Demographics

Ranked: The World’s Largest Cities (1950-2100)

Published

3 weeks ago

August 18, 2026

Gabriel Cohen

Design

Sabrina Lam

Ranked: The World’s Largest Cities (1950-2100)

Key Takeaways

In 1950, Tokyo and New York were the two most populous cities on Earth.
By 2050, the 15 most populous cities worldwide will all be in either Africa or Asia.
Dhaka, Bangladesh is projected to peak in population around 2075 with nearly 60 million inhabitants.

Across 150 years, familiar urban giants rise, fall, and give way to a new generation of megacities.

This visualization ranks the 15 most populous cities worldwide from 1950 to 2100 using population estimates from the European Commission’s JRC via Our World in Data. City boundaries were consistently defined based on satellite imagery and population data.

The Transatlantic Era

Tokyo led the 1950 ranking with 12.6 million people, followed by New York with 9.3 million.

The Big Apple was not the only massive Western city at the time. Of the 15 most populous cities in 1950, over half were found in either Europe or the Americas. This included London (7.9 million), Moscow (5.5 million), and Paris (5.4 million).

The table below ranks the 15 most populous cities in 1950:

Rank	City	Population in 1950 (Millions)	Region
1	🇯🇵 Tokyo	12.6	Asia
2	🇺🇸 New York City	9.3	North America
3	🇯🇵 Osaka	8.0	Asia
4	🇬🇧 London	7.9	Europe
5	🇮🇳 Kolkata	6.1	Asia
6	🇷🇺 Moscow	5.5	Europe
7	🇫🇷 Paris	5.4	Europe
8	🇦🇷 Buenos Aires	4.6	South America
9	🇺🇸 Los Angeles	4.0	North America
10	🇮🇩 Jakarta	3.9	Asia
11	🇮🇳 Mumbai	3.8	Asia
12	🇲🇽 Mexico City	3.7	North America
13	🇪🇬 Cairo	3.1	Africa
14	🇨🇳 Shanghai	3.1	Asia
15	🇧🇷 São Paulo	3.1	South America

The rankings began changing quickly over the following decades. By 1975, London had fallen out of the top 15, while Paris (7.4 million) and Los Angeles (7.7 million) had also slipped in rank.

The second half of the 20th century also saw the rise of Latin American metropolises such as São Paulo and Mexico City, which by 2000 had surpassed New York as the most populous cities in the hemisphere.

The Rise of Asia

By 2000, Asia dominated the upper reaches of the ranking.

Tokyo maintained its lead at 30.3 million inhabitants, while Guangzhou had climbed to third with 19 million and New Delhi to sixth with 18 million.

Urbanization and a continental population boom continued, and by 2025 all but one of the 10 most populous cities worldwide were in Asia. The sole exception was Cairo, with 25.6 million people.

Rank	City	Population in 2025 (Millions)	Region
1	🇮🇩 Jakarta	41.9	Asia
2	🇧🇩 Dhaka	36.6	Asia
3	🇯🇵 Tokyo	33.4	Asia
4	🇮🇳 New Delhi	30.2	Asia
5	🇨🇳 Shanghai	29.6	Asia
6	🇨🇳 Guangzhou	27.6	Asia
7	🇪🇬 Cairo	25.6	Africa
8	🇵🇭 Manila	24.7	Asia
9	🇮🇳 Kolkata	22.5	Asia
10	🇰🇷 Seoul	22.5	Asia
11	🇵🇰 Karachi	21.4	Asia
12	🇮🇳 Mumbai	20.2	Asia
13	🇧🇷 São Paulo	18.9	South America
14	🇹🇭 Bangkok	18.2	Asia
15	🇲🇽 Mexico City	17.7	North America

The World in 2100

By 2100, Dhaka is projected to rank first with 55 million people, followed by Jakarta at 49.7 million and Karachi at 43.7 million. Tokyo, the world’s largest city in 1950 and 2000, is projected to fall to ninth place with 24.1 million residents.

Rank	City	Population in 2100P (Millions)	Region
1	🇧🇩 Dhaka	55.0	Asia
2	🇮🇩 Jakarta	49.7	Asia
3	🇵🇰 Karachi	43.7	Asia
4	🇪🇬 Cairo	36.7	Africa
5	🇮🇳 New Delhi	32.0	Asia
6	🇦🇴 Luanda	30.7	Africa
7	🇵🇰 Lahore	24.8	Asia
8	🇨🇳 Shanghai	24.7	Asia
9	🇯🇵 Tokyo	24.1	Asia
10	🇵🇭 Manila	22.4	Asia
11	🇮🇳 Mumbai	21.5	Asia
12	🇮🇳 Kolkata	20.5	Asia
13	🇹🇿 Dar es Salaam	20.1	Africa
14	🇨🇳 Guangzhou	18.1	Asia
15	🇳🇬 Lagos	17.9	Africa

Cairo will remain the most populous city outside of Asia, with 36.7 million people. It will be joined in the upper rankings by other African megacities including Luanda (30.7 million), Dar es Salaam (20.1 million), and Lagos (17.9 million).

