Metropolitan growth and population development at the national level

The importance of treating urban populations as heterogeneous when making national population forecasts is the main theme of this paper. "It hypothesizes that large metropolitan areas exhibit specific patterns of migration, age composition, and fertility when compared with urban areas as a whole. In particular, such areas are characterized by relatively low levels of reproduction." The impact of the urbanization process on demographic change at the national level is emphasized. The authors examine the demographic structure of large metropolitan areas in highly urbanized countries and present comparisons with the structure of the total urban population. They then focus on the case of a developing country, the Republic of Korea, for which alternative patterns of urban development are considered. Issues concerning policies of urbanization and population redistribution are also discussed. Comments by T. R. Lakshmanan (pp. 39-41) and Ahmed Seifelnasr (pp. 42-3) are also included.