Megacities and urban population

A megacity is a city with 10 million inhabitants or more. There are currently 21 cities in the world with a population which exceeds 10 million. The biggest is Tokyo with a population of 33.4 million people, followed by NY and Mexico City with 24.1 million and 21.7 million. Since the 1800s, the migration to urban areas have increased drastically. In the year 2000, 47 % of the world’s population lived in cities while there was 2 % in the 1800s.

Today, one sixth of the world’s population lives in cities. Currently, over two thirds of the population in North-America, South-America and Europe live in cities. In Asia and Africa however, the majority of the population is still located in the rural areas. According to statistics the rise will continue. An estimated 52 % of the world’s population will live in cities by 2015. In 2015, it is estimated that 1 181 million will have migrated from rural areas to cities. According to the statistics and numbers available at the given moment, the migrations to urban areas will continue to rise considerably for the forthcoming decades and probably beyond.

The problem with this massive migration is the living quality each person achieves. Cities in the developing countries consist of vast areas of slum. Where millions of people live crammed up in tiny huts, with no clean water etc. However the centralization we are seeing today has several positive consequences, and it is a part of the development the human race is going through.