Jakarta Becomes World’s Largest City, Surpassing Tokyo and Dhaka

November 26, 2025

Jakarta has overtaken Tokyo to become the world’s most populous city, according to the United Nations’ World Urbanization Prospects 2025 report.

Indonesia’s capital now hosts a population of 41.9 million, ahead of Dhaka, Bangladesh, with 36.6 million, and Tokyo, Japan, which has 33.4 million residents. The change marks the first time since 2000 that Tokyo is no longer the world’s largest city.

The report, released by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, attributes some of these changes to revisions in how urban populations are measured. The updated definition identifies a city as a “contiguous agglomeration” of one-kilometre-square grid cells with at least 1,500 residents per square kilometre and a minimum population of 50,000. This update standardizes previously inconsistent definitions across countries.

Asia dominates the global megacity landscape, home to 19 of the 33 urban areas with populations exceeding 10 million people. Nine of the world’s 10 largest cities are now in Asia: Jakarta, Dhaka, Tokyo, New Delhi (30.2 million), Shanghai (29.6 million), Guangzhou (27.6 million), Manila (24.7 million), Kolkata (22.5 million), and Seoul (22.5 million). Cairo, Egypt, with 32 million people, is the only city in the top 10 outside Asia.

The United Nations projects that Dhaka will surpass Jakarta by 2050 to become the world’s largest city. The rapid urban population growth in Dhaka has been driven by domestic migration, particularly as rural residents relocate to escape the effects of flooding and rising sea levels.

Jakarta faces similar threats from climate change. As a low-lying coastal city on the island of Java, parts of Jakarta could be submerged by 2050. Indonesia’s government has responded by constructing a new capital city, Nusantara, in East Kalimantan on Borneo island. Despite the relocation of administrative functions, the United Nations estimates Jakarta could gain another 10 million residents by mid-century.

As the urban population swells, Jakarta has faced challenges over inequality and housing affordability. Earlier this year, protests erupted in the city, led by app-based ride-share and delivery workers demanding better conditions.

The number of global megacities has quadrupled since 1975, rising from 8 to 33. The United Nations predicts continued growth in urban agglomerations across the Global South.

Source: Al Jazeera, https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/11/26/indonesias-jakarta-now-the-worlds-largest-city-tokyo-falls-to-third-un

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