STATE OF THE WORLD'S CITIES 2012/2013 Prosperity

State of the World’s Cities 2012/2013
5.0
4.5
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
5.0
4.5
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
FACT
Figure 2.1.2
Trends in urbanization and national GDP per capita – for various levels of income, 1960–2010
GDP per capita
5.0
High-income countries, 1960–2010 Higher middle-income countries, 1960–2010
4.5
5.0
Lower middle-income countries, 1960–2010 Low-income countries, 1960–2010
4.5
1960
1965
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
Note: Both time series are indexed to 1 in the initial year. The y value of each series shows the unit change with respect to the base year.
Source: UNDESA (2012) urbanization; World Bank (2012) GDP per capita.
In the USA, New York City contributes about 10 per cent
of the country’s GDP and only 6.3 per cent of the total
population. The 10 US cities with the largest GDP produce
36 per cent of the country’s goods and services and 24 per cent
of the total population. 8 São Paulo – Brazil’s economic and
financial capital accounts for 10 per cent of the population, but
25 per cent of national GDP. 9 In China, the 53 metropolitan regions
with populations over one million contribute about 62 per cent
of national non-farm GDP and 29 per cent of the country’s
population. In Kenya, Nairobi, with 8.4 per cent of the country’s
population, accounts for almost 20 per cent of the country’s
GDP. 10 Worldwide, the largest 100 cities accounted for around
30 per cent of the total production of goods and services in 2008,
with the top 30 cities alone accounting for around 18 per cent. 11
38
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
0.0
Urban population (%)
1960
1965
1970
1975
1980
1985
1990
1995
2000
2005
2010
Lastly, Kenya illustrates the experience of the limited
number of low-income countries, mostly in Sub-Saharan
Africa, where productivity
growth was negligible even
though urbanization rates
continued to rise. 7
POLICy
FACTORS AFFECTING
URBAN PRODUCTIvITy
The factors determining
urban productivity can
be split into two broad
categories: external factors
that give cities additional
comparative advantage,
including national and
Despite
differences
in the pace of
productivity growth
with respect to
urbanization, the urban
dominance in economic
productivity is evident
across countries. In
other words, urban
areas contribute
disproportionately to
national productivity.