The new World Urbanization Prospects 2025 report of the United Nations has completely changed the picture of global cities. Indonesia’s capital Jakarta has emerged as the world’s largest city with a population of about 42 million. Tokyo, which was at the top of the list of world’s number-1 city for decades, has now reached number three. The population of Tokyo is 3 crore 34 lakh. Meanwhile, Dhaka has also captured the second position by growing at a record pace, with a population of 3 crore 66 lakhs.

The report clearly shows for the first time that the heart of the modern world is beating in Asia. By 2025, approximately 80% of the world’s population will live in cities and most of this urban expansion will occur in Asia. While there were only a few megacities in the world in the 1970s, by 2025 their number will cross 33, of which 19 are located in Asia alone.

Asia’s dominance and India’s new status

According to the UN model, Asia has the largest share among the ten largest cities of the world. Jakarta is at first place, Dhaka at second and Tokyo at third. Delhi and Kolkata are also included in the top list, but are out of the top-3. Delhi is at fourth position, while Kolkata is at eighth position. The population of Delhi is 3 crore 2 lakh. Kolkata’s is 2 crore 25 lakh.

How did Jakarta become the world’s largest metropolis?

Decades ago, Jakarta was a coastal city with an average population, but after independence, rapid development, employment opportunities and continuous population flow transformed it into a huge metropolis. With a population of 4.19 crore, it now looks like the urban capital of the world. However, rising sea levels, floods and pollution are its biggest challenges. This is the reason why the Indonesian government is preparing the new capital Nusantara.

Will Dhaka leave Jakarta behind?

Dhaka is a rapidly growing city in South Asia. The textile industry, rural migration and continuous population growth in the city have turned it into the most densely populated city in the world. UN estimates that by 2050, the population of Dhaka could exceed 50 million.

The real reason behind Tokyo

Tokyo’s falling rank is directly linked to Japan’s problems. The city’s growth has stagnated due to low birth rates, declining youth numbers and strict controls on migration. After being number-1 for 70 consecutive years, it has now reached the third position.

The world’s cities will become bigger and there will be problems too.

The UN estimates that urbanization will intensify in the coming years. In countries like India, Pakistan and Nigeria, most of the population is moving towards cities. Cities of the future will have to grapple with challenges like congestion, pollution and climate crisis.

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Indonesia’s capital Jakarta has achieved the title of the world’s most populous city. According to the new report of the United Nations, World Urbanization Prospectus, 2025, released on November 18, Jakarta has now overtaken Japan’s capital Tokyo and reached the first place with a population of about 42 million, which is equal to the total population of a country like Canada.

According to the report, Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka is at second place in this list, whose population is about 3.7 crores. At the same time, Tokyo, which was in first place for a long time, has now slipped to third place and in this list, India’s national capital Delhi is at fourth place.

How Jakarta climbed from 33rd place to first place

The UN report is also shocking because in the 2018 UN report, Jakarta was ranked 33rd and its population was stated to be only 11 million, whereas Tokyo was considered to be the most populous city in the world at that time, with a population of around 37 million.

Actually, this big change has come after a big change in the new calculation method adopted by the United Nations. Earlier, the UN urban population figures were mainly based on government records and national statistics of the respective countries, but the problem with this was that each country used to decide the city boundaries as per its convenience. Some countries considered only the municipal area as a city, while some considered the entire metropolitan area. This created disparity in global comparison.

At the same time, to overcome this shortcoming in 2025, the United Nations implemented the same criteria for classifying cities, towns and rural areas for all countries. In the new approach, it was seen that the city actually extends to the areas where people work, live and everyday life is connected to the city, they were also included in the urban population.

UN Widespread impact of new method seen in Jakarta

This new approach had the greatest impact in the case of Jakarta. Jakarta is spread on the northwest coast of the island of Java and is surrounded by several densely populated areas, which are actually part of the city, but in Indonesia’s official census these areas were not considered part of the Jakarta metropolitan area for a long time. All these areas were also included in the calculations in a new way, due to which the population of Jakarta increased rapidly to the figure of 3 crores.

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An explosion occurred in a mosque during Friday prayers in Indonesia’s capital Jakarta, injuring 54 people. This incident took place on November 7 in a mosque located in a school campus. Police said that the area has been sealed and investigation has been started.

Many people injured in the blast
Jakarta police chief Asip Idi Suheri said in a press conference that according to preliminary information, about 54 people were affected. Some have suffered minor injuries and some have been discharged from the hospital after treatment.

Weapons and things related to the blast found in the investigation
In the initial investigation, body vest, weapons and bomb making items have been found from the spot, due to which it is suspected that the blast may be related to some terrorist activity. Although pictures of the mosque did not show much damage, many people suffered injuries ranging from mild to severe burns.

Explosion in mosque inside Jakarta school campus

At least 54 people, including children and teachers, were injured in an explosion at a mosque inside a school complex during Friday prayers in North Jakarta, according to police.

The blast took place at a naval complex in Kelapa Gading area… pic.twitter.com/54sYE8L6ud

— RT Hindi (@RT_hindi_) November 7, 2025

Incident site sealed, help desk started in hospitals
After the blast, the police surrounded the entire area and declared the incident scene as a ‘crime scene’. To help the families of the injured people, help desks have been set up in two hospitals – Chempaka Putih Islamic Hospital and Yarsi Hospital.

Police said- investigation is ongoing
Police Chief Asip Edi Suheri said that the incident is still fresh, so officials are investigating all aspects. He clarified that it was too early to tell how the blast occurred.

Accident in Indonesia: A major bus accident took place on Tuesday (May 6) in the west Sumatra province of Indonesia. At least 12 people, including two innocent people, died in this terrible accident, while many others were seriously injured. According to the local police, this terrible incident was due to the bus brake failure.

Local police said there were a total of 34 passengers in the bus that was victims of the accident, which became uncontrolled and overturned on Tuesday (May 6) due to a break failure on the sloping route in West Sumatra province of Indonesia. Due to this, 12 passengers aboard the bus died and all other people were injured.

What did the traffic police director say on the accident,

Reza Charul Akbar Sidik, director of Western Sumatra Traffic Police, said, “This inter-traditional bus was going from North Sumatra province to Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. When suddenly the bus was in a crust in the bus braking system near Padang of West Sumatra and the driver’s bus lost control and the bus was overturned near the terminal. While the survivors in the accident told the officials that the driver had missed control of the bus.

12 killed and all others injured in accident

Sadiq said, “12 people died in this terrible bus accident, most of whom were found buried under the bus. At the same time, all other passengers sitting in the bus were injured, who have been admitted to two nearby hospitals for treatment.” He said, “13 of the total 23 people injured in the incident are seriously injured. At the same time, the condition of the driver of the bus is also very critical.”

Relief and rescue teams reached the spot after the accident

After the bus accident in Western Sumatra province, the workers of the National Search and Rescue Agency reached the spot for relief and rescue. In the video footage found at the scene, it was seen that the bus was badly damaged and overturned on one side.