Urbanization at a Turning Point: Key Insights from the World Urbanization Prospects 2025

UN DESA’s Population Division published the World Urbanization Prospects 2025, estimating and projecting urbanization for 237 countries and areas of the world for over 12,000 urban settlements with 50,000 inhabitants or more. This year’s report lowered the population threshold of what counts as cities from 300,000 to 50,000 inhabitants, dramatically increasing the number of cities included. This captures a more accurate analysis of global patterns and inclusive data, especially for smaller developing countries.

A Global Shift

The report finds that today, more people live in cities than either in towns or in rural areas. Cities now house the largest share of the global population at 45 percent in 2025, up from 20 percent in 1950. Between now and 2050, two-thirds of global population increase is expected to be absorbed by urban areas, and towns will account for most of the remainder. In contrast, the global rural population is set to peak in the 2040s, and gradually decline, a sign of reversal in the geography of human settlement.

Urbanization also is advancing at different speeds across income levels. High-income countries urbanized earlier and more gradually over the course of the twentieth century. Meanwhile, low-income countries began with extremely small urban populations but are going through rapid growth. The fastest urban population growth in the coming decades will take place in low- and lower-middle-income regions, where cities face pressures to expand infrastructure, deliver services, and ensure sustainable development rapidly.

Measuring Density

The report introduced a new ability to measure how cities physically grow and not just measuring population. By using satellite data, it tracked the amount of land that has been developed and how densely people live within that space. This measure found that some cities are spreading outward faster than the population growth, creating low-density sprawl. Others are absorbing more people without expanding their footprint, creating dense regions. In many developing regions, built-up growth highlighted rapid peri-urban expansion and the spread of informal settlements where services often lag behind population growth. The communities often lack basic amenities such as clean water, sanitation and durable housing, resulting in poor living conditions, health risks and insecurity. More than 1 billion people worldwide living in these informal settlements.

Looking Forward

As urban populations continue to grow—and as informal settlements expand in many parts of the world—the findings underscore the need for planned, equitable, and sustainable urban development. Understanding where and how cities are growing is essential for guiding investments in housing, transport, basic services, and climate resilience. The 2025 report demonstrates that without proactive policies, rapid urban expansion risks deepening inequality, straining infrastructure, and widening service gaps. With better data and clearer insights into settlement patterns, countries can design urban policies that ensure cities remain engines of opportunity, inclusion, and sustainable development for all.

Read the full report here.