₦airaland Forum

Jakarta has become the world's most populous city, according to the World Urbanization Prospects 2025 released by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA).

Using an updated and harmonized method for defining urban areas, the report estimates Jakarta's population at nearly 42 million, placing it ahead of Dhaka, which is about 40 million, and Tokyo, 33 million. The revised ranking illustrates how updated measurement criteria and continued demographic growth are reshaping understandings of urban scale in Asia and globally.

The 2025 edition introduces the Degree of Urbanization, a geospatial approach that applies consistent population and density thresholds to classify cities, towns, and rural areas. This method replaces earlier versions of the report that relied on country-specific definitions, which varied widely.

UN DESA notes that the updated criteria produce a more comparable representation of urban areas across regions. Under this method, Tokyo remains one of the world's largest metropolitan regions but has shown a slight population decrease, while Jakarta's continuous urban area captures a broader and more densely populated extent than previously reported.

The report finds that cities are now home to 45% of the world's 8.2 billion people, up from 20% in 1950. The number of urban residents has more than doubled since mid-century, and projections indicate that by 2050, two-thirds of global population growth will occur in cities.

The number of megacities, urban areas with at least 10 million inhabitants, has reached 33 in 2025, more than half of which are located in Asia. By 2050, this number is expected to rise to 37, with Addis Ababa, Dar es Salaam, Hajipur, and Kuala Lumpur among those projected to exceed 10 million residents.

At the same time, the report highlights that small and medium-sized cities continue to accommodate most of the world's urban population and are experiencing the fastest growth, particularly in Africa and Asia. Of the more than 12,000 cities examined, 96% have fewer than one million inhabitants, and the total number of cities worldwide has more than doubled since 1975.

Jakarta's position in the updated ranking reflects ongoing demographic pressures and long-standing infrastructural challenges. The region faces issues related to density, air quality, mobility, and land subsidence, with nearly 40% of the city located below sea level due to groundwater extraction, urban expansion, and rising sea levels. These conditions have informed national discussions on long-term planning and contributed to Indonesia's decision to relocate its administrative capital.

In 2019, the Indonesian parliament approved legislation to move the capital to Nusantara, a planned city on the island of Borneo located about 1,300 kilometers from Jakarta. The initiative aims to address structural constraints in the current capital and create a new administrative center designed with climate adaptation and renewable energy in mind.

Early planning for Nusantara outlines elevated buildings and pedestrian-oriented layouts shaped by local terrain and environmental conditions, along with expanded public transportation. While the project has encountered delays and has been the subject of environmental and logistical scrutiny, it represents one of the most extensive applications of "managed retreat," a strategy involving the planned relocation of populations away from areas facing long-term environmental risks.

https://www.archdaily.com/1036544/jakarta-becomes-the-worlds-most-populous-city-according-to-new-un-data#:~:text=Jakarta%20has%20become%20the%20world's,Social%20Affairs%20(UN%20DESA).


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62_UtYoyWo4?si=tWZxQ6XpqBRVjeOk

Any economy benefits?? Xx

I thought my ronu brothers said Lagos is the largest city in the world after New York City?




Oops, Lagos is not even to the level of Luanda, Abidjan, Nairobi, Cairo, Johannesburg or even Marrakech in Africa

Jakarta, very sweet economy. I remember my time there.
It’s a city that never sleeps, crowded, chaotic, but full of opportunity if you know how to navigate it. One thing about that place is the hustle spirit; everybody is on the move from morning till night . Lagos hussle no reach this one oooo.
And trust my Igbo brothers, we no dey carry last anywhere in the world.
I saw many of them there, working hard, doing business, adapting to the culture, and building something for themselves in a city that can be overwhelming for many. The same resilience we use at home, we carry it everywhere we go.

Jakarta taught me that no matter how big a city is, hustle, focus, and your determination will always find space to grow.

Ndi Igbo n’akpo Jakarta ‘obodo nnukwu ahia’.
Ndi be anyi, unu dalu. Onye ji igu ka eji ya (he who is diligent will always be needed)
Keep hustling, keep shining. Igbo amaka!

christejames:


I thought my ronu brothers said Lagos state is the largest city in the world after New York City?




Oops, Lagos is not even to the level of Luanda, Abidjan, Nairobi, Cairo, Johannesburg or even Marrakech in Africa

Nor mind Dem….. confused mf

Me and jarkata that year...




To be a man not be cho cho cho cho

A very wonderful city...well deserved

Did I read Dakha? In Senegal? More populous than lagos

YourGFsnatcher:
Did I read Dakha? In Senegal? More populous than lagos

Not Senegal's Dakar.

Read carefully

Wow. Ibadan is coming soon.

