Karachi Set to Rank Among the World’s Five Biggest Cities.

Karachi is on track to become one of the world’s 10 largest cities between 2025 and 2030 as its rapid population growth continues, according to the UN’s World Urbanisation Prospects 2025 report.

The report projects that Karachi could rise to fifth place globally by 2050, with a population nearing 33 million. This would place it ahead of Cairo, Tokyo, Guangzhou, Manila, and Kolkata.

The number of megacities has surged from eight in 1975 to 33 in 2025, with Asia hosting 19 of them. By 2050, the world is expected to have 37 megacities. Dhaka is projected to become the world’s largest city by mid-century.

Tokyo, once the world’s biggest city, is expected to fall from third in 2025 to seventh in 2050 as its population declines to around 31 million.

Karachi also ranks among the world’s densest cities, with 25,000 people per square kilometre.

The UN report shows that global urbanisation continues to accelerate. In 1950, only 20% of the world’s population lived in cities. By 2025, 45% of the world’s 8.2 billion people will live in urban areas.

From 2000 to 2025, city populations increased by 1.25 billion, with India, China, Nigeria, Pakistan, and the United States contributing more than 500 million to that growth.

The global rural population is expected to peak in the 2040s before beginning a slow decline. The world’s two most populous countries, India and China, will continue to host the largest urban populations through 2050.

Despite rapid urban growth, more than 3,000 cities experienced population decline between 2015 and 2025, the report noted.