which cities are rising, and which are fading
50 cities, six rankings, measured the same way everywhere. No surveys. No paid places.
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%
- 10 Dar es Salaam Tanzania 83%
- 11 Addis Ababa Ethiopia 76%
- 16 Lagos Nigeria 60%
- 17 Nairobi Kenya 60%
- 22 Abidjan Côte d'Ivoire 47%
- 38 Khartoum Sudan 25%
- 39 Kinshasa DR Congo 23%
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.
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