Dhaka's population to exceed 50 million by 2050
Collected Photo
The capital city of Dhaka is a living ocean of millions of hearts. However, driven by the search for livelihoods and the impacts of climate change, approximately 500,000 new residents are added to this megacity every year. If this trend continues, it is feared that Dhaka's population will surpass 50 million by the year 2050.
According to the latest global report by the United Nations, the current population of the Dhaka megacity is around 36.6 million, recognizing it as the second-largest megacity in the world. Jakarta, Indonesia, currently tops this list.
The report forecasts that by 2050, Dhaka will overtake Jakarta to become the world's most populous megacity. At that time, the population of this city will reach approximately 52.1 million.
According to urban planners, a megacity has no specific administrative boundaries. When the United Nations calculates a city's population, it does not look solely at administrative borders; instead, it considers continuous urban areas with a population density of at least 1,500 people per square kilometer.
Under this measurement, areas like Savar, Narayanganj, Keraniganj, and certain industrial zones and suburbs of Gazipur have also been integrated into the Dhaka megacity.
In contrast, from an administrative standpoint, the 2022 census indicates that the combined population of the Dhaka North and South City Corporations is only around 10.3 million, while the population of the entire Dhaka district is approximately 14.7 million.
However, according to verbal claims by the administrators of the two city corporations, the actual population of these two cities—including the floating population—is closer to 20 million.
Experts note that a lack of employment opportunities in rural areas, combined with people vulnerable to climate change constantly migrating toward the capital, results in 500,000 new people joining the Dhaka megacity annually. This poses a major challenge to housing, mosquito control, and various other civic services.
Urban planner Professor Dr. Akter Mahmood said that Dhaka's unplanned urbanization is hindering the fulfillment of people's basic needs. If the city's population exceeds 50 million by 2050, it will turn into a human bomb for the capital. To solve this crisis and transform the growing population into human resources, the government must adopt a new urban policy and a sustainable, integrated plan immediately.
