India Emerges as the Largest Contributor to Global Urban Growth, According to UN Report

India is at the forefront of a significant demographic shift, with cities becoming the primary habitat for a majority of the population, as outlined in the World Urbanization Prospects 2025 report by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs. The report projects that India, along with Nigeria, Pakistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Bangladesh, and Ethiopia, will contribute over half of the new urban residents globally, with India alone adding over 20 crore new urban inhabitants by 2050. This rapid urbanization is reshaping India’s social and economic landscape, with approximately 36 percent of the population estimated to be living in urban areas by 2025, a figure expected to reach 50 percent by 2050.