The rankings were changed after the UN used new criteria to give a more accurate picture of the rapid urbanisation driving the growth of megacities
Jakarta has overtaken Tokyo as the world’s most populous city, according to a UN study that uses new criteria to give a more accurate picture of the rapid urbanisation driving the growth of megacities.
The Indonesian capital is home to 42 million people, according to an estimate by the population division of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs in its World Urbanisation Prospects 2025 report published this month.
Jakarta is followed by the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka with 37 million people. With a population of 33 million, Tokyo – defined in the study as a megalopolis that includes three neighbouring prefectures – slipped to third place. That contrasts dramatically with the UN’s previous report in 2018, which placed the Japanese capital top with a population of 37 million.
The shift in rankings is the result of new methodology that is more consistent in the way it categorises cities, towns and rural areas, according to UN officials.
