Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. HOMEPAGE

Here Are The World's 21 Mega-Regions

Cities are the future of the world. Over half the world's population lives in cities, and by the middle of the century more than seven in 10 people will live in cities, according to the United Nations. Almost all this urban growth will take place in emerging economies.

Advertisement

This map from Citi Research shows the location and size of major cities around the world and the share of population in each country living in cities, based on U.N. data:

Citi Research City Map
Citi Research

Asia — especially China and India — has a huge number of cities, but their populations remain spread out, compared to the more urbanized Western Hemisphere and Europe.

The largest megacities — those with more than 10 million residents — are shown in the map as red circles. Below is a list of those largest cities with their approximate 2010 populations, from the UN's 2012/2013 "State of the World's Cities" report (PDF):

UN largest cities in the world table
UN Human Settlements Programme
Cities
Advertisement
Close icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. It indicates a way to close an interaction, or dismiss a notification.

Jump to

  1. Main content
  2. Search
  3. Account