1810 1930 1960 1975 1986 1999 2012 2026 |
(billions of people) 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 |
120 30 15 11 13 13 14 |
The number of urban dwellers will equal the number of rural dwellers by 2007. World total population grows by 80 to 70 million people per year with smaller increments each year since 1993. Urban population grows by 50 to 60 million per year with larger increments each year. By 2017 the trend lines cross and thereafter estimated urban population will grow at about 70 million per year while total world population growth slows. About half the urban growth arises from natural increase (births over deaths) with the rest attributed to rural to urban migration and additional territory classified as urban. |