World Urbanization Prospects, the 2011 Revision

Source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division: World Urbanization Prospects, the 2011 Revision.
New York 2012

Note: Drylands are defined as lands where annual precipitation is less than two thirds of potential evaporation, from dry sub-humid areas (ratio ranges 0.50–0.65), through semiarid, arid, and hyper-arid (ratio <0.05) areas, but excluding polar areas; drylands include cultivated lands, scrublands, shrublands, grasslands, semi-deserts, and true deserts (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2003:55) . Please refer to the Highlights for details.

Disclaimer: This thematic map is for data illustration purposes only. The boundaries, names shown and designations used on this map do not imply official endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations.

These maps use the geographical coordinates for the centroid of the urban agglomeration to determine whether the agglomeration is located in a dryland area. Drylands are classified by level of aridity.