What is urbanisation?
Urbanisation is the increase in proportion of a population living in urban areas:
-) It is currently occurring in most Less Economically Developed Countries (LEDCs) and is the result of
a) rural - urban migration.
b) lower levels of mortality in the urban areas compared to the countryside.
However...
Urbanisation does not necessarily accompany urban growth (the rural population may be growing faster than the urban population). Urbanisation and urban growth describe different processes.
-) It is currently occurring in most Less Economically Developed Countries (LEDCs) and is the result of
a) rural - urban migration.
b) lower levels of mortality in the urban areas compared to the countryside.
However...
Urbanisation does not necessarily accompany urban growth (the rural population may be growing faster than the urban population). Urbanisation and urban growth describe different processes.
"The considerable population growth the world will experience in the next 50 years means that urbanisation is a key topic that needs addressing with most of the emphasis on aiding developing regions and nations to manage the evolution of their urban environments."
World population growth
The Population Division of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, in its World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision (published in May 2011), foresees a global population of 9.3 billion in 2050, and more than 10 billion by the end of this century. Much of this increase is expected to come from high fertility countries, which comprise 39 in Africa, nine in Asia, six in Oceania and four in Latin America. Asia will remain the most populous major area in the world in the 21st century, but Africa will gain ground as its population more than triples, increasing from 1 billion in 2011 to 3.6 billion in 2100.
In 2011, 60 per cent of the world population lives in Asia and 15 per cent in Africa but Africa’s population is growing about 2.3 per cent a year, a rate more than double that of Asia (1 per cent). Asia’s population, which is currently 4.2 billion, is expected to peak around the middle of the century (5.2 billion in 2052) and to start a slow decline thereafter. The populations of all other major areas combined (the Americas, Europe and Oceania) amount to 1.7 billion in 2011 and are projected to rise to nearly 2 billion by 2060 and then decline very slowly, remaining still near 2 billion by the turn of the century. Among the regions, the population of Europe is projected to peak around 2025 at 0.74 billion and decline thereafter.
In 2011, 60 per cent of the world population lives in Asia and 15 per cent in Africa but Africa’s population is growing about 2.3 per cent a year, a rate more than double that of Asia (1 per cent). Asia’s population, which is currently 4.2 billion, is expected to peak around the middle of the century (5.2 billion in 2052) and to start a slow decline thereafter. The populations of all other major areas combined (the Americas, Europe and Oceania) amount to 1.7 billion in 2011 and are projected to rise to nearly 2 billion by 2060 and then decline very slowly, remaining still near 2 billion by the turn of the century. Among the regions, the population of Europe is projected to peak around 2025 at 0.74 billion and decline thereafter.