The above line chart illustrates the percentage of urban population in four Asian countries from 1970 to 2020. Predicted values for 2030 and 2040 are also shown in the graph.
Overall, the urban population was fluctuating for Philippines and Thailand, while this very value kept steadily increasing in both Malaysia and Indonesia. Still, all four countries are predicted to have an immense rise in their human capital in the cities.
Looking back to 1970, the population of Philippine cities was just over 30% of the total, and that of Thai cities was slightly below 20%, respectively. In 1980 and 1990, both countries faced a minor increase in those values, following a comparative lull of below 50% for Philippines and 30% for Thailand until 2020. Nonetheless, the outlook for the future is optimistic for these Southeast Asian nations, as the Philippines is projected to have slightly over the half of its population living in the cities, while Thailand’s urban population is expected to rise from 35% in 2030 to 45% in 2040.
In that same year, 1970, 30% of Malaysian population was living in the cities, while slightly over 10% of the Indonesian population resided in urban areas. After a span of 20 years, both countries increased these values by approximately 15%. Moreover, by 2040, Malaysia is predicted to achieve the pick value of more than 80% of total population, whereas Indonesia rises significantly to charge of around 60%. For 2040, Thailand is expected to have the lowest percentage of urban population, with Malaysia’s urban population double that of Thailand’s, and Indonesia and the Philippines falling in between.