The United Nations last released its Global Urbanization Prospects report in 2018, when Tokyo was the world’s most populous city.
Jakarta is currently the world’s largest city by population.
Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta, is home to approximately 42 million people, making it the most densely populated urban area in the world, according to the latest United Nations report. Next is Dhaka, Bangladesh, with approximately 37 million people, and Tokyo, Japan, with 33 million people.
In 2018, the last time the United Nations released its Global Urbanization Outlook report, Tokyo was the world’s most populous city, and Jakarta was ranked 33rd.
The authors of the November 2025 report noted that over the past quarter century, Tokyo’s population has grown slower than those of Jakarta and Dhaka, resulting in a decline in its ranking, and this trend is expected to continue in the coming decades.
Jakarta currently holds the top spot, but experts predict that Dhaka will become the largest city by 2050.
The report provides estimates and projections for the world’s population, detailing the rapid increase in urbanization with the decline of rural populations and the creation of megacities with populations exceeding 10 million.
The authors said more than half of the planet’s 8.2 billion people now live in cities, a significant increase from 1950, when just 20% of the world lived in metropolitan areas.
According to the report, Asia leads the world in population growth. Currently, the only non-Asian city in the top 10 is Cairo, Egypt.