Jakarta Indonesia of all places?

It's India 🇮🇳 they are referring to

christejames:


I thought my ronu brothers said Lagos is the largest city in the world after New York City?




Oops, Lagos is not even to the level of Luanda, Abidjan, Nairobi, Cairo, Johannesburg or even Marrakech in Africa

Even at that, una they hide inside night bus dey enter Lagos in thousands every day. If any SE capital is half as developed as Lagos. Una no go allow us rest, but they are all Trumps Shitholes.

YourGFsnatcher:
Did I read Dakha? In Senegal? More populous than lagos

Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh
Dakar Dhaka is in Senegal

christejames:


I thought my ronu brothers said Lagos is the largest city in the world after New York City?




Oops, Lagos is not even to the level of Luanda, Abidjan, Nairobi, Cairo, Johannesburg or even Marrakech in Africa

Yet the same Lagos is their Mecca and Jerusalem. I wonder what those people will become if there is no Lagos to go to by midnight bus with their rags packed in nylon bags.

As an ewedu eater, i no believe this news.
For where lagos and ibadan dey?

christejames:


I thought my ronu brothers said Lagos is the largest city in the world after New York City?




Oops, Lagos is not even to the level of Luanda, Abidjan, Nairobi, Cairo, Johannesburg or even Marrakech in Africa

pain is that crying from the land of trapezoid?

Indonesia is the fourth-largest country in the world by population, not by land area.
It has a population of over 280 million people, making it the fourth most populous country after China, India, and the United States.

The 4th largest country in the world has the World's Largest City.

Very interesting.

christejames:

I thought my ronu brothers said Lagos is the largest city in the world after New York City?

Oops, Lagos is not even to the level of Luanda, Abidjan, Nairobi, Cairo, Johannesburg or even Marrakech in Africa

Vicotex:
As an ewedu eater, i no believe this news.
For where lagos and ibadan dey?

Are these ones okay like dis?
Tribalism has eaten into your skulls.
You cant just help it anymore.
Spits.

christejames:


I thought my ronu brothers said Lagos is the largest city in the world after New York City?




Oops, Lagos is not even to the level of Luanda, Abidjan, Nairobi, Cairo, Johannesburg or even Marrakech in Africa

Are you Nigerian? I'm curious.

YourGFsnatcher:
Did I read Dakha? In Senegal? More populous than lagos

No. Dhaka would be the capital city of Bangladesh in South Asia.

muyico:
Any economy benefits?? Xx

Naa there dem dey carry drugs go one time.

Developing countries will overtake developed countries with time.

Rigged data, it's LAGOS founded by Tinubu who tamed the Atlantic ocean .

Before you know am one south African go dey pained by this news 😆. They love being the center of everything

The city of Jakarta is also sinking due to the overconsumption of groundwater by boreholes.

That's one reason why a new political capital is being built.

What I love most about cities is that they are resilient.

njokuuche77:
Jakarta, very sweet economy. I remember my time there.
It’s a city that never sleeps, crowded, chaotic, but full of opportunity if you know how to navigate it. One thing about that place is the hustle spirit; everybody is on the move from morning till night . Lagos hussle no reach this one oooo.
And trust my Igbo brothers, we no dey carry last anywhere in the world.
I saw many of them there, working hard, doing business, adapting to the culture, and building something for themselves in a city that can be overwhelming for many. The same resilience we use at home, we carry it everywhere we go.

Jakarta taught me that no matter how big a city is, hustle, focus, and your determination will always find space to grow.

Ndi Igbo n’akpo Jakarta ‘obodo nnukwu ahia’.
Ndi be anyi, unu dalu. Onye ji igu ka eji ya (he who is diligent will always be needed)
Keep hustling, keep shining. Igbo amaka!

You mean powder business

grandstar:
The city of Jakarta is also sinking due to the overconsumption of groundwater by boreholes.

That's one reason why a new political capital is being built.

What I love most about cities is that they are resilient.

Interesting, good to hear

That's a title no city should aspire for.

[quote author= post=137670069]Indonesia is the fourth-largest country in the world by population, not by land area.
It has a population of over 280 million people, making it the fourth most populous country after China, India, and the United States.

The 4th largest country in the world has the World's Largest City.

Very interesting.[/quote]What's interesting about the 4th most populous country having the largest city? Isn't it meant to be normal that a country from one of the top populous countries has the largest city?

It would have been interesting if it were countries like France or Germany or the UK.

Largest city in Africa should be evaluated and statistics should be released.


Lagos is small in terms of land mass but mighty in term of economy opportunities.

I see our bloodeers jubilation over Lagos exclusion but little they know that nobody ever valuate their dot in a circle republic