More Than Half The World Now Lives In Cities

This is according to a report recently released by the United Nations.

Managing urban areas has become one of the most important development challenges of the 21st century.

The report notes that in 1990, there were ten “mega-cities” with 10 million inhabitants or more, which were home to 153 million people or slightly less than seven per cent of the global urban population at that time.

In 2014, there are 28 mega-cities worldwide, home to 453 million people or about 12 percent of the world’s urban dwellers. Of today’s 28 mega-cities, sixteen are located in Asia, four in Latin America, three each in Africa and Europe, and two in Northern America.

Today
Tokyo remains the world’s largest city with 38 million inhabitants, followed by Delhi with 25 million, Shanghai with 23 million, and Mexico City, Mumbai and São Paulo, each with around 21 million inhabitants. Osaka has just over 20 million, followed by Beijing with slightly less than 20 million. The New York-Newark area and Cairo complete the top ten most populous urban areas with around 18.5 million inhabitants each.
By 2030, the world is projected to have 41 mega-cities with 10 million inhabitants or more.

Tokyo will still be largest city in 2030

2030 Projections
Although Tokyo’s population is projected to decline, it will remain the world’s largest city in 2030 with 37 million inhabitants, followed closely by Delhi, whose population is projected to rise swiftly to 36 million in 2030. While Osaka and New York-Newark were the world’s second and third largest urban areas in 1990, by 2030 they are projected to fall in rank to the 13th and 14th positions, respectively, as mega-cities in developing countries become more prominent.

By 2050, the vast majority of the world’s megacities will be in Asia.

What about Singapore? 
Well, we should think about the future of Singapore.  When the Government put out that infamous White Paper of 6million population, the local people screamed and yelled.  But just look at the world around us. Mega-cities are growing rapidly and many more big cities are coming online.

Do we need to become a mega-city as well?  Is there some magic in the 10 million number that gives a mega-city its edge?   The current top global cities in the world like New York and London are also very large.

Since Singapore is such a great place to be in, maybe we should just ramp up infrastructure in a huge way and hope that more people will come here to work and play.

Do not forget that in this world of 7, 8 or 9 billion people as well as many large, huge and mega-cities, even staying relevant would become a challenge to our little red dot.

Happy Investing!