Habitat et urbanisme
Built-up area per capita and population density
Chapters I and II of this report presented the levels and trends of the size of populations by Degree of Urbanization and city size class, respectively.
What’s new in WUP 2025?
The 2025 revision of the World Urbanization Prospects (WUP) introduces significant improvements compared with previous editions.
World Urbanization Prospects 2025: Summary of Results
Urbanization is reshaping the global landscape. Since 1950, the share of people living in urban areas has surged—and is projected to continue rising through 2050. This report presents highlights from the 2025 Revision of the World Urbanization Prospects, offering a concise overview of global, regional, and country-level trends from 1950 to 2050. At the center of this edition is the Degree of Urbanisation—a harmonized, spatial approach enabling meaningful international comparisons, alongside national definitions. The dataset includes estimates of urban and rural populations for 237 countries or areas from 1950 to 2025, with projections to 2050, and population figures for all cities with at least 50,000 inhabitants in 2025. Annex tables provide data on land use, population distribution, and change over time for rural areas, towns and cities. With clear visuals and accessible analysis, this report is a vital resource for understanding urban trends and supporting efforts to achieve sustainable, inclusive, and resilient cities.
Acknowledgements
This report was prepared by a team led by Patrick Gerland including Sara Hertog, Lubov Zeifman and Guangyu Zhang with contributions from Dong Cheng and Junchi Liu.
Discussion and policy implications
Since 1950, urbanization has emerged as one of the most significant global megatrends, fundamentally reshaping how and where populations live.
National definitions and degree of urbanization compared
Urbanization has long been a central theme in demographic analysis and policy planning; however, its measurement has varied widely across countries and over time.
National application of the degree of urbanization: tools, data, capacity and implementation status
To support the implementation of the Degree of Urbanization, a detailed technical manual was published (European Commission, Statistical Office of the European Union, 2021), accompanied by free software tools, data, and an online training course, in 2021.
Introduction
What is urbanization? At its core, urbanization refers to the increasing concentration of people in settlements that exhibit urban characteristics, such as places with higher population density, greater connectivity and more developed infrastructure, as commonly found in cities and towns.
The anatomy of “urban”: how national criteria shape urbanization statistics
Further insight is gained by examining how the alignment between national definitions and the Degree of Urbanization varies depending on the criteria used to define urban areas.
Preface
This report presents the results of the official United Nations estimates and projections of urbanization for 237 countries and areas of the world and for over 12,000 urban settlements with 50,000 inhabitants or more in 2025, as published in the World Urbanization Prospects 2025.
The world’s cities
What is a city? Most people would agree that cities are places where large numbers of people live and work.
Human and social impact
Beyond the widespread physical destruction, the war has inflicted major human development losses that will take years to recover from.
Background and context
Over the past two decades, Lebanon has faced significant challenges, including periods of economic contraction, political instability, deteriorated socioeconomic conditions and social unrest, in addition to the spillover effects of the conflict in the Syrian Arab Republic.