Theory

• Urbanisation is defined as the process by which an increasing proportion of a country’s population lives in towns and cities.
• The urban population has grown rapidly from 746 million in 1950 to 3.9 billion in 2014.
• The most urbanised regions include Northern America (82% urban), Latin America (81%) and Europe (74%), whereas Africa and Asia remain mostly rural (43-50% urban), which is likely to increase in the next 50 years.
• The World Bank predicts that between 2018 and 2050, India, China and Nigeria will account for 35% of the growth of the world’s urban population.
• The total world urban population is expected to surpass six billion by 2045, and much of the expected growth will occur in low-income countries.
• In recent years, some cities have experienced population decline caused by:

  Economic contraction, low fertility rates, emigration and natural disasters.