Cities will host over 50% of world population

 More than half the world's population will be living in urban areas by 2007, predicts a UN report.

The report, released by the UN population division Wednesday, says 48 per cent of the world's population already lives in urban areas, and this  figure is "expected to exceed the 50 per cent mark by 2007, thus marking the first time in history that the world will have more urban residents than rural residents".

World Urbanisation Prospects: The 2003 Revision, predicts that global urban populations would grow at an  average rate of 1.8

per cent annually, while rural populations would continue to decline. 

Tokyo, the world's most populous city today with 35 million inhabitants, was projected to remain the largest in 2015 with 36 million people, followed by Mumbai, (22.6 million), New Delhi (20.9 million),  Mexico City (20.6 million) and Sao Paulo, 20 million.