Jakarta has been confirmed as the most densely populated capital city in the world with 42 million residents, according to the latest report from the United Nations (UN), released on Sunday, November 23. 

The next positions are held by the capital of Bangladesh, Dhaka, with nearly 40 million residents, and Japan’s capital, Tokyo, with 33 million residents. 

Indonesia’s current population stands at 286 million people, based on the latest UN data published by Worldometer. Indonesia ranks fourth on the list of countries and dependencies by population size. 

In 2019, Indonesia announced plans to relocate its capital to Nusantara (IKN), a new city currently under development. The project, valued at USD 32 billion (approximately IDR 534.2 trillion), was initially scheduled to be inaugurated in 2024. However, the plan failed to meet the target. IKN is now projected to become the “political capital” in 2028. 

The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs’ World Urbanization Prospects 2025 report states that the world is undergoing rapid urbanization, with cities now home to 45% of the global population of 8.2 billion people. 

Since 1950, when only 20% of the world’s 2.5 billion people lived in cities, the urban population has more than doubled. By 2050, it is projected that two-thirds of global population growth will occur in cities, with the remaining one-third in smaller towns. 

The number of megacities, defined as urban areas with 10 million residents or more, has quadrupled from eight in 1975 to 33 in 2025. More than half of them, totaling 19 cities, are located in Asia. 

This article is published in partnership with Katadata 

Original article here