The bar charts present the population growth across five major metropolitan areas between 1970 and 2010, along with a detailed comparison of the population distribution between urban and rural regions.
Overall, it is clear from the graph that Tokyo had the largest resident over the period whereas the population growth in Jakarta and Bombay was faster than in the other cities. Moreover, the urban population surpassed than rural population.
In terms of individual cities, Tokyo remained the most populated city, reaching 28 million by 2010. Meanwhile Bombay showed the most significant increase, tripling from 6 million to 18 million. Shanghai experienced a noticeable rise from 12 million in 1970 to in 2010, accelerating notably after 1990. Similarly, Jakarta saw a steadily increase from 6 million to 19 million residents. New York’s population grew only slightly, from 14 million to 17 million.
Regarding urban and rural distribution, the urban population began at 3 billion and increased steadily peaking at 3.5 billion around 2000 before slight decrease by 2010. In contrast, the rural population rose more consistently, growing from 2 billion to 4 billion over the same period