Table : TABLE 33.1 Urban Population as a Percentage of Total Population in the World and in Eight Major Areas, 1925–2025
AREA
1925
1950
1975
2000
2025 (EST.)
World Total
21%
28%
39%
50%
63%
North America
54
64
77
86
93
Europe
48
55
67
79
88
Soviet Union
18
39
61
76
87
East Asia
10
15
30
46
63
Latin America
25
41
60
74
85
Africa
8
13
24
37
54
Note: Little more than one-fifth of the world’s population was urban in 1925. In 2000 the total urban proportion in the world was about 50 percent. According to United Nations experts, the proportion should reach two-thirds by about 2025. The most rapid urban growth will occur in Africa and Asia, where the move to cities is still in its early stages.