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World Population & Urbanization (Part – II)

📆 November 7, 2024

Total Questions: 38

1. According to an estimate, seventy percent of the world's population would be localized in urban areas by the year: [U.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 2008]

Correct Answer: (b) 2050
Solution:In the first half of 20th century, the process of urbanization in the developed countries was rapid, but in the latter half this process developing countries has been intensified due to population explosion and rural urban migration. According to the estimated figures given by the United Nations in the question period, more than one-third of the annual growth rate in the population of the World's cities is the result of rural-urban relocation. This is why it was projected that about 60 percent of the world's population by 2030 and about 70 percent by 2050 will reside in cities. Whereas, according to World Urbanization Prospects 2018, it is estimated that 68.4 percent of the World's population will be inhabited in the cities by the year 2050.

2. With reference to the role of UN-Habitat in the United Nations programme working towards a better urban future, which of the statements is/are correct? [I.A.S. (Pre) 2017]

  1. UN-Habitat has been mandated by the United Nations General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities to provide adequate shelter for all.
  2. Its partners are either governments or local urban authorities only.
  3. UN-Habitat contributes to the overall objective of the United Nations system to reduce poverty and to promote access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation.
    Select the correct answer using the code given below:
Correct Answer: (b) 1 and 3 only
Solution:The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) is the UN Programme for human settlements and sustainable urban development. It was established in 1978 and is mandated by the UN General Assembly to promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all. UN-Habitat contributes to the overall objective of the United Nations system to reduce poverty and improve the lives of slum dwellers, and to promote access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation. Thus, statements 1 and 3 are correct. While statement 2 is incorrect, because UN-Habitat collaborates with governments, intergovernmental and UN agencies, civil society organizations, foundations, academic institutions, and the private sector to achieve enduring results in addressing the challenges of urbanization.

3. As per the UN-Habitat’s Global Report on Human Settlements 2009, which one among the following regions has shown the fastest growth rate of urbanization in the last three decades? [I.A.S. (Pre) 2010]

Correct Answer: (a) Asia
Solution:According to the United Nations-Habitat’s Global report on Human Settlement 2009, Asia has had the fastest growth rate of urbanization in the last three decades. According to 'The 2018 Revision of World Urbanization Prospects' published in May 2018, the world's urban population increased from 751 million in the year 1950 to 4.2 billion in the year 2018. Asia accounts for 54 percent of the world’s urban population, albeit at a relatively low level of urbanization. It is followed by Europe and Africa (13% each). According to UN-Habitat’s ‘World Cities Report 2022: Envisaging the Future of Cities’, in 2020, 82.6 percent of the population in North America, 81.2 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean, and 74.9 percent in Europe lives in urban areas. The level of urbanization in Asia is estimated at 51.1 percent. In contrast, 43.5 percent of the population in Africa is urban. According to UNCTAD, urbanization in Asia and Oceania was projected to increase from 44 percent in 2012 to 50.6 percent in 2022.

4. Which one of the following is not a criterion to determine the prosperity of cities according to U.N. Habitat Report on the State of World's Cities? [U.P. R.O/A.R.O. (Mains) 2013]

Correct Answer: (b) Optimum population
Solution:According to the UN-Habitat's World's Cities Report, the basis of determining the prosperity of cities includes productivity, quality of life, and equality, etc. But the optimum population is not a criterion included in it. The optimum population is a concept where the human population is able to balance maintaining a maximum population size with optimal standards of living for all people. At the end of the 19th century, Henry Sidgwick laid the foundation for the idea of 'Optimum population'.

5. The World's population increased from its rural population in the year: [U.P.P.C.S. (Mains) 2009]

Correct Answer: (e) 2008
Solution:According to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), for the first time in history, more than half of the total population of the world became urban population in the year 2008.

6. Which one of the following countries has the largest urban population in the world? [U.P.P.C.S. (Mains) 2008]

Correct Answer: (a) China
Solution:China's urban population is more than the total population of Indonesia and the total population of the USA. The level of urbanization in China is higher than in India. Hence, option (a) is the correct answer. As per the World Bank data, the urban population of the given countries in 2022 is as follows:
Country Urban Population (in millions)
China 897.6
India 508.4
USA 276.9
Indonesia 159.6

7. The most urbanized continent is: [U.P.P.C.S. (Mains) 2010 U.P. U.D.A./L.D.A. (Pre) 2002]

Correct Answer: (b) Australia
Solution:As per the question period and also according to the World Cities Report 2022, option (b) is the correct answer. According to the World Cities Report, 2022, the percentage of urbanization in the given continents in 2020 are as follows:
  • Australia/New Zealand (86.3%)
  • North America (82.6%)
  • Europe (74.9%)
  • Africa (43.5%)

8. Which of the following regions is most urbanized? [U.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 2003]

Correct Answer: (c) Europe
Solution:As per 'World Cities Report 2022', the percentage of urbanization (% of urban population to the total population) in East Asia, South Asia, Europe, and Oceania in 2020 are as follows:
Region Urbanization (%)
East Asia 64.8%
South Asia 36.6%
Europe 74.9%
Oceania 68.2%

9. The total population of which one of the following countries is more than the urban population of India? [U.P.P.C.S. (Mains) 2002]

Correct Answer: (d) U.S.A.
Solution:As per the question period, option (d) was the correct answer, but at present none of the given countries has its population more than the urban population of India.

10. At present, the most urbanized country of the world is: [Uttarakhand P.C.S. (Pre) 2005 U.P.P.C.S. (Pre) 2005 U.P. Lower Sub. (Pre) 2002]

Correct Answer: (c) Singapore
Solution:Among the given countries, Singapore is the most urbanized country in the world as per the question period and even at present (as per World Bank data), where 100% of the population lives in cities in 2022. Apart from Singapore, the urbanization level in Hong Kong, Kuwait, Gibraltar, Monaco, Cayman Islands, Bermuda, Macao, and Nauru, etc., is also 100 percent.
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