OECD Regional Outlook 2019 by OECD

Author:OECD
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: regions
Publisher: OECD Publishing
Published: 2019-03-19T00:00:00+00:00

Global urbanisation

Domestic population flows are an important factor behind the uneven demographic development of regions. As discussed, the lower old-age dependency ratio in cities is primarily due to the domestic migration of young people into cities. However, rural-urban migration does not just affect the age profiles of cities and rural areas; the growth of cities is a global megatrend in itself that affects countries both inside and outside of the OECD.

As rapid population growth in many countries continues, understanding the process of urbanisation is essential to the design of policies to make “cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient, and sustainable” in support of Sustainable Development Goal 11. Innovative policies and solutions are required to address the needs of urban populations, including housing, energy, environmental quality, healthcare and transportation. Further, smart investments in infrastructure and education are essential to promote inclusive growth, access to employment, and a safe and healthy environment.

This section previews the forthcoming analyses of a new, representative data set of all cities globally that will allow an unprecedented description of the dynamics of global urbanisation.2 It shows that recent decades have seen a strong increase in the number of people living in megacities with more than 10 million inhabitants. However, driven by overall global population growth, also the number of smaller cities with between 100 000 and 1 million inhabitants grew rapidly. Yet, the section highlights that, despite an overall trend towards urbanisation, a significant number of cities have shrinking population due to emigration and low fertility rates.

Table 4.1 shows that 40% of the world’s population lived in cities with more than 100 000 inhabitants in 2015. The vast majority of these cities (97%) have fewer than 1 million people. However, cities with more than 1 million inhabitants have a larger population share. Close to 1.62 billion people live in cities with more than 1 million inhabitants. Among them, a third (530 million people) live in cities with more than 10 million inhabitants. In contrast, only 1.33 billion people live in cities with 100 000 to 1 million inhabitants. Nevertheless, this impressive number shows the importance of mid-sized cities.

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