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Jakarta has officially become the world’s most populous capital, with nearly 42 million residents, according to the United Nations’ World Urbanization Prospects 2025 report released this week. The milestone underscores the accelerating pace of global urbanization.
The report, published by the U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs, notes that 45 percent of the world’s 8.2 billion people now live in urban areas, up from 20 percent in 1950, when just 500 million people resided in cities. By 2050, the U.N. projects that two-thirds of global population growth will occur in cities, highlighting the continuing concentration of human populations in urban centers.
The number of “megacities” 'urban areas with more than 10 million inhabitants' has quadrupled over the past 50 years, rising from eight in 1975 to 33 in 2025. More than half of these megacities are located in Asia, reflecting the region’s rapid urban expansion. Following Jakarta in population size are Dhaka, Bangladesh, with nearly 40 million residents, and Tokyo, Japan, with approximately 33 million.
The report emphasizes that while megacities attract global attention, smaller cities and towns are growing faster in many parts of Africa and Asia. Among the roughly 12,000 cities analyzed, 96 percent have fewer than one million inhabitants, highlighting the widespread and diverse nature of urban growth.
Jakarta’s status as the world’s most populous capital coincides with Indonesia’s ongoing efforts to relocate its administrative capital. In 2019, the government announced plans to move the capital to Nusantara, a newly constructed city on Borneo, with a projected cost of $32 billion.
The move, initially scheduled for 2024, has been postponed to 2028. The relocation aims to reduce the environmental and infrastructural pressures on Jakarta, which faces chronic congestion, flooding and overpopulation.
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