Megacities of the world. Million-plus cities

The growth of the urban population is one of the most important characteristics of the modern era. Until recently, the largest megacities of the world were located exclusively in the European region and the old civilizations of Asia - China, India and Japan.

Two centuries of urbanization: 1800-2000

Until the 18th century, not a single city reached the threshold of one million inhabitants, with the exception of Rome in the ancient period: at the time of the climax, its population was estimated at 1.3 million people. In 1800 there was only one settlement with a population of over 1 million - Beijing, and in 1900 they already became 15. The table shows a list of the ten largest cities in the world in 1800, 1900 and 2000 with a corresponding estimate of the population.

The 1800 rating reflects the demographic hierarchy. Of the ten most populous cities, four are Chinese (Beijing, Canton, Hangzhou and Suzhou).

After a period of political turmoil, China under the Qing Dynasty experienced a long peaceful period of demographic expansion. In 1800, Beijing became the first city after Rome (at the peak of the Roman Empire), with a population of more than 1 million inhabitants. Then he was number one in the world; Constantinople was in decline. Then London and Paris appear (second and fifth, respectively). But Japan’s urban tradition is already evident in this world ranking, since Edo (Tokyo) begins the 19th century with a half-million population close to that of Paris, and Osaka is in the top ten.

The rise and fall of Europe

In 1900, the growth of European civilization became apparent. The main megacities of the world (9 out of 10) belonged to Western civilization on both sides of the Atlantic (Europe and the USA). The four largest metropolitan regions of China (Beijing, Canton, Hangzhou, Suzhou) disappeared from the list, thereby confirming the decline of the Chinese empire. Another example of regression was Constantinople. On the contrary, cities such as London or Paris grew at an accelerated pace: between 1800 and 1900, their population increased 7-8 times. Greater London had 6.5 million inhabitants, which exceeded the number of inhabitants in countries such as Sweden or the Netherlands.

The growth of Berlin or New York was even more impressive. In 1800, New York with its 63 thousand inhabitants did not have the size of a capital, but a small town; one century later, its population exceeded 4 million people. Of the 10 megacities of the world, only one - Tokyo - was outside the scope of European settlement.

The demographic situation at the beginning of the XXI century

By the end of the twentieth century, the largest megacities in the world had a population of 20 million inhabitants each. Tokyo is still expanding to such an extent that the city has become the most gigantic agglomeration in the world, with a population of 5 million more than the population of New York. New York itself, which has long held first place, is currently in fifth place with about 24 million people.

While in 1900, of the ten largest urban agglomerates, only one was outside the European sphere, the current situation is completely opposite, since none of the ten most populated megalopolises belongs to European civilization. The ten largest cities are located in Asia (Tokyo, Shanghai, Jakarta, Seoul, Guangzhou, Beijing, Shenzhen and Delhi), Latin America (Mexico City) and Africa (Lagos). For example, Buenos Aires, which was a village at the beginning of the 19th century, took the 6th place in 1998 with a total population of 11 million people.

Explosive growth is observed in Seoul, where the number of residents over the past half century has increased by 10 times. Sub-Saharan Africa has no urban tradition and is only at the very beginning of this process, but there is already a millionaire city of Lagos with a population of 21 million people.

About 2.8 billion urban residents in 2000

In 1900, only 10% of earthlings lived in cities. In 1950 there were already 29% of them, and by 2000 - 47%. The urban population of the world has increased significantly: from 160 million in 1900 to 735 million in 1950 and to 2.8 billion in 2000.

The growth of cities is a universal phenomenon. In Africa, the size of some settlements doubles every decade, resulting from explosive growth in the number of inhabitants and intense rural emigration. In 1950, in almost every country in sub-sugar Africa, the proportion of urban residents was below 25%. In 1985, this situation persisted in only one third of the countries, and in 7 states the number of citizens prevailed.

City and Village

In Latin America, by contrast, urbanization began a long time ago. It reached its peak in the first half of the 20th century. The urban population is still a minority in only the very few poorest states of Central America and in the Caribbean (Guatemala, Honduras, Haiti). In the most densely populated countries, the percentage of urban residents corresponds to the indicators of developed Western countries (more than 75%).

The situation in Asia is radically different. In Pakistan, for example, 2/3 of the population is rural; in India, China and Indonesia - 3/4; in Bangladesh - over 4/5. Rural residents largely prevail. The vast majority of citizens still live in rural areas. The concentration of urban population is limited to several regions of the Middle East and industrial regions of East Asia (Japan, Taiwan, Korea). High rural populations seem to limit isolation and thus prevent excessive urbanization.

