming increasingly urban, with cities now accommodating 45% of the global population of 8.2 billion, more than double the share in 1950.

• The number of megacities, cities with populations of 10 million or more , has quadrupled, rising from 8 in 1975 to 33 in 2025, with 9 of the 10 most populous cities located in Asia, and is projected to reach 37 by 2050.
• The report highlights rapid urban growth in Asia and Africa, reflecting a global shift in population distribution toward urban centres.

Small and medium-sized cities: As per the report, the majority of the world’s urban population resides not in megacities, but in small and medium-sized urban centres that play a critical role in shaping sustainable urban development.

• Among the world’s 12,000 cities, 96% have fewer than 1 mn inhabitants, and 81% have populations below 250,000.

Rural Trend: Rural areas remain the predominant settlement type in 62 countries today, down from 116 in 1975, and are projected to decline further to 44 countries by 2050.

• As of 2025, the proportion of people living in towns has reached 44% in India

Towns: Towns, defined as population clusters of at least 5,000 inhabitants and a density of at least 300 people per square kilometre (sq.km), are the most common settlement type in 71 countries as diverse as Germany, India, Uganda, and the United States of America (USA).

About United Nations Department of Economic & Social Affairs (UN-DESA):
Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs – Li Junhua
Headquarters- New York, the United States of America (USA)
Established- 1948