IXL Social Enterprise Case Studies Food Security January 2013 | Page 5

Food Security in Urban Slums by 2018

%
 o f
 Total
 Population

Without new solutions, food security issues in urban slums are likely to get worse. The global
population is expected to continue shifting to more urban areas. Many people who are dispersed
across broad areas of land are moving to cities where they can pool their resources and assets to
gain easier access to a wide variety of employment and education options.8 By 2050, over seventy
percent (70%) of the population is expected to be urban (Figure 3).9

100
80
60
40

Rural

20

Urban

0
1964

2007

2050

Year
Figure 3. In the future, the majority of the world’s population will be urban9

Cities and their surrounding areas are expected to grow dramatically in developing countries within
Africa, Asia and Latin America. The table in Figure 4 indicates the top 10 largest cities in 1950, 2000
and in 2050.10 If food security in the long term is to be addressed, focus must be on emerging urban
population centers like these around the globe.

Figure 4. The largest cities by population are moving to the developing world10

Versi