Tokyo is projected to see its population fall below its 1975 level as declining birth rates contribute to long-term population decline.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about national population growth, check out The Top 10 Countries Driving Future Population Growth on Voronoi.

Related Topics:africa demographics population asia most populous cities Americas our world in data world's largest cities jrc

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Mapped: U.S. Population Growth and Decline by 2040

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Ranked: America’s Fastest-Aging States

population

The U.S. Will Have More Seniors Than Children by 2029

This graphic shows how the U.S. population is aging, with seniors projected to outnumber children by 2029.

Published

2 days ago

September 3, 2026

Niccolo Conte

This graphic shows how the U.S. population is aging, with seniors projected to outnumber children by 2029.

The U.S. Will Have More Seniors Than Children by 2029

Key Takeaways

Americans age 65 and older are projected to outnumber children under 18 for the first time in 2029.
Census projections have moved the crossover forward significantly; 2017 projections placed it around 2034.
Even in different immigration scenarios, the crossover is still projected to occur between 2028 and 2030.

America is approaching a major shift in its age structure.

The aging of the baby boom generation, combined with a long-term slowdown in U.S. births, is rapidly closing the gap between the country’s youngest and oldest age groups.

This visualization shows how dramatically that balance has changed since 2000, when children under 18 outnumbered Americans age 65 and older by more than two to one.

The data for this visualization comes from the U.S. Census Bureau and its 2023 National Population Projections.

The Crossover Arrives in 2029

In 2000, the under-18 population stood at 72.4 million, compared with just 35.1 million people age 65 and older.

Year	U.S. Population Under 18 (millions)	U.S. Population Age 65 and Over (millions)
2000	72.4	35.1
2001	72.7	35.3
2002	72.9	35.5
2003	73.1	35.9
2004	73.3	36.2
2005	73.5	36.7
2006	73.8	37.2
2007	74.0	37.8
2008	74.1	38.8
2009	74.1	39.6
2010	74.2	40.4
2011	73.9	41.4
2012	73.7	43.1
2013	73.6	44.6
2014	73.6	46.2
2015	73.7	47.7
2016	73.7	49.2
2017	73.6	50.8
2018	73.4	52.4
2019	73.1	54.0
2020	73.7	56.0
2021	73.0	57.5
2022	72.8	59.1
2023	72.7	61.0
2024	72.6	62.8
2025	72.0	64.6
2026	70.4	65.1
2027	69.9	66.8
2028	69.6	68.4
2029	69.3	69.9
2030	69.1	71.2
2031	68.9	72.3
2032	68.6	73.2
2033	68.3	74.1
2034	68.1	74.9
2035	67.9	75.8
2036	67.8	76.7
2037	67.8	77.4
2038	67.7	77.7
2039	67.8	78.0
2040	67.8	78.3
2041	67.7	78.5
2042	67.7	78.8
2043	67.6	79.1
2044	67.5	79.4
2045	67.4	79.8
2046	67.2	80.3
2047	67.1	80.8
2048	66.9	81.2
2049	66.7	81.6
2050	66.5	82.1
2051	66.3	82.6
2052	66.0	83.1
2053	65.8	83.7
2054	65.6	84.3
2055	65.4	85.1
2056	65.1	85.9
2057	64.9	86.7
2058	64.7	87.4
2059	64.5	88.1
2060	64.3	88.8

By 2025, that gap had narrowed sharply, with about 72.0 million children compared with 64.6 million seniors.

The crossover arrives in 2029, when the population age 65 and older is projected to reach 69.9 million, compared with 69.3 million children under 18.

Just one year later, the gap widens to more than 2 million, with 71.2 million seniors versus 69.1 million children.

The Senior Population Is Already Largely Locked In

The near-term rise in America’s senior population is unusually predictable.

Everyone who will turn 65 by 2029 has already been born, and the final members of the baby boom generation, born in 1964, will reach that age in 2029.

As a result, the number of Americans reaching retirement age over the next few years is largely baked into the population. The number of children is less certain, since it is more sensitive to future births and migration.

The Crossover Keeps Moving Closer

The crossover is arriving sooner than previously expected.

Census projections released in 2017 placed the milestone around 2034, five years later than the agency’s 2023 projections.

One major factor behind the shift is the continued decline in U.S. fertility, which has reduced the number of children entering the population.

Immigration can slow the shift, but it does not appear likely to prevent it. Across Census scenarios ranging from zero to high immigration, seniors are still projected to outnumber children between 2028 and 2030.

The long-term gap becomes even more pronounced after the crossover.

By 2040, the senior population is projected to reach 78.3 million, compared with 67.8 million children. By 2060, those figures are projected to reach 88.8 million seniors and 64.3 million children.

That changing age structure could have broad implications for labor markets, healthcare demand, public spending, and the size of the future workforce.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

If you enjoyed today’s post, check out Mapped: U.S. Population Growth and Decline by 2040 on Voronoi.

