The bar chart compares urban population increase in 3 regions and in the whole world from the years 1950 to 2000 and shows the projected growth by 2030.
Overall, the proportion of the population living in cities rose in 2000 compared with 1950 in all regions and around the world as a whole. It is forecasted to rise further by 2030.
In 1950, the percentage of urban dwellers in the world stood at 30%, but by 2000 almost half of the world’s population lived in urban centres. By 2030 the figure is expected to rise to 60%. Latin America had the highest proportion of people living in towns and cities, increasing from about 40% in 1950 to 70% in 2000, with a predicted further increase to 80% by the year 2030.
The figures and trends for Africa and Asia are similar. In Africa, about 11% of the population were metropolitan inhabitants in 1950, compared with 12% in Asia. By the start of the new milennium, this figure increased to almost 40% on both continents. Lastly, in the subsequent three decades, the figures are projected to reach 50% in Africa and 55% in Asia, respectively.