Most Urbanized Countries 2022

The term urbanisation describes the trend of a country’s population moving from the countryside towards urban centres at a faster rate than the reverse.

As a consequence, both rural communities and city inhabitants will need to adjust to a more urban lifestyle. Cities emerge and expand primarily via urbanisation.

The United Nations (UN) predicts that by 2021 there will be 7.87 billion people in the globe, with around 55% of them residing in metropolitan areas as of 2018.

It is predicted that by 2050, 68% of the world’s population would live in urban regions, an increase of almost 2.5 billion people. Furthermore, it is expected that 90% of this growth would occur in Asia and Africa.

When a country’s population expands faster than its infrastructure can keep up with it, urbanisation presents new challenges for people and the planet.

The deterioration of the environment is a major problem. Poor air quality may be caused, for instance, by pollutants from manufacturing facilities, power plants, and automobiles.

Meanwhile, issues with health and safety might arise when organic and inorganic waste accumulate in large quantities.

And in many countries, where poverty is already a serious problem, fast population growth may make the situation much worse. Although difficult, these obstacles are not insurmountable.

Reduced poverty can be achieved through the creation of jobs and the expansion of the economy; pollution can be mitigated through the implementation of green policies and the use of alternative energy sources, and air quality and environmental preservation can benefit from the planting of trees and the expansion of green areas.

Highest urbanisation rates in the world’s top 10 countries:

1. Burundi — 5.43%
2. Uganda — 5.41%
3. Syria — 5.38%
4. Tanzania — 4.89%
5. Burkina Faso — 4.75%
6. Niger — 4.72%
7. Mali — 4.57%
8. Malawi — 4.41%
9. Ethiopia — 4.40%
10. DR Congo — 4.33%

Most of the countries with the smallest urban populations are in Africa, yet as can be seen from the numbers above, many of these nations are also seeing the fastest rates of urbanisation.

Although just 14.4% of Burundi’s total population lives in urban areas, the country has the world’s highest urbanisation rate (5.43%).

Similarly, although 26.2% of Kenyans live in urban areas, the nation as a whole is only becoming more urban at a pace of 5.41%. The majority of these nations are among the world’s poorest and least developed areas.

The Impact of Urbanization on the Human Development Index (HDI)

There is no correlation between a country’s urbanisation rate and its HDI ranking. For instance, as the vast majority of Hong Kong’s population resides in urban areas, the country is considered to be fully urbanised (for definition, see below).

However, for a nation with its level of development, Sweden’s urbanisation rate is rather low.

This is because, except for larger cities like Stockholm and Gothenburg, most Swedish cities are relatively small and not as densely inhabited. Despite the vast gap in their urbanisation levels, both nations score quite well on the HDI.

Countries with 100% urban populations:

1. Anguilla
2. Bermuda
3. Cayman Islands
4. Gibraltar
5. Hong Kong
6. Kuwait
7. Macau
8. Monaco
9. Nauru
10. Saint Maarten
11. Singapore
12. Vatican City

Since there are so few people still residing in rural areas, the vast majority of nations with a 100% urban population have low or negative urbanisation rates, ranging from 1.78% to -0.44%, since the population is effectively already completely urbanised.

Counter-urbanization, also known as de-urbanization, occurs when the urbanisation rate falls.

Several factors may contribute to counter-urbanization. Those who decide to leave the city often have certain goals in mind. This might be to find better career prospects, a more relaxed way of life, less living expenses, cleaner air, or a more rural way of life.

Also See: Micronations 2022

Urbanization vs gentrification

The two terms, urbanisation and gentrification, are sometimes used interchangeably, despite their differences.

The goal of urbanisation is to transform a region from a loosely structured collection of homes into a fully functional town that is easily navigable and fosters community in the 21st-century meaning.

In contrast, gentrification involves transforming low-income or otherwise unappealing districts into hip, trendy places where people want to live.

Adding the infrastructure (enough roads, police, utilities, etc.) required to sustain them and luring more wealthy citizens and upmarket companies is a common way to achieve this goal.

Opponents of gentrification often argue that it destroys the particular identity of a community and drives out the people who have lived there for years.