Degree of urbanization 2023, by continent

In 2023, the degree of urbanization worldwide was at 57 percent. North America as well as Latin America and the Caribbean were the regions with the highest level of urbanization, with over four fifths of the population residing in urban areas. The degree of urbanization defines the share of population living in areas that are defined as "cities". On the other hand, less than half of Africa's population live in urban settlements. Globally, China accounts for over one fourth of the built-up areas of more than 500,000 inhabitants. A definition of a city differs across various world regions - some countries count settlements with 100 houses or more as urban, while others only include the capital of a country or provincial capitals in their count.

Largest agglomerations worldwide

Though North America is the most urbanized continent, no U.S. city was among the top ten urban agglomerations worldwide in 2023. Tokyo-Yokohama in Japan was the largest urban area in the world that year, with 37.7 million inhabitants. New York ranked 13th, with 21.4 million inhabitants. Eight of the 10 most populous cities are located in Asia.

Connectivity

It may be hard to imagine how the reality will look like in 2050, with 70 percent of the global population living in cities, but some statistics illustrate the ways urban living differs from suburban and rural living. American urbanites may lead more “connected” (i.e. internet connected) lives than their rural and/or suburban counterparts. As of 2021, around 89 percent of people living in urban areas owned a smartphone. Internet usage was also higher in cities than in rural areas. On the other hand, rural areas always have, and always will attract those who want to escape the rush of the city.