India, along with six other countries, is set to contribute over half of all new urban residents by the middle of the century, according to the World Urbanisation Prospects 2025 released by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
The report estimates that India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Bangladesh and Ethiopia will together add more than 500 million people to the populations of their cities between 2025 and 2050.
These seven countries currently host nearly 30 per cent of the global population and “will shape the future growth of the city population”, the report added.
According to the report, cities around the world already house 45 per cent of the world’s 8.2 billion population, outnumbering both towns and rural areas. The UN projects that nearly two-thirds of all population growth to 2050 will take place in cities, reinforcing the increasing dominance of urban residence.
How are India and China positioned in this urban shift?
The report notes that India and China — the world’s two most populous nations — will continue to host the largest town-dwelling populations through to 2050. At present, 44 per cent of India’s population and 40 per cent of China’s live in towns, together accounting for over 1.2 billion people, or more than 40 per cent of the global town population.
Both countries also maintain sizeable city populations, nearing 1.2 billion combined this year, with China at 627 million and India at 589 million. Their city populations expanded rapidly from 1950 to 1975, but growth slowed after 1975 as fertility rates and overall population growth declined, the report said.
Despite the slowdown, however, cities have continued to grow faster than towns, reducing the proportion of people living in smaller urban areas. The report adds that each country still has more than 200 million rural residents, a number expected to remain broadly steady through 2050.
What explains the surge in megacities?
It further highlighted that most people still live in small and medium-sized cities, not megacities, although the number of megacities has soared from eight in 1975 to 33 today, with Asia hosting the majority. India alone has five megacities, while China has four.
“Most cities with shrinking populations have fewer than 250,000 inhabitants in 2025. More than one third are in China and another 17 per cent are in India,” it said, adding that growth and decline can occur simultaneously within countries.
What challenges do fast-growing cities face?
The report warns that the concentration of future city growth in the seven highlighted countries raises questions for planning, investment and climate resilience. “The success or failure of urbanisation in these key countries will shape global development outcomes. Their ability to manage city growth sustainably will have profound implications not only for their populations but also for global progress toward the
Sustainable Development Goals and climate objectives,” the report added.
While some countries are seeing a sharp rise in their city populations, several Eastern European nations — including Ukraine, Romania, Poland, the Republic of Moldova and Hungary — as well as Japan in East Asia, have recorded a substantial decline in urban population, the report noted.
 "India, six other nations to add 500 mn new city residents by 2050: UN")
