Jakarta in Great Danger, UN Issues Latest Warning

The United Nations has released its World Urbanization Prospects 2025 report, which identifies Jakarta as the world’s number one city in terms of population density. According to the report, Jakarta’s population has surged to 42 million people, displacing Tokyo from the top spot in the previous edition. This phenomenon places Jakarta in the path of significant threats from land subsidence and rising sea levels. The impact is expected to be felt across a quarter of the city’s area by 2050. The development of the new capital city, Nusantara, is not expected to curb this growth, with the UN forecasting that Jakarta’s population will increase by a further 10 million over the next 25 years. Dhaka ranks second with 36.6 million people. The dense population has propelled the Bangladeshi capital from ninth place, and it is projected to become the largest city by 2050. The population growth in both Jakarta and Dhaka is driven by rural-to-urban migration. The consequences are even more severe in Bangladesh, where it exacerbates economic pressures and climate-related disasters such as flooding and rising sea levels. Tokyo is in third place with a relatively stable population of 33.4 million. The UN list also reveals that Cairo is the only non-Asian city in the top ten, with a population of 32 million. Sao Paulo was named the largest city in the Americas with 18.9 million people, while Lagos holds the title for sub-Saharan Africa. Asia remains the epicentre of urbanisation with 19 megacities.