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OIC official: Urban population will reach 6.5 billion by 2050

Zehra Zümrüt Selçuk, Director General of the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries

21 May 2026 12:21 (UTC +04:00)

In 2025, the global urban population reached approximately 4.8 billion people. By 2050, this figure is projected to rise to 6.5 billion, Zehra Zümrüt Selçuk, Director General of the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries, said during the session titled “Strengthening the Role of Small and Medium Enterprises as Key Actors in Building Sustainable, Inclusive and Resilient Cities” held within the framework of WUF13, APA reports.

She stated that when it comes to member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), more than 1.1 billion people currently live in urban centers:

“In practical terms, this means that these cities will have to accommodate an additional 750 million people in the near future.

At the same time, the share of OECD member countries in the global urbanization process is also increasing. While approximately one quarter of the world’s urban population lived in OECD countries in 2025, this figure is expected to approach 30 percent by 2050. This shows that urbanization trends in OECD member countries will develop more rapidly compared to other regions of the world.”

Gunay Elshan

WUF13 urbanization OECD Zehra Zümrüt Selçuk sustainable cities urban population SMEs inclusive cities economic development Islamic Cooperation Organization urban growth