Looking at the percentage of the world’s population that lives in urban areas, a 2003 bar chart gives us a glimpse into the past, and also provides a forecast for 2030. Well-known as being highly urbanised, North America and South America had the highest levels of urbanisation in both years, but Africa and Asia were the least urbanised of the five regions.
In 2003 approximately 47% of the world’s population resided in cities and the continent of Europe and South America had, in relatively close proximity, 72% and 75% urbanisation. North America stood out as the most urbanised region at roughly 78%. On the other hand, Africa and Asia had much lower rates of urbanisation at roughly 38% and 42% respectively.
By 2030, we are expecting a significant rise in the urban population, and with this growth, our forecast, shows that the average for the world will be almost 60%, and that for Africa and Asia, 50% each. Europe, South America and North America will not be far behind, will have urban populations approximately 76%, 82% and 80% respectively.