Demographics

Mapped: How the American Population Map Will Shift by 2050

The U.S. could add 28 million people by 2050, with Texas and Florida alone accounting for 62% of the projected increase.

Published

5 days ago

August 31, 2026

Dorothy Neufeld

Map showing each state's projected population change through to 2050.

Mapped: U.S. Population Change by State Through 2050

Key Takeaways

The U.S. population is projected to increase by 28 million people, or 8.2%, between 2025 and 2050.
Texas and Florida alone are projected to add 17.4 million residents, accounting for 62% of the nation’s population increase.
California and New York, two of the country’s four most populous states, are projected to lose roughly 760,000 and 989,000 residents, respectively.

America’s population growth through 2050 is projected to be increasingly concentrated in the South and Mountain West, while several states are expected to lose residents.

New projections from the University of Virginia’s Weldon Cooper Center, incorporating the Census Bureau’s latest population estimates, show how the population of every state is expected to change over the next 25 years.

How Every State’s Population Is Projected to Change

The following table shows the projected percentage and numerical population change for all 50 states and Washington, D.C.

Rank	State	Population Change 2025-2050P	% Change
1	Texas	10,381,342	32.7%
2	Florida	6,972,052	29.7%
3	North Carolina	1,979,467	17.7%
4	Georgia	1,796,269	15.9%
5	Washington	1,595,347	19.9%
6	Arizona	1,488,266	19.5%
7	Utah	1,286,189	36.3%
8	Colorado	1,258,060	20.9%
9	South Carolina	1,191,727	21.4%
10	Tennessee	1,079,735	14.8%
11	Idaho	771,954	38.0%
12	Nevada	748,582	22.8%
13	Virginia	648,092	7.3%
14	New Jersey	451,393	4.7%
15	Minnesota	344,581	5.9%
16	Massachusetts	331,157	4.6%
17	Oregon	295,077	6.9%
18	Oklahoma	285,768	6.9%
19	Maryland	220,244	3.5%
20	North Dakota	193,724	24.2%
21	Delaware	184,832	17.4%
22	Alabama	180,756	3.5%
23	Indiana	177,922	2.6%
24	Montana	170,031	14.9%
25	Nebraska	166,227	8.2%
26	South Dakota	141,910	15.2%
27	District of Columbia	90,092	13.0%
28	Arkansas	51,202	1.6%
29	Iowa	44,224	1.4%
30	New Hampshire	11,943	0.8%
31	Kentucky	1,363	0.0%
32	Maine	-3,729	-0.3%
33	Rhode Island	-4,545	-0.4%
34	Wyoming	-18,676	-3.2%
35	Alaska	-33,991	-4.6%
36	Vermont	-39,400	-6.1%
37	Hawaii	-43,574	-3.0%
38	Kansas	-62,629	-2.1%
39	Missouri	-116,731	-1.9%
40	New Mexico	-123,006	-5.8%
41	Wisconsin	-126,928	-2.1%
42	Connecticut	-138,679	-3.8%
43	West Virginia	-289,191	-16.4%
44	Mississippi	-323,931	-11.0%
45	Louisiana	-343,451	-7.4%
46	Ohio	-513,895	-4.3%
47	Michigan	-572,506	-5.7%
48	Pennsylvania	-614,086	-4.7%
49	California	-759,590	-1.9%
50	New York	-989,152	-4.9%
51	Illinois	-1,402,122	-11.0%
--	🇺🇸 U.S. Total	28,019,716	8.2%

Population gains are concentrated among a relatively small group of states, with the largest increases centered in the South and West.

Texas leads by absolute growth, adding a projected 10.4 million people, followed by Florida at nearly 7 million. North Carolina ranks third with an increase of about 2 million.

The picture changes when looking at percentage growth. Idaho, which was also among the fastest-growing states from 2020 to 2025, leads the projections at 38.0%, followed by Utah at 36.3%. At the opposite end, West Virginia is projected to decline by 16.4%, the steepest drop nationally.

How the Population Outlook Has Changed

The latest projections differ significantly from the Cooper Center’s previous vintage. The 2026 update incorporates the Census Bureau’s 2025 Population Estimates, reflecting more recent demographic trends.

The revisions are particularly striking for California and New York. California shifted from a projected gain of 3.1 million residents to a decline of about 760,000, while New York moved from a projected gain of 820,000 to a loss of nearly one million.

Meanwhile, projected gains increased for Texas from 8.6 million to 10.4 million and for Florida from 5.2 million to 7 million.

America’s Population Center Keeps Moving South

By 2050, the South is projected to contain 42.7% of the U.S. population, up from 38.1% in 2020. Meanwhile, the Northeast and Midwest are expected to account for smaller shares of the national population.

This shift is already visible in recent Census data. From 2024 to 2025, Texas added 391,000 residents, more than any other state, followed by Florida and North Carolina.