What is Dhaka's population
Dhaka is the second most populous city in the world.
So, what is the actual population of the capital of Bangladesh?
About 3 crore 66 lakh people live in Dhaka, according to the UN's World Urbanisation Prospect 2025.
Keep updated, follow The Business Standard's Google news channel
In 2000, Dhaka was the 9th most populous city. The population was 1 crore 74 lakh then. Dhaka rose to the 2nd position on the list in 25 years. The annual population growth rate was 2.96% during this period.
The population increase rate can remain the same in the future. World Urbanisation Prospect also said Dhaka may come at the top of the list by 2050. Then Dhaka will become the most populated city in the World. The population will be 5 crore 21 lakh.
Dhaka's rise has been driven largely by an influx of people fleeing rural areas due to flooding, erosion and other climate-change impacts, as well as those seeking better opportunities, said the report.
Jakarta faces similar pressures, with rising sea levels putting up to one-fourth of the city at risk of submersion by 2050, reports AL Jazeera.
The UN says the number of megacities — those with populations exceeding 10 million — has surged to 33, up from just eight in 1975.
Although Indonesia is constructing a new capital, Nusantara, the UN estimates that Jakarta's population will continue to grow, adding another 10 million people by mid-century.
The swelling population has fuelled concern over inequality and affordability, issues that have already sparked public protests.
