Jakarta overtakes Tokyo as world's largest city, according to UN
In short:
Asia is home to nine of the world's 10 most populous cities in 2025, according to the United Nations.
A new report identifies Jakarta, with 42 million residents, as having the largest population globally.
Tokyo had long held the title as the world's largest city, but its population growth has stagnated.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-11-25/jakarta-overtakes-tokyo-as-worlds-largest-city/106049122Open linkView original on lemmy.world
9 replies
And it’s sinking enough that they’re trying to move capitals to a new city. Oof.
No shit. Riding the JR line you wont be able to tell what's Tokyo and not for an hour.
With Japan's population losing almost a million a year, Tokyo is not likely to regain the title.
Tokyo's (and other major Japanese cities) population are predicted to continue growing. The rest of the country is depopulating.
I grew up in Jakarta in the 80s, and it was a massive shit hole then. Went back to visit in 2015 and it was far far worse.
How so?
Extreme overcrowding, over 16k per square km is insane, tons of garbage, all the rivers smell awful still, rampant crime.
Tokyo just needs to annex a few surrounding cities to keep up.
Meanwhile, China has 10 cities with over 10M people and another 150 with over 1M.
It's insane that a city has a larger population than most countries