Demographics
Ranked: The World’s Fastest Growing Cities
Ranked: The World’s Fastest Growing Cities
By 2025, the world’s population will reach over 8.1 billion people.
Most of that population growth will be concentrated in cities across Africa and Asia. To help paint a detailed picture, this map uses data from the United Nations to rank the top 20 fastest growing cities in the world in terms of average annual growth rate from 2020 to 2025.
Full Speed Ahead
The majority of the world’s fastest growing cities are located in Africa—in fact, 17 of the 20 are located on the continent, with four of the 20 cities being located in Nigeria specifically.
Population growth is booming across the entire continent, as many countries retain high birth rates. According to the World Bank, the 2019 fertility rate (births per woman) in Sub-Saharan Africa was 4.6, compared to the global fertility rate of 2.4.
| City | Country | Continent | Annual Growth (2020-2025p) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gwagwalada | 🇳🇬 Nigeria | Africa | 6.46% |
| Kabinda | 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of Congo | Africa | 6.37% |
| Rupganj | 🇧🇩 Bangladesh | Asia | 6.36% |
| Lokoja | 🇳🇬 Nigeria | Africa | 5.93% |
| Uige | 🇦🇴 Angola | Africa | 5.92% |
| Bujumbura | 🇧🇮 Burundi | Africa | 5.75% |
| Songea | 🇹🇿 Tanzania | Africa | 5.74% |
| Xiongan | 🇨🇳 China | Asia | 5.69% |
| Potiskum | 🇳🇬 Nigeria | Africa | 5.65% |
| Bunia | 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of Congo | Africa | 5.63% |
| Tete | 🇲🇿 Mozambique | Africa | 5.56% |
| Cuito | 🇦🇴 Angola | Africa | 5.48% |
| Hosur | 🇮🇳 India | Asia | 5.38% |
| Abomey-Calavi | 🇧🇯 Benin | Africa | 5.27% |
| Nnewi | 🇳🇬 Nigeria | Africa | 5.18% |
| Malanje | 🇦🇴 Angola | Africa | 5.17% |
| Mbouda | 🇨🇲 Cameroon | Africa | 5.16% |
| Quelimane | 🇲🇿 Mozambique | Africa | 5.14% |
| Kampala | 🇺🇬 Uganda | Africa | 5.14% |
| Goma | 🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of Congo | Africa | 5.14% |
Nigeria’s economy is largely based on petroleum which has resulted in the country becoming one of the strongest economies in Africa. This, coupled with a high birth rate and a resulting young population, has given the country a strong and rising workforce.
However, the population growth in Nigeria is both a blessing and a curse. The success of the economy, among other factors, has resulted in excessive rural-to-urban migration. This mass exodus from rural areas has led to less farming, which means the country now needs to import basic food staples at a high cost.
In Mozambique, Tete and Quelimane are growing 5.56% and 5.14% respectively. The country is expected to experience strong economic growth after facing contractions due to the pandemic. Forecasts predict that the Mozambiques’s economy will grow 4% by 2022.
Implications of Fast Growth
All of the top 20 fastest growing cities are located in either Africa or Asia, and they are far outpacing growth on other continents, such as Europe, for example.
Fastest Growing Cities: Europe vs. Global
| Europe's Fastest Growing Cities | Growth Rate | World's Fastest Growing Cities | Growth Rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| 🇷🇺 Balashikha, Russia | 2.01% | 🇳🇬 Gwagwalada | 6.46% |
| 🇷🇺 Tyumen, Russia | 1.88% | 🇨🇩 Kabinda | 6.37% |
| 🇦🇱 Tiranë (Tirana), Albania | 1.63% | 🇧🇩 Rupganj | 6.36% |
| 🇳🇴 Oslo, Norway | 1.38% | 🇳🇬 Lokoja | 5.93% |
| 🇷🇺 Sochi, Russia | 1.33% | 🇦🇴 Uige | 5.92% |
| 🇬🇧 Coventry-Bedworth, UK | 1.32% | 🇧🇮 Bujumbura | 5.75% |
| 🇸🇪 Stockholm, Sweden | 1.25% | 🇹🇿 Songea | 5.74% |
| 🇨🇭 Lausanne, Switzerland | 1.23% | 🇨🇳 Xiongan | 5.69% |
| 🇷🇺 Krasnodar, Russia | 1.22% | 🇳🇬 Potiskum | 5.65% |
| 🇷🇺 Surgut, Russia | 1.17% | 🇨🇩 Bunia | 5.63% |
| 🇷🇺 Podolsk, Russia | 1.16% | 🇲🇿 Tete | 5.56% |
| 🇮🇪 Dublin, Ireland | 1.12% | 🇦🇴 Cuito | 5.48% |
| 🇬🇧 London, UK | 1.12% | 🇮🇳 Hosur | 5.38% |
| 🇳🇱 Utrecht, Netherlands | 1.11% | 🇧🇯 Abomey-Calavi | 5.27% |
| 🇸🇪 Göteborg, Sweden | 1.07% | 🇳🇬 Nnewi | 5.18% |
| 🇫🇷 Toulouse, France | 1.07% | 🇦🇴 Malanje | 5.17% |
| 🇸🇪 Malmö, Sweden | 1.05% | 🇨🇲 Mbouda | 5.16% |
| 🇫🇷 Montpellier, France | 1.04% | 🇲🇿 Quelimane | 5.14% |
| 🇫🇷 Bordeaux, France | 0.99% | 🇺🇬 Kampala | 5.14% |
| 🇨🇭 Genève, Switzerland | 0.99% | 🇨🇩 Goma | 5.14% |
By 2050, Sub-Saharan Africa will be home to close to 2 billion people and roughly half will be under the age of 25. This represents an enormous labor force and opportunities for innovation and growth. In fact, in navigating the pandemic, Africa is already starting to capitalize on digital advances in both traditional and new sectors.
