In a historic demographic shake-up, Jakarta has surged past Tokyo to become the most populous city in the world. New figures from the UN’s latest urbanisation study place Jakarta’s population at nearly 42 million people. The Guardian+2United Nations+2
The climb to the top spot marks a dramatic shift since 2018, when Tokyo still held the title. Under the revised methodology — aimed at standardizing how urban areas are defined globally — both Jakarta and Dhaka (around 37 million residents) leapfrogged Tokyo, now at roughly 33 million. VnExpress International+2Al Jazeera+2
This result from the 2025 World Urbanization Prospects 2025 highlights how city-life has reshaped our world: as of this year, about 45% of humanity lives in urban centres, compared to just 20% in 1950. United Nations+1
The global rise of “megacities” — defined as urban areas with 10 million or more inhabitants — is striking: from 8 megacities in 1975 to 33 by 2025, with the vast majority now located in Asia. United Nations+1
UN officials describe this shift as part of a broader transformation: “Urbanisation is a defining force of our time.” If effectively managed, they argue, growing cities like Jakarta could become engines of economic opportunity, climate resilience, and social equity. The Guardian+1
