Demographics

Ranked: The World’s Fastest Growing Cities

Published

5 months ago

August 13, 2021

Avery Koop

Fastest growing cities

Can I share this graphic?
Yes. Visualizations are free to share and post in their original form across the web—even for publishers. Please link back to this page and attribute Visual Capitalist.

When do I need a license?
Licenses are required for some commercial uses, translations, or layout modifications. You can even whitelabel our visualizations. Explore your options.

Interested in this piece?
Click here to license this visualization.

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.

Up Next

The U.S. States with the Top Tech Salaries in 2021

Don't Miss

Which Country is the Cheapest for Starting a Business?

Click for Comments

Misc

Mapped: Top Trending Searches of 2021 in Every U.S. State

From presidential elections, to cryptocurrencies and billionaires, here are the trending searches in every U.S. state in 2021.

Published

2 weeks ago

December 31, 2021

Anshool Deshmukh

Map of trending searches in every U.S. state in 2021

The Trending Searches in 2021

Google’s data editor Simon Rogers once said, “You’re never as honest as you are with your search engine. You get a sense of what people genuinely care about and genuinely want to know.”

This look at trending searches for every U.S. state is a window into the topics people were truly curious about in 2021. From political tensions to meme stocks, and from Elon Musk to a devastating tornado, we saw a wide range of trending searches throughout the year.

In the above animated video, Reddit user u/V1Analytics pulls together the top trending search terms from Google’s 2021 Year in Search summary (for the period before mid-November 2021) and Google’s Daily Search Trends page (from mid-November to December 20th) to illustrate the daily trends for each state.

It’s fascinating to see what Americans were looking up this year.

Topic	Trending Months	Category
Biden	January	Political Figure
Capitol	January	Monuments
Mega Millions	January	Culture
GME	January	Gaming
Dogecoin	January, April, May	Cryptocurrency
The Weeknd	February	Entertainment
Valheim	February	Gaming
Power Outage	June, July, August	Society
Stimulus Check	March	Society
Lil Nas X	March	Entertainment
DMX	April	Entertainment
Prince Philip	April	Famous Personalities
Jake Paul	April, August	Content Creator
AMC Stock	May, June, August	Entertainment
Jeff Bezos	July	Businessman
Simone Biles	July	Athlete
Afghanistan	August, September	Country
Hurricane Ida	August	Climate Change
Gabby Petito	September	Crime
Squid Game	October	TV Shows
Alec Baldwin	October	Actor
Travis Scott	November	Entertainment
Kyle Rittenhouse	November	Crime
Adele	November	Entertainment
Tornado	December	Climate Change
Elon Musk	December	Businessman

Notable Trending Searches in 2021

Here’s a look at a few of the notable searches that trended across the U.S. in 2021:

President Biden and Capitol

Unsurprisingly, the year started with news of the presidential election and the U.S. Capitol riot, as President Biden was set to take office.

In six states, however, the top trending search was still related to the Mega Millions jackpot, even as individuals stormed the Capitol Building.

Valheim

One of the most sought-after games of the year, Valheim, came on the market in February, 2021. By August, it had garnered over 8 million users. The developing company’s new Hearth and Home patch has skyrocketed the game’s appeal even more.

Stimulus Check

In March, the U.S. government unveiled their plan to distribute the third stimulus check to Americans.

People started looking for more information about when they would be getting their checks and if there had been any changes in the amount they would receive.

Dogecoin

Created in 2013 as a parody of Bitcoin, Dogecoin saw record trading levels in May 2021. This was in part due to Elon Musk supporting the cryptocurrency.

The Dogecoin market capitalization surged to a peak of $88 billion, worth more than three-quarters of the companies in the S&P 500.

AMC Stock

After suffering significant losses due to the pandemic-related shuttering of theaters across the country, AMC Entertainment became a fan favorite of Reddit-based retail traders who drove the share price up beyond what most analysts considered reasonable.

AMC’s stock price rose by 95% in a couple of days, reaching a record high of $63 per share. This was the latest phase of the meme stock frenzy.

Afghanistan

President Biden decided to completely withdraw U.S. troops from Afghanistan by September 11th, 2021, ending the longest war the country has ever fought.

As an immediate consequence of the withdrawal, the Taliban militia took over the country and the government. The event, which was broadcast in near real-time, caused widespread panic among the citizens as some attempted to flee the country.

What’s in Store for 2022

It’s going to be everyone’s best guess as to what the trending searches for 2022 will be. Based on the events that dominated the news throughout the year, a few predictions could be made.

Experts predict that we will be moving to an endemic stage of the pandemic, which is bound to profoundly impact how we live in 2022.

New trends, movies, TV shows, and even newer gadgets will surely catch everyone’s attention next year. It will be fascinating to see what’s on the minds of people in the coming 12 months.

China

Animated Chart: China’s Aging Population (1950-2100)

See why China is facing a demographic crisis in this animated chart.

Creator Program

Published

3 weeks ago

December 27, 2021

Govind Bhutada

China’s Aging Population Problem

The one-child policy defined China’s demographic transition for over three decades.

But to combat an aging population and declining birthrates, the government scrapped the policy for a new two-child policy in 2016. Despite this massive change, China still faces a growing demographic crisis.

The above animated population pyramid from James Eagle looks at the distribution of China’s population by age group since 1950, with projections up to the year 2100.

How the One-Child Policy Created a Gender Imbalance

Until 2016, the Chinese government strictly enforced the one-child policy since 1979 with hefty fines for any breach of rules. According to the government, the policy reduced 400 million births over the years.

However, it also led to sex-selective abortions due to a deep-rooted cultural preference for boys. As a result, China’s gender balance tilted, with a sex ratio of 111 males to 100 females in the population aging from 0 to 4 years old in 2020.

Often termed “the missing women of China”, this shortage of women is expected to worsen over time. According to the U.N.’s World Population Prospects, China is projected to have around 244 million fewer women than men in 2050.

Additionally, the country faces another impending consequence of the one-child policy—a rapidly aging population.

Why China’s Population is Aging

In 2020, China’s fertility rate—the number of children a woman is expected to have over her lifetime—stood at 1.3.

Generally, fertility rates drop as economies develop. However, China’s fertility rate is now lower than that of the U.S. (1.64 in 2020) and on par with countries like Japan and Italy, both of which are facing aging populations. Consequently, fewer newborns are entering the population, while many in the workforce approach retirement.

Most Chinese workers retire by age 60. Here’s how China’s retirement-age population is expected to shape up by the year 2100:

Year	60+ Population	% of Total Population
1980	74,899,385	7.5%
2000	129,460,648	10.0%
2021	258,371,810	17.9%
2050	485,489,066	34.6%
2070	454,270,458	36.1%
2100	402,780,972	37.8%

In 2021, people aged 60 and over made up nearly one-fifth of the Chinese population. As the country’s population begins declining around 2030, over 30% of all Chinese people are expected to be in this age group.

China’s aging population threatens long-term economic growth as its workforce shrinks and low fertility rates result in fewer newborns that would later enter the working-age population. Fewer working people means lower overall consumption, a higher burden on elderly care, and slowing economic growth.

So, how will China respond to the oncoming crisis?

The Three-child Policy

According to the 2020 national census, Chinese mothers gave birth to 12 million children in 2020—the lowest number of births since 1949.

In response to these results, the government passed a new law allowing each couple to have up to three children. Despite the change, the high cost of raising a child may deter couples from having a third child.

It remains to be seen how the three-child policy helps combat China’s demographic crisis and which other policies the government chooses to deploy.