China has its eye on Africa, as evidenced through their multiple investments in infrastructure projects in the continent. Additionally, NATO countries have recently committed to investing similar amounts in Africa to counter China’s influence.
In spite of the economic potential, increased city sizes could be problematic for some of these countries. They will need to adapt to the issues associated with mass urbanization, like pollution, overcrowding, and high costs of living.
Changing Tides
Population booms can lead to massive economic growth, a larger (and younger) working population, and a growing domestic consumer market.
As the aforementioned cities continue their rapid expansion, and as people continue to flock to growing megacities in Africa and Asia, it could represent the beginning of an important economic shift that is worth keeping an eye on.
Misc
Comparing Population Pyramids Around the World
Population pyramids can show a country’s demographic advantages and challenges at a glance. See how different parts of the world stack up.
Understanding and Comparing Population Pyramids
Demographic data can reveal all kinds of insights about a population, from the country’s fertility and mortality rates to how certain events and policies have shaped the makeup of a population.
Population pyramids are one of the best ways to visualize population data, and comparing the pyramids of various countries and regions side-by-side can reveal unexpected insights and differences between groups.
This graphic uses population data from the United Nations to compare the demographics of some select nations and regions of the world, showcasing how much age distributions can vary.
Three Types of Population Pyramids
Although population pyramids can come in all shapes and sizes, most generally fall into three distinct categories:
- Expansive Pyramids: Recognized by their traditional “pyramid-like” shape with a broad base and narrow top, expansive pyramids reflect a population with a high birth rate along with a high mortality rate which is most common in developing countries.
- Constrictive Pyramids: With a narrow base and thicker middle and top sections of the pyramid, constrictive pyramids often occur in developed economies whose populations have low birth rates and long life expectancies.
- Stationary Pyramids: These pyramids showcase an evenly distributed population across age groups, often found in newly-developed countries which have stable birth and mortality rates.
Each population pyramid is essentially a visual snapshot of a nation’s current demographic breakdown, shaped by fluctuating birth and mortality rates as well as changes to immigration and social policies.
Understanding the inherent risks associated with different pyramid types can help give insight into the challenges these populations face.
The Risks of Different Population Pyramid Types
Each type of population pyramid structure has unique challenges and advantages often characterized by the country or region’s current stage of economic development.
Populations with expansive pyramids, such as the one representing the continent of Africa, have the advantage of a larger youth and working-aged population, however this advantage can be rendered null if job growth, education, and health care aren’t prioritized.
Countries with constrictive pyramids like Japan face the challenge of supporting their outsized aging population with a diminishing working-aged population. While immigration and increasing birth rates can help in both the short and long term, due to the working population being outnumbered, countries with constrictive pyramids must find ways to increase their productivity to avoid potential declines in economic growth.
China and India’s Demographics Compared
After the world’s population reached eight billion people last year, 2023 brought a new population milestone as India overtook China as the world’s most populous country.
When you compare the two nations’ population pyramids, you can see how India’s population has a strong base of young and working-aged people compared to China’s more constrictive population pyramid that also features a higher median age.
This demographic difference is largely shaped by China’s one-child policy which since 2021 was loosened to be a three-child policy. As a result, China’s total fertility rate is around 1.2 today, in contrast to India’s total fertility rate of 2.0.
While India is set to ride the productivity boom of its large working-age population, the country will have to ensure it can keep its population pyramid stable as the majority of the population ages and total fertility rates continue to decline.
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Interested in learning more about the various factors that affect demographics?
VC+ Members get an exclusive look comparing the G7 and BRICS nations, how war shapes population pyramids, and immigration’s role in demographics. Unlock this in-depth briefing and hundreds of other visual insights with our newly available VC+ Archive. |
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