The emergence of megacities

Urban residents are increasingly concentrated in gigantic agglomerations. In 1900, the number of megacities with a population of more than 1 million people was 17. Almost all of them were located within European civilization - in Europe itself (London, Paris, Berlin), in Russia (St. Petersburg, Moscow) or in its North American branch (New York, Chicago, Philadelphia). The exception was only a few cities with a long history of political and industrial centers of countries with a high population density: Tokyo, Beijing, Calcutta.

Half a century later, by 1950, the urban landscape had deeply changed. The largest megacities of the world still belonged to the European sphere, but Tokyo rose from 7th to 4th place. And the most eloquent symbol of the decline of the West was the fall of Paris from 3rd to 6th place (between Shanghai and Buenos Aires), as well as London from its leadership position in 1900 to number 11 in 1990.

Third World Cities and Slums

In Latin America and even more so in Africa, where the departure from the earth began suddenly, the urban crisis is extremely deep. The pace of their development is two to three times behind the rate of population growth; the speed of urbanization is now an aggravating factor: the acceleration of technological progress and globalization limit the potential for creating enough new jobs, while schools and universities supply millions of new graduates to the labor market every year. Life in this type of metropolis is fraught with disappointments that fuel political instability.

Among 33 metropolitan areas with more than 5 million people in 1990, 22 were in developing countries. The cities of the poorest countries tend to become the largest in the world. Their excessive and anarchic growth entails the problems of megacities, such as the formation of slums and shacks, overloading infrastructure and exacerbating social ailments such as unemployment, crime, insecurity, drug abuse, etc.

The Further Spread of Megacities: Past and Future

One of the most striking features of development is the formation of megacities, especially in less developed countries. According to the UN definition, these are settlements with at least 8 million inhabitants. The growth of large urban formations is a new phenomenon that has occurred over the past half century. In 1950, only 2 cities (New York and London) were in this category. By 1990, the world's megacities included 11 settlements: 3 were located in Latin America (São Paulo, Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro), 2 were located in North America (New York and Los Angeles), 2 - in Europe (London and Paris) and 4 - in East Asia (Tokyo, Shanghai, Osaka and Beijing). In 1995, 16 out of 22 megalopolises were in less developed countries (12 in Asia, 4 in Latin America and 2 in Africa - Cairo and Lagos). By 2015, their number increased to 42. Among them, 34 (i.e. 81%) are located in undeveloped states and only 8 in developed ones. The vast majority of cities in the world (27 out of 42, which is about two-thirds) are in Asia.

The undisputed leading countries in terms of the number of millionaire cities are China (101), India (57) and the USA (44).

Today, the largest European metropolis is Moscow, which ranks 15th with 16 million people. It is followed by Paris (29th with 10.9 million) and London (32th with 10.2 million). Moscow received the definition of “metropolis” at the end of the 19th century, when the census of 1897 recorded 1 million people in the city.

Candidates for Megacities

Many agglomerates will soon cross the 8 millionth barrier. Among them - the city of Hong Kong, Wuhan, Hangzhou, Chongqing, Taipei-Taoyuan and others. In the US, candidates are far behind in terms of population. These are agglomerates Dallas / Fort Worth (6.2 million), San Francisco / San Jose (5.9 million), 5.8 million Houston, the city of Miami, Philadelphia.

In total, only 3 American cities - New York, Los Angeles and Chicago - have overcome the 8 million mark so far. The fourth most populous in the United States and the first in Texas is Houston. The city is on the 64th place in the list of the largest settlements in the world. The growth of relatively small conurbations is also promising in the United States. Examples of such formations are Atlanta, Minneapolis, the city of Seattle, Phoenix and Denver.

Wealth and poverty

The importance of hyperurbanization varies from continent to continent and from one country to another. The demographic profile, the nature of economic activity, the type of housing, the quality of infrastructure, the growth rate, and the history of settlement differ significantly. For example, African cities have no past, and suddenly they began to be flooded with a massive and continuous influx of poor rural migrants (mainly peasants), as well as expanding due to high natural growth. Their growth rate is approximately twice the global average.

In East Asia, where population density is extremely high, huge conurbations, which sometimes cover very large areas and include a network of surrounding villages, have emerged due to improved economic conditions.

In the Indian subcontinent, megacities such as Bombay, Calcutta, Delhi, Dhaka or Karachi tend to expand due to the rural poor as well as excess birth rates. In Latin America, the picture is somewhat different: urbanization took place much earlier and has slowed down since 1980; a key role in this turn seems to have been played by structural adjustment policies.