which cities are rising, and which are fading
50 cities, six rankings, measured the same way everywhere. No surveys. No paid places.
Johannesburg South Africa
all cities ×- – The busiest air gatewaysRewiring · no published figure not reported
- 25th Most sun and wind power built nearbyElectrifying · of 50 cities 358 MW
- 9th Where cities are growing fastestDemographic turn · of 50 cities 30%
- – The biggest metro and rapid-transit networksLeapfrogging · no published figure not reported
- 2nd Where cities are covering the most new landPlanetary pressure · of 50 cities 143%
1 more rankings join as their real data is checked.
Where cities are covering the most new land
Growth in built-up area, 2000 to 2025: land covered by buildings, from satellite data. · Estimate
- 1 Luanda Angola 155%
- 2 Johannesburg South Africa 143%
- 3 Dubai UAE 137%
- 4 Dhaka Bangladesh 135%
- 5 Shanghai China 122%
- 6 Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam 98%
- 7 Bangkok Thailand 84%
- 8 Riyadh Saudi Arabia 84%
- 9 Bengaluru India 83%
- 10 Dar es Salaam Tanzania 83%
- 11 Addis Ababa Ethiopia 76%
- 12 Beijing China 68%
- 13 Chengdu China 68%
- 14 Lahore Pakistan 64%
- 15 Cairo Egypt 63%
- 16 Lagos Nigeria 60%
- 17 Nairobi Kenya 60%
- 18 Shenzhen China 59%
- 19 Santiago Chile 55%
- 20 Hong Kong China 53%
- 21 Seoul South Korea 52%
- 22 Abidjan Côte d'Ivoire 47%
- 23 Madrid Spain 46%
- 24 Delhi India 45%
- 25 Karachi Pakistan 45%
- 26 Jakarta Indonesia 44%
- 27 Singapore Singapore 41%
- 28 Bogotá Colombia 38%
- 29 Kolkata India 38%
- 30 Istanbul Türkiye 36%
- 31 Manila Philippines 36%
- 32 Lima Peru 32%
- 33 Moscow Russia 32%
- 34 Baghdad Iraq 30%
- 35 Mumbai India 29%
- 36 Tehran Iran 28%
- 37 Buenos Aires Argentina 25%
- 38 Khartoum Sudan 25%
- 39 Kinshasa DR Congo 23%
- 40 Rio de Janeiro Brazil 23%
- 41 Mexico City Mexico 20%
- 42 Sydney Australia 20%
- 43 São Paulo Brazil 20%
- 44 London UK 19%
- 45 Tokyo Japan 18%
- 46 Berlin Germany 17%
- 47 Los Angeles USA 15%
- 48 New York USA 15%
- 49 Paris France 15%
- 50 Chicago USA 5%
Source: UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025 (cities by the Degree of Urbanisation) · 2025 data. City edges follow the UN’s density rule, so some metros (Hong Kong shows its largest UN city, Tamar; Mumbai excludes satellite towns) are smaller than their usual borders. 2025 values are UN estimates.
Measured, never opinion · every number traceable · nobody can buy a rank.
license the rankings