The bar chart provides information on the rates of urbanisation worldwide and across six countries in 1975, 2020 and with a forecast for 2050.
Looking from an overall perspective, a marked trend towards higher urbanisation can be seen almost universally across the globe, although variations in levels and rates are evident.
From 1975 to 2020, global urbanization increased from under 40% to 56%, and expected to exceed two-thirds by 2050. This rise has been primarily driven by Africa and Asia, which recorded the lowest urban populations of around a quarter in 1975. In 2020, the figure stood at 43% and 50% respectively. By 2050, a furher 15% increase is expected in these regions, which will still remained the least urbanised.
In contrast, North America, Europe and Latin America demonstrated some of the highest urbanisation rates and continue to grow, albeit slowly. In 1975, around three- quarters of people in North America and two- thirds of people in Europe lived in towns and cities, while by 2020, the rates had gone up by approximately 10 %. Similar increases can be seen in 2050, which means that North America will remain the most urbanised region, just below 90%. Latin America experienced accelerated growth from just over 60% in 1975 to just over 80 % in 2020, overtaking Europe and will reach around 87% by 2050.
Oceania however, shows minimal change, with urbanisation rate slightly declining by 2020 and expected to rise modestly by 2050, maintaining an average of around 70%.