World's Biggest City Crown Passes to Jakarta

A new report from the United Nations confirms a major shift in global urban rankings. Jakarta, Indonesia, is now the world's most populous metropolitan area. The UN data counts the Indonesian capital and its vast surrounding regions as a single, continuous urban zone, known as a conurbation. This area is now home to approximately 42 million people. This change means Tokyo, Japan, has lost the top position it held for decades. Tokyo's metropolitan area now ranks as the second largest. The shift highlights rapid population growth in Southeast Asia. It also underscores the challenges of managing massive urban areas. These challenges include providing housing, transportation, and infrastructure for tens of millions of residents.