In 2010, 43% of the Asia and the Pacific
population lived in urban areas, the second
lowest urban proportion of a region in the
world; however, in the last two decades the
Asia-Pacific urban proportion has risen by
29%, more than any other region.
Between 2005 and 2010, the urbanized
proportion of the world’s population overtook
the rural population (rising from 49% in 2005
to 51% in 2010); and the urban population
continues to grow (the average annual growth
between 2005 and 2010 was 1.9%). As of 2010,
Asia and the Pacific is the second least urbanized
region of the world, with only 43% of the
population living in urban areas; however, it has
the second fastest urban population growth rate,
at an average of 2.0% per annum (2005-2010).
Currently, Africa is the least urbanized region and
has the highest urban population growth in the
world, at an average annual rate of 3.5% (2005-
2010). Across the Asia-Pacific region, the urban
proportion and urban population growth rates
vary dramatically.
Figure I.5 – Index of urban proportion, Asia-Pacific subregions, 1990 to 2010
Within Asia and the Pacific, the Pacific subregion
is the most urbanized, with 71% of the
population living in cities and towns; however,
the urban proportion was already at 71% in
1990. Micronesia (Federated States of ), Papua
New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and
Tonga are exceptions, each having less than 25%
of their population living in urban areas. In
contrast, South and South-West Asia is the least
urbanized with only 33% of the population
living in urban areas. Exceptions in this subregion
are Islamic Republic of Iran and Turkey, where
approximately 70% of the population lives in
urban areas. Figure I.6 – Urban population, Asia-Pacific
subregions, 1990 and 2010
South and South-West Asia had the fastest urban
population growth rate of all the Asian and
Pacific subregions at an average of 2.4% per year
during 2005-2010. The South-East Asia urban
population growth was somewhat slower at 2.2%
per year, followed by East and North-East Asia
at 2.0% and the Pacific at 1.8%. In North and
Central Asia the urban population growth rate
has hovered close to zero over the last two
decades (0.3% for 2005-2010).
In general, countries with the fastest urban
population growth rates are also those with the
lowest levels of urbanization. All ten of the
Asia-Pacific countries with an average annual urban population growth rate above 3.0% have
an urban proportion at or below 40%.
In the Asia-Pacific region, rapid economic
growth is closely linked with urbanization levels.
By and large the more developed countries have
relatively high levels of urbanization – for
example, Asia-Pacific high income countries have
an average urbanized proportion of 75%, while
the LDC’s of the region have an average of 27%.
Rapid economic development has encouraged
rural inhabitants to migrate to urban areas to
improve their economic opportunities and access
to services. Rural-to-urban migration is also
caused by such “push” factors as the inability of
households to sustain livelihoods in rural areas for
economic reasons, conflicts, natural disasters and
environmental changes such as desertification
and saltwater intrusion.
Other factors in urban growth are population
growth and reclassification of rural areas as urban.
The population growth rate in Asia and the
Pacific is 1.0%, while urban population growth
is 2.0%. Hence, assuming that fertility in urban
and rural areas is comparable, roughly half of
urban population growth comes from rural-tourban
migration and reclassification of rural areas
as urban; the rest is due to population growth.
Part of the urbanization picture in Asia and the
Pacific is the growth of mega-cities – cities whose
population exceeds 10 million. Of the world’s 21
mega-cities in 2010, 12 are in Asia, including
7 of the largest 10 cities. Although mega-cities
are often portrayed as the face of urbanization in
Asia and the Pacific, the reality is that most of
the region’s urban population lives in secondary
cities and small towns. Specifically, as of 2009,
60% of the urban population in continental
Asia lived in cities with a population of less than
1 million, while only 21% lived in cities of from
1 to 5 million.1
Largest 30 urban agglomerations, Asia and the Pacific countries by international ranking, 2010 |
World rank order |
Country |
Urban agglomeration |
Population (millions) |
1 |
Japan |
Tokyo |
36.67 |
2 |
India |
Delhi |
22.16 |
4 |
India |
Mumbai (Bombay) |
20.04 |
7 |
China |
Shanghai |
16.58 |
8 |
India |
Kolkata (Calcutta) |
15.55 |
9 |
Bangladesh |
Dhaka |
14.65 |
10 |
Pakistan |
Karachi |
13.12 |
13 |
China |
Beijing |
12.39 |
15 |
Philippines |
Manila |
11.63 |
16 |
Japan |
Osaka-Kobe |
11.34 |
19 |
Russian Federation |
Moskva (Moscow) |
10.55 |
20 |
Turkey |
Istanbul |
10.52 |
22 |
Republic of Korea |
Seoul |
9.77 |
23 |
China |
Chongqing |
9.40 |
24 |
Indonesia |
Jakarta |
9.21 |
26 |
China |
Shenzhen |
9.01 |
28 |
China |
Guangzhou, Guangdong |
8.88 |
| Source: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2010). World Urbanization Prospects, the
2009 Revision. ESA/P/WP/215. New York. |
Current data on the urban slum population
are sparse with 2007 data estimates for only
4 Asian countries (none in the Pacific). The last
reasonably full set of available data (2005)
contains estimates for 15 Asian countries (none
in the Pacific). Based on 2005 data, the Asian and
Pacific urban slum population exceeded 25% of
the total urban population for 14 countries (all
countries with available data with the exception
of Turkey with 16%). As compared to 1990,
10 of the 15 countries with available data
experienced declines in the percentage of the
urban population living in slums. The
comparison between years should be made with
some caution, as cities and towns develop and
land prices increase, slum dwellers may be driven
out from the inner city, re-emerging in the urban
periphery, beyond municipal boundaries. Those
beyond municipal boundaries may not appear in
official urban statistics.
In 2005, more than 30% of all urban residents
in the two most populous Asia-Pacific countries, India and China, lived in slums. In China the
proportion of the slum-dwelling urban
population was 31% while in India that
proportion was 32%.
Figure I.7 – Urban slum population, countries
in Asia and the Pacific, 2005
Cities and climate change
Cities both contribute to climate change and are affected by it. In 2006, the world’s cities generated an estimated
67% of primary energy demand and 71% of energy-related global greenhouse gas emissions.2 A regional breakdown
for Asia and the Pacific is unfortunately not available. However, another study estimates that China’s largest
35 cities contributed 40% of its energy-related carbon dioxide emissions.3 Based on a 2007 report, Asia and the
Pacific untreated solid wastes contribute as much as 75 billion tons of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere every year;
another indication of cities’ significant contributions to greenhouse gas emissions.4
While the per capita carbon footprints in Asian and Pacific developing countries remain relatively low compared
with those of developed countries, they are growing rapidly. As cities account for most such emissions, within
a country the per capita urban carbon footprint is likely to be much higher than the per capita national-level carbon
footprints.
Cities are also directly affected by climate change. An estimated 54% of the Asian and Pacific urban population
lives in low-lying coastal zones.5 Cities in coastal deltas such as Dhaka, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta, Kolkata,
Shanghai and Manila, among others, are highly vulnerable to sea-level rises, storm-water surges and flooding. In
addition to the direct impacts of climate change, cities are also affected by climate-change-related impacts in rural
areas such as floods, droughts, desertification and soil erosion, which increase food insecurity in cities and provide
another “push” factor for rural-to-urban migration. Although the poor contribute the least to climate change, they
can be expected to suffer the most from the negative impacts, whether they live in urban or rural areas. |
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Urbanization
