Istanbul set to eclipse London as Europe’s biggest city by 2020
Posted 1 day ago by Chris Stokel-Walker TRAVEL
Photo: Yannboix/Flickr
London’s status as Europe’s most populous metropolitan area is threatened
So say Euromonitor International, who forecast that Istanbul’s population will eclipse that of London between 2018-19. The Turkish city has been growing at an average rate of 2.6% since 2007, when its population was 12 million. And it will continue its growth for the rest of the decade, ending up at 16.4 million.
London’s average annual growth is less than 1%, which will continue unchanged to 2020, at which point it will have 16 million residents.
The race to be western Europe’s biggest city is a two-horse race, with Paris (current population around 12 million) a distant third.
At least out of the three, we’ll be able to boast that we won our bid to host the Olympics.
You’d probably be surprised, but Euromonitor describes western Europe as the world’s least urbanised developed region, though by 2020 almost four-fifths of its population will live in cities. Half of those will reside in metropolises with more than a million people. Many of these are not “megacities”, though – that label is saved for those with more than 10 million residents.
Istanbul is not the only city experiencing serious growth. Of the 10 fastest-growing cities that will have more than a million residents by 2020, six are in Turkey, and Turkish cities account for the top three.
There are a couple of British cities on the fastest-growing list. Newcastle-upon-Tyne’s population is forecast to rise 13.8% from 2012-20 to 1.8 million. Bristolians, too, will be more numerous by 2020. Its 1.1 million population will increase by a tenth by the end of the decade.
Source: Euromonitor
via Istanbul set to eclipse London as Europe’s biggest city by 2020 | ampp3d.