Karachi doubled to become the world's 11th-biggest city
City populations (UN Degree of Urbanisation), millions, 2000 and 2025: Karachi and the eight cities it passed. Estimates.
- 1. The world has already passed peak child
- 2. Japan's median age is more than three times Niger's
- 3. South Korea now has a quarter of its 1971 births
- 4. China's population is projected to more than halve by 2100
- 5. Japan now has over 100,000 centenarians, up from 153
- 6. Japan has 9 million empty homes: one in seven
- 7. More Christians live in sub-Saharan Africa than anywhere else
- 8. Two in three people live where fertility is below replacement
- 9. Japan's births fell below half their 1899 level
- 10. Brazil now has more people over 65 than Germany
- 11. 34 countries and territories are past their population peak
- 12. Chile's fertility rate fell below Italy's and Japan's
- 13. Thailand's births have fallen below its deaths
- 14. Women hold at least half the seats in seven parliaments
- 15. Child marriage in South Asia has nearly halved since 2005
- 16. Argentina's teen birth rate fell 60% in ten years
- 17. Sri Lanka's population has shrunk three years in a row
- 18. Bangladesh's births per woman have fallen by two-thirds since 1970
- 19. China now has more university students than preschoolers
- 20. Uruguay now records more deaths than births
- 21. Kazakhstan's births have fallen by a quarter since 2021
- 22. Thailand is ageing faster than every G7 country but Japan
- 23. 20 of China's 31 provinces have more deaths than births
- 24. Cuba now has more people over 65 than children
- 25. Deaths outnumbered births in 45 countries, up from 20
- 26. Most of East Asia's big cities lost people since 2020
- 27. Since 2000, births fell 10% below peak in 24 countries
- 28. Sub-Saharan Africa added 13 million births a year since 2000
- 29. Karachi doubled to become the world's 11th-biggest city
- 30. Malawi's life expectancy rose 21 years, more than anywhere
- 31. The Mekong Delta got 3% of Viet Nam's population growth
Karachi's people in 2025, double its 10.8 M in 2000. It is now the world's 11th-biggest city, up from 19th.
Karachi passed Mexico City, São Paulo, Mumbai, Osaka, New York, Buenos Aires, Los Angeles and Moscow, all bigger in 2000.
Pakistan now holds two of the world's 17 biggest cities: Lahore rose from 26th to 17th (+90%). The median city of 5 million or more grew 39%.
the numbers & method
| 2000 (M) | 2025 (M) | |
|---|---|---|
| Karachi | 10.8 | 21.4 |
| Mumbai | 16.0 | 20.2 |
| São Paulo | 16.7 | 19.0 |
| Mexico City | 17.6 | 17.7 |
| Osaka | 14.5 | 13.0 |
| New York | 13.0 | 13.9 |
| Buenos Aires | 11.7 | 14.0 |
| Los Angeles | 11.2 | 12.7 |
| Moscow | 11.2 | 14.5 |
Claim types Estimate
Estimate. UN DESA Population Division, World Urbanization Prospects 2025, File 21 (population of cities with 50,000+ people, Degree of Urbanisation, mid-year, thousands; https://population.un.org/wup/assets/Download/Cities/WUP2025-F21-DEGURBA-Cities_Pop.xlsx), read from the UN file via the progrss vault (§4.11; un-wup passes value_checks, 57 matches, no mismatch). Both 2000 and 2025 are UN model estimates (not census counts), and cities follow the Degree of Urbanisation grid definition (a continuous built-up area), not city limits, so a city can differ from its official figure. Thousands, 2000 then 2025: Karachi 10,800 / 21,423; Lahore 7,979 / 15,156; Mumbai 15,953 / 20,203; São Paulo 16,702 / 18,950; Mexico City 17,598 / 17,734; Osaka 14,488 / 12,964; New York 13,044 / 13,920; Buenos Aires 11,712 / 14,018; Los Angeles 11,196 / 12,740; Moscow 11,195 / 14,525. Ranks are among the 8,468 cities with a value in both years (world rank, all sizes): Karachi 19th to 11th, Lahore 26th to 17th, Mumbai 11th to 12th, São Paulo 10th to 13th, Mexico City 8th to 15th, Moscow 18th to 19th, Buenos Aires 16th to 21st, New York 15th to 22nd, Osaka 13th to 25th, Los Angeles 17th to 27th. Derived: Karachi +98%, Lahore +90%. Same-method control: the 45 cities with 5 million or more in 2000 grew by a median +39% (2000 to 2025, same file). Cross-check on the EU Joint Research Centre's own city file (GHS Urban Centre Database 2025): Karachi 10.9 M in 2000 and 21.0 M in 2025, Lahore 8.1 M and 14.3 M; the two files share the same population grid, so this is a consistency check, not an independent source. Ranks of cities close in size (Karachi 21.4 M, Mumbai 20.2 M) are sensitive to the city definition.
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