Four of the World’s Fastest Growing Cities Are in Kerala. Anand Mahindra Explains Why It’s a Good Sign

If one was asked to guess the fastest growing cities by population, most would perhaps name the mega metros of Delhi, Mumbai or Bengaluru. Instead, it is Malappuram in Kerala that has recorded the fastest population growth in the world, according to a report in the Economist magazine that is based on United Nations data.

According to the report, Malappuram recorded a 44 per cent rise in its population from 2015 to 2020, while Can Tho in Vietnam, ranking second on the list, saw its population increase by 36.7%. Suqian in China, which ranks third, recorded a 36.6 % growth in population.

Apart from Malappuram, two other cities from Kerala - Kozhikode and Kollam – feature in the top 10 of the rankings that have been compiled from the 2019 UN Population Division report. Thrissur, which has been ranked 13, takes Kerala’s representation in the list to four.

The surprising results of the study are in sharp contrast to Kerala’s overall growth in population, which has been the slowest in the country in the last decade at 4.6 per cent. This is much below the national growth rate of 17.6 per cent. Bihar had the highest decadal population growth at 28.6 per cent.

Further, the Economic Review of 2016 produced by the state, said: “Kerala is moving towards zero population growth or even negative population growth.” The state has achieved sub-replacement level fertility rate—a total fertility rate (TFR) that indicates each subsequent generation will be less populous than the preceding one in a given region.

Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra said the rankings are a sign that wider distribution of wealth and job opportunities is underway. “When smaller towns and cities grow it signals that a wider distribution of wealth and job opportunities is underway. We need more small towns to rise,” he tweeted.

Experts in population and migration studies said heavy internal migration in the state is the real reason that catapulted Kerala cities to the top of these global ranking and it reflects its status as migrant-friendly. Other Indian cities on the list are Surat in Gujarat and Tiruppur in Tamil Nadu, taking the total number to six.