World Urbanization Prospects: The 2003 Revision

THIS IS THE latest version of World Urbanization Prospects, which the United Nations Population Division brings out every two years. It contains statistics for the rural and urban populations of all the countries in the world, plus their levels of urbanization for each five years from 1950 to the present – with projections up to 2030. It also has population figures for all urban agglomerations that had 750,000 or more inhabitants in 2000 – also from 1950 to the present, and with projections up to 2015. There are also tables with annual rates of change for all the above, and various tables on the distribution of the population within the world and within regions between settlements of different populations sizes. As in previous issues, there are also details of how each nation defines its urban population and city populations. The 2003 revision also has 150 pages of description and analysis relating to the statistics it presents. These include discussions of patterns of city growth by city size, and changes in the urban hierarchy.