Karachi is once again appearing in the global spotlight — not for its chaos or traffic, but for its sheer scale and growing importance. As per the UN’s World Urbanization Prospects 2025 report, the city is on track to become one of the 10 largest cities in the world during the duration of 2025 and 2030, and could climb even higher in the decades ahead.
At the start of 2050, Karachi’s population is projected to hit 33 million people highly populated, potentially making it the 5th largest city on the planet. That would place it ahead of global giants like Cairo, Tokyo, Guangzhou, Manila, and Kolkata. For most of the masses, this just ensures what daily life already feels like: a city bursting at the seams, full of energy, opportunity, and pressure.
Karachi in a World of Megacities
The UN report keeps on telling how fast the world is embracing urbanization. In 1975, there were only 8 megacities (cities with more than 10 million people). By 2025, that number has jumped to 33, and Asia alone hosts 19 of them. By 2050, the world is anticipated to have 37 megacities, with Dhaka projected to become the largest city in the world.
Karachi isn’t just big but it’s dense. With around 25,000 people per square kilometre, it ranks among the densest cities globally. Anyone who has squeezed into a bus in Saddar, waited in a traffic jam on Shahrah-e-Faisal, or navigated the crowded markets of Liaquatabad actually knows exactly what that number feels like in real life.
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Changing Global Urban Map
While cities like Karachi, Dhaka, and Lagos are rapidly under the process of expansion, some former giants are gradually shrinking. Tokyo, once the world’s largest city, is expected to fall from third place in 2025 to seventh by 2050, as its population dips to around 31 million.
The report also notes that:
• In 1950, only 20 percent of the world’s population lived in cities.
• By 2025, about 45% of the world’s 8.2 billion people will be urban dwellers.
• From 2000 to 2025, city populations grew by 1.25 billion people.
• Just five countries — India, China, Nigeria, Pakistan, and the United States — contributed over 500 million to that urban growth.
Interestingly, urbanisation doesn’t mean every city is growing. The report points out that more than 3,000 cities actually saw their populations decline between 2015 and 2025, due to economic shifts, migration patterns, or ageing populations.
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What This Means for Karachi’s Future
For Karachi, this rapid growth is both a challenge and an opportunity. On one hand, more people mean:
• Greater pressure on housing, transport, water, and healthcare
• Rising demand for jobs and education
• The need for better urban planning and public services
On the other hand, a city of this scale has the capacity to become:
• A regional economic powerhouse
• A major hub for trade, tech, logistics, and finance
• A cultural centre that shapes trends in art, media, food, and fashion
For the millions who already call Karachi home, the UN’s projections simply put numbers to what they live every day: a city that never stops prospering economically, never stops moving, and increasingly, never stops mattering on the world stage.