Indonesia's Urban Population Exceeds Thailand's

Indonesia's urban population is larger than Thailand's. A study by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) titled "ASEAN Cities, Stirring The Melting Pot" ranks Indonesia fourth among ASEAN countries with the largest urban population. The EIU notes that 54 percent of Indonesians live in urban areas. This is a smaller percentage compared to Malaysia at 75 percent, or even Singapore, where the entire population lives in cities.

However, Indonesia still surpasses Thailand, where only 51 percent of the population lives in urban areas. Indonesia's urban population is also larger than that of fellow archipelagic ASEAN nations, namely the Philippines, with 44 percent. The country with the smallest proportion of urban population is Cambodia, at only 21 percent.

This study highlights a global trend showing that more than 50 percent of the world's population lives in urban areas. The EIU predicts that, with the rapid pace of urbanization, the urban population will continue to increase to 60 percent by 2030 and 66 percent by 2050. Although ASEAN only has 4 of the world's 30 megacities, Southeast Asia has 20 medium-sized cities and 21 smaller cities whose development reflects the global urbanization trend.