Jakarta Now World’s Largest City, Tokyo Drops to Third, United Nations Report Says

According to a new report by the United Nations, Jakarta has overtaken Tokyo to become the world’s most populous city, with around 41.9 million people now living in its metropolitan area, a dramatic shift in global urban demographics.

Just behind Jakarta is Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital, home to an estimated 36.6 million people, making it the world’s second-largest city in 2025. Meanwhile, Tokyo, which had held the top position for decades, now ranks third with a population of roughly 33.4 million, reflecting slower growth and population stagnation in recent years.

The UN report highlights that urbanization is accelerating rapidly worldwide: the number of “megacities” (urban areas with more than 10 million residents) has soared from eight in 1975 to 33 in 2025, with 19 of those in Asia alone.

Other major cities in the 2025 top-ten list include New Delhi, India (≈ 30.2 million), Shanghai, China (≈ 29.6 million), Guangzhou, China (≈ 27.6 million), Manila, Philippines (≈ 24.7 million), Kolkata, India (≈ 22.5 million), and Seoul, South Korea (≈ 22.5 million). Among these, only one Cairo lies outside Asia, indicating the overwhelming concentration of population growth in Asian urban hubs.

The findings underscore a profound transformation: nearly 45 % of the world’s 8.2 billion people now live in urban areas, up from just about 20 % in 1950, driven by demographic growth, migration, and expanding metropolitan boundaries.

However, the shift also brings huge challenges. Rapid population growth in megacities like Jakarta and Dhaka raises urgent questions about infrastructure capacity, housing, environment, public services, congestion, and disaster-preparedness issues that will define global urban policy in the coming decades.

Source- Al Jazeera, The Guardian, The Times of India