Fastest Growing Cities in the World

Cities all over the world are rapidly expanding. Around 55 percent of the world’s population lives in cities, with that percentage anticipated to increase to 68 percent by 2050.




Several causes have contributed to this rise. With wider employment markets, greater earnings and wages, and more individual wealth, cities, in general, provide superior economic options.

Cities have superior education because schools are more likely to have skilled instructors, greater resources, and lower student-to-teacher ratios. Cities are also more likely to provide inhabitants with services and resources.

Cities in Asia and Africa are seeing the highest increase, with scores of people commuting to big cities every hour.

The ten fastest-growing cities in the world, by the percentage of growth from 2019 to 2035, are:

  • India’s Malappuram (44 percent )
  • Vietnam’s Can Tho (37 percent )
  • China’s Suqian (37 percent )
  • India’s Kozhikode (35 percent )
  • Nigeria’s capital, Abuja (34 percent )
  • China’s Suzhou (33 percent )
  • The United Arab Emirates, Sharjah (32 percent )
  • China’s Putian (32 percent )
  • Oman, Muscat (31 percent )
  • India’s Kollam (31 percent )




When the list is sorted by the number of new persons that joined each hour from 2015 to 2020, the order is somewhat different. The 10 fastest-growing cities in terms of new inhabitants per hour, according to the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects, are:

  • India, Delhi
  • China’s Shanghai
  • Bangladesh’s capital, Dhaka
  • Kinshasa, Congo Democratic Republic
  • China’s Chongqing
  • Pakistan’s Lahore
  • India’s Bangalore
  • Nigeria’s Lagos
  • Egypt, Cairo
  • China, Beijing

According to the United Nations, between 2018 and 2050, India, China, and Nigeria will account for 35 percent of the global urban population increase.

As of 2018, North America, where 82 percent of people live in cities, Latin America and the Caribbean (81 percent), Europe (74 percent), and Oceania are the most urbanized regions of the globe (68 percent ).

Despite having the lowest percentages of people living in cities (43 percent and 50 percent, respectively), Africa and Asia are predicted to increase at the fastest rates in the next decades.




Many cities throughout the globe are expanding at an unsustainable rate. The problem with such fast expansion is that many cities lack the infrastructure to handle the surge of people.

For example, in Lagos, Nigeria, municipal services have been pushed to the point that fewer than 10% of residents have sewage connections and less than 20% have access to tap water.

Slums and informal settlements on the fringes of the city are home to many people. Regardless, Lagos is predicted to develop at an exponential rate during the next 30 years.

To establish long-term development success, sustainable urbanization is required. Urban growth management is particularly important in low- and middle-income nations, where the fastest development is predicted.

Countries will have to plan ahead for additional housing, energy, transportation, and other infrastructure needs, as well as education and healthcare. As cities develop, governments will need to explore new policies to guarantee that these demands are met.




Fastest Growing Cities in the World by Population 2022

CityCountryChange 2015-2020 
MalappuramIndia0.441
Can ThoVietnam0.367
SuqianChina0.366
KozhikodeIndia0.345
AbujaNigeria0.342
SuzhouChina0.325
PutianChina0.322
SharjahUnited Arab Emirates0.322
MuscatOman0.314
KollamIndia0.311
Dar es SalaamTanzania0.31
WuhuChina0.308
ThrissurIndia0.302
YaoundéCameroon0.289
BatamIndonesia0.289
Port HarcourtNigeria0.288
AntananarivoMadagascar0.287
MogadishuSomalia0.28
KumasiGhana0.28
KampalaUganda0.28
HanoiVietnam0.279
OnitshaNigeria0.276
AnyangChina0.276
Huai’anChina0.269
LusakaZambia0.268
SuratIndia0.267
MatolaMozambique0.267
CharlotteUnited States0.266
OuagadougouBurkina Faso0.264
TiruppurIndia0.261




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