The world's 10 biggest cities in 2050
Posted by Michelle Cholak on February 29, 2016
The global population will grow at an unprecedented rate in the next century and research is being conducted by UOIT associate professor Daniel Hoornweg and Memorial University assistant professor Kevin Pope for the Global Cities Institute on city populations where the most growth is projected to take place.
Tech Insider recently showcased Hoornweg and Pope's research, outlining which ten cities will be home to the largest populations in 2050:
Today, Tokyo is the most populous city in the world, with about 38 million residents. None of the 10 most populous cities in the world are in Africa, and only two (Sao Paulo and Mexico City) are in Latin America.
But in the next three decades, that's going to change.
Based on population growth models, the Global Cities Institute at the University of Toronto projects these will be the 10 biggest cities in 2050:
10. Mexico City, Mexico: 24.3 million people
9. New York, United States: 24.8 million people
8. Karachi, Pakistan: 31.7 million people
7. Tokyo, Japan: 32.6 million people
6. Lagos, Nigeria: 32.6 million people
5. Kolkata, India: 33 million people
4. Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo: 35 million people
3. Dhaka, Bangladesh: 35.2 million people
2. Delhi, India: 36.2 million people
1. Mumbai, India: 42.4 million people
According to Hoornweg and Pope, humanity is on an inexorable urbanization path that largely originated in 19th century Europe, America and parts of Asia, and will likely culminate in Africa by the end of this century's research. They expect the global population to reach 7.5 - 8.3 billion people in 2025, 8.2 - 9.9 billion in 2050, 7.9 - 11.4 billion in 2075 and 6.9 - 13.1 billion in 2100. Hoornweg and Pope's population projections for the world's largest cities throughout the end of the century are outlined here.
Filed under: Sustainability 101
