Source: United Nations Population Program.

Urban Population (in 1,000s) and Percentage of Urban Population per Continent, 1950-2030

Nearly all the urban population takes place in developing countries. They will account for 93% of a 2 billion increase in the global urban population between 2000 and 2030. Much of this growth will come in the world’s poorest countries, and many of the new urban dwellers, particularly women and their children, will be among the poorest people in the world. This raises serious issues of mobility and access to urban transportation as a factor of development.

The above graphs indicate that there is a difference between proportions and absolute numbers. For instance the 2000 level of urbanization in Asia was low (36%), but the absolute number of urban dwellers makes Asia the most urbanized region in the world with 1.35 billion urban residents. Developed countries are still the most urbanized, but Latin America has almost filled the gap. Even if the share of urban population is smaller in developing countries, the number of urban dwellers is twice as much as developed countries.