World 10 Supercities Future 2015

Could you imagine half of the UK population plus Finland's population living in an area less than 1 % of the UK territory? Well, this is Tokyo city, the most populous supercity in the world. Specialists say it is going to maintain this position in the future. Only some metropolises from India and China could hardly reach its status. In a top made by Forbes magazine, these would be the first 10 metropolises in the world by 2015.

1.Tokyo, Japan: 35.2 million inhabitants in 2005; 35.5 in 2015. Tokyo was built over the foundation of the ancient Japanese city Edo. It reached
the status of the world's largest city even from the 18th century, when it got 1 million inhabitants.
The name Tokyo started to be used beginning with 1868. The city was destroyed several times. Extremely damaging was a 1923 earthquake, and during WWII, in 1945, it experienced massive American bombardments. There are 100 universities, 600 cinemas and 2.000 temples in Tokyo.
2. Mumbai (former Bombay), India: 18.2 million inhabitants in 2005; 21.9 in 2015. Founded by the British in the 17th century, it is the Indian capital of commerce and entertainment, with its famous Bollywood studios, the real competition for the Hollywood!...

3. Mexico City, Mexico: 19.4 million inhabitants in 2005; 21.6 in 2015. It was built over the ruins of the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan, wiped out in 1521 by the Spanish conquistadors led by Hernando Cortez. Aztec ruins are found all the time in the city's center. This is the economical, political and cultural capital of Mexico.

4. Sao Paulo, Brazil: 18.3 million inhabitants in 2005, 20.5 in 2015. This metropolis is the result of the coffee trade. It was founded in 1554 by the Jesuit monks and developed after Brazil got independence in the 19th century due to its position as port to the Atlantic. It is one of the most cosmopolite cities in the world, with a mixed population of Portuguese, Italians, Japanese, Lebanese and Africans.

5. New York, US: 18,7 million inhabitants in 2005, 19.9 in 2015.
It is the first city to have reached 10 million inhabitants. It was founded by the Dutch around 1620, being called New Amsterdam, but when the British conquered it, changed its name after York (England). The city initially boomed due to the trade on the Hudson river and it is still the American capital of finances and mass-media.

6. Delhi, India: 15 million inhabitants in 2005, 18.6 million in 2015. It is a more traditional city than Mumbai and one of the oldest continually inhabited cities in the world. It has been the capital of many Indian Empires, including the Mughal.

7. Shanghai, China: 14.5 million inhabitants in 2005,17.2 in 2015. Due to its position near the Yangtze river, Shanghai flourished starting with the 19th century, when China started to trade with the Europeans. The city is also dubbed "the Oriental Paris".

8. Calcutta, India: 14.3 million inhabitants in 2015, 17 in 2015. It was founded also by the British in 1690 and flourished due to its location as a port, turning into the gate of trade with India. Once it was the capital and the largest city of India.

9. Dhaka, Bangladesh: 12.4 million inhabitants in 2005; 15.2 in 2015. Dhaka was once the center of the worldwide Muslin trade; now the capital of the "eastern Muslim India", Bangladesh.

10. Jakarta, Indonesia: 13.2 million inhabitants in 2005; 16.8 in 2015. This city is 1,500 years old and was ruled by Hindu kings, Muslim sultans and the Dutch (who named it Batavia).


Source : Softpedia