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Can the gigacities of tomorrow keep human connection alive?

Over the past few decades, people in many countries have witnessed extraordinary technological progress. Transport is becoming smarter, robots and drones are entering everyday life,…

By Samantha Johnson / July 29, 2026
Over the past few decades, people in many countries have witnessed extraordinary technological progress. Transport is becoming smarter, robots and drones are entering everyday life, infrastructure is growing more complex, buildings are reaching ever higher into the sky and expanding cities are drawing in millions of new residents.

The number of megacities – urban areas with populations of at least 10 million – rose from eight in 1975 to 33 in 2025. The United Nations expects this number to reach 37 by 2050.

Under the UN’s harmonised methodology, the world’s largest urban agglomerations are Jakarta, with around 42 million people, Dhaka with 36.6 million and Tokyo with 33.4 million. By 2050, Dhaka’s population could reach 52.1 million and Jakarta’s 51.8 million.

One projection puts the population of Lagos at 88.3 million by 2100, Kinshasa at 83.5 million, Dar es Salaam at 73.7 million, Mumbai at 67.2 million and New Delhi at 57.3 million. Depending on the global demographic and socioeconomic scenario, Lagos could have anywhere from 61 million to more than 100 million residents. And a city of 100 million is no longer merely a megacity. It is a gigacity.

This shift also marks a major geographical and demographic realignment: the centre of future large-scale urbanisation is moving towards Africa and South Asia.

Moreover, a record in vertical construction is on the horizon. The Burj Khalifa remains the world’s tallest completed building at 828 metres, but construction of the Jeddah Tower has resumed. It is expected to surpass the one-kilometre mark.

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