Urban Transport in the OIC Megacities
8
Table 2: Megacities examined in this report
Urban
Agglomeration Country or area
Population(thousands) Rank
Average
annual rate
of change
(percent)
2010-2015
1990 2014 2030 1990 2014 2030
Al-Qahirah (Cairo) Egypt 9892 18419 24502 11 10 8 2.1
Dhaka Bangladesh 6621 16982 27374 24 11 6 3.6
Karachi Pakistan 7147 16126 24838 22 12 7 3.3
Istanbul Turkey 6552 13954 16694 25 15 20 2.2
Lagos Nigeria 4764 12614 24239 33 19 9 3.9
Jakarta Indonesia 8175 10176 13812 17 28 25 1.4
Tehran Iran 6365 8353 9990 26 40 42 0.9
Source: United Nations, 2014
2.4. Overview of OIC Megacities Transport
Of the 7 megacities examined in this report one is in Africa (Lagos), one in the Arab World (Cairo) and
5 in Asia (Istanbul, Tehran, Karachi, Dhaka and Jakarta). Cairo is the city with the largest population,
with 18.4 million, followed by Dhaka (with 17.0 million) and Karachi (with 16.1 million). Istanbul has
a population of 14.0 million, Lagos has 12.6 million and Jakarta 10.2 million. Finally, as explained
above, Tehran has a population of 8.4 million, but nearly 11 million live in its wider urban area. Cairo
is currently the 10th largest city in the world is expected to be the 8 th largest by 2030, as it grows by
2.1% annually. However, Dhaka and Karachi are growing significantly faster (3.6 and 3.3% annually
respectively) and are therefore expected to have a larger population that Cairo by 2030. Dhaka is
expected to be the 6th largest city in the world and Karachi the 7th. In addition, Lagos, which is now the
19th largest city in the world, is expected to be the 9th largest by 2030 as its annual average population
growth rate is 3.9%.
The OIC megacities examined in this report share both differences and similarities in their economies,
cultural characteristics, institutional arrangements and, inevitably, transport problems. To begin with,
Islamic megacities borrow the characteristics of the wider area where they belong, For example, Lagos
shares common characteristics with other African cities, Cairo has common characteristics with other
Arabic cities, and Istanbul is also influenced by both Europe andWestern Asia. The geographic location
of cities does not only influence their societal characteristics but also their governance and best
practice sharing. Although cities are beginning to build larger networks and share information using
information communication technologies, it is still more likely that cities that are closer geographically
will seek advice and borrow practices and policies from each other. In addition, these elements shared
between countries may not necessarily be considered practice, with informal transport being a
prominent example of shared practices (with minibuses prevailing in Africa and tricycles in South
Asia). The three selected case studies (Dakar for Africa, Cairo for the Arab World, and Jakarta for Asia)
will reveal these differences and similarities between cities that belong to these three regions of the
Islamic world.
In addition, the megacities examined in this report differ in terms of economic and political
development. Most of these cities saw their populations growing exponentially around and after the
1950s, primarily as a result of internal migration. Some of the cities examined in this report, such as
Istanbul and Cairo, have long histories and have been vibrant, strategically located cities for many
years. On the other hand, cities such as Lagos and Karachi mainly gained power as trade cities during
colonial times. Colonial cities also grew rapidly after independence (Nigeria gained independence in
1960 and Pakistan in 1947) but at the same time had to go through the political transition from the
colonial era. In both cases, transport systems in these cities had to cope with rapidly rising demand
while they were not expanded accordingly. At the same time, transport institutions in these cities had