Olusegun Taiye James
Traffic congestion is a key challenge in metropolitan centers worldwide in 2025, harming commuters, businesses, and the environment. Several factors contribute to this recurrent issue, including growing urbanization, rising vehicle ownership, poor infrastructure, and a lack of efficient public transportation alternatives. Based on the latest data and trends, here are the top 10 cities contending with the highest levels of road traffic in the globe in 2025:
List Of Top 10 Highest Road Traffic Cities In The World 2025
1. Lagos
Traffic congestion is highest in Lagos, Nigeria’s largest city. Lagos, a thriving port city on Africa’s west coast, is constructed on islands and land. At 21 million, including its metropolitan area, it is one of the world’s fastest-growing cities. Abuja became Nigeria’s capital in 1991, but Lagos remains its commercial hub. The city has changed dramatically in 20 years. Lagos, once beyond government control and beset by insecurity in the late 1990s, is now a global tourism hub. The Nigerian diaspora is also returning. Lagos is rapidly improving its infrastructural and regulatory frameworks, encouraging investment and development. Eko Atlantic City, a new urban district on Atlantic Ocean land surrounded by an 8.5-kilometer sea wall, is an example of this progress.
2. Los Angeles
Los Angeles is still the U.S. entertainment capital as of 2025, and it is becoming more and more known as a centre of art and culture worldwide. It is notable for being one of the Americas’ biggest and most culturally varied urban areas. Nearly 10 million people live in Greater Los Angeles County, which is more than 4,000 square miles in size and features a remarkable range of landforms, including deserts, valleys, coastal villages, and densely populated urban centres. More than 200 languages are spoken in the area, and creative and cultural traditions from all over the world are flourishing, reflecting the region’s cultural diversity. With a majority of people of colour and nearly half Latino residents, Los Angeles is at the front of the demographic transition influencing the future of the US.
3. Colombo
Sri Lanka’s capital is Colombo. Colombo is a major port on the Indian Ocean and is located on the island’s west coast. It boasts one of the world’s biggest man-made harbours. The bulk of Sri Lanka’s international trade is managed by it. The processing of raw materials shipped through the port is the foundation of the city’s manufacturing sectors. The selling, maintenance, repair, and assembly of automobiles and other machines, as well as public utilities, are all related to general engineering enterprises. Food, beverages, and tobacco are processed by these light manufacturers. There are a lot of factories on the outskirts of the city. Additionally, Colombo serves as the island’s commercial hub.
4. Delhi
Delhi is India’s capital and one of its largest and most dynamic urban agglomerations in 2025. Old Delhi in the north, with centuries of history, and New Delhi in the south, the capital since 1947 and British India’s administrative centre since the early 20th century, make up the city. Delhi is spread across the Yamuna River, a major Ganges tributary. Old and New Delhi and the surrounding metropolitan area make up the National Capital Territory, a political, cultural, commercial, and transportation hub. Delhi continues to shape India’s future with its deep historical roots and growing global influence.
5. Dhaka
As of 2025, Dhaka is Bangladesh’s capital and economic centre. Dhaka is one of South Asia’s most populous cities and a regional metropolis, located north of the Buriganga River, a Dhaleswari River channel in the south-central region. Dhaka’s population, size, and socioeconomic diversity have grown rapidly since becoming the national capital. Dhaka is one of Bangladesh’s most industrialised and urbanised cities, along with its river port of Narayanganj 10 miles south. A growing industrial base and traditional crafts like jamdani (fine muslin), embroidery, silk, and jewellery make the city famous. Dhaka is a major economic hub due to its jute processing, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, textiles, leather goods, ceramics, and electronics industries.
6. Kolkata
Kolkata remains a major Indian cultural hub in 2025. Known as the birthplace of modern Indian literature, art, and nationalism, the city continues to promote and preserve India’s cultural and intellectual heritage. Kolkata’s vibrant and diverse culture is a result of centuries of Eastern and Western influences. Besides its top universities, the city is home to the Asiatic Society of Bengal, the Bengal Literary Society (Bangiya Sahitya Parishad), the Ramakrishna Mission Institute of Culture, the Academy of Fine Arts, the Birla Academy of Art and Culture, and the Maha Bodhi Society. These institutions maintain Kolkata’s reputation as South Asia’s artistic, philosophical, and spiritual centre.
7. Mexico City
Mexico City remains the capital and political centre in 2025. Both the city and its vast metropolitan area—which includes the Federal District and extends into the State of Mexico to the west, north, and east—are called “Mexico City” by many. Mountainous terrain makes the southern Federal District less populous. Mexico City is a global urban centre, especially in the developing world, due to its rich natural environment, deep historical roots, and central role in the nation’s political, religious, and economic life. Since the late Post-Classic Period (13th–16th century CE), the city has dominated Mesoamerican civilisation, and centralism has shaped it.
8. Mumbai
As of 2025, Mumbai—formerly Bombay until its 1995 renaming—is the capital of Maharashtra and one of Asia’s most important financial and cultural centres. Mumbai, on India’s western Konkan coast, has a deep natural harbour and has long been a gateway. As an alpha world city in 2008, Mumbai is India’s wealthiest and has the most millionaires and billionaires. Centuries of complex history underpin its economic power. The Portuguese took over a cluster of seven islands inhabited by Koli fishing communities after several indigenous empires controlled it. Charles II gave the islands to the British East India Company in 1661 after Catherine of Braganza married him.
9. Jakarta
Jakarta remains Indonesia’s capital and largest city in 2025. At the mouth of the Ciliwung River along Jakarta Bay on Java’s northwest coast, the city is the country’s administrative and economic centre. This region is nearly identical to Greater Jakarta (Jakarta Raya) and the Daerah Khusus Ibukota (Special Capital District), which includes several small Java Sea islands. Manufacturing is prevalent in Jakarta. The city has iron foundries, machinery workshops, margarine and soap factories, printing facilities, and paper, glassware, and wire cable manufacturers. Aluminium, asbestos, and automotive products have been added to the industrial base in recent decades.
10. Bangalore
In 2025, Bengaluru, the capital of Karnataka in southern India, remains a major city in the country. At 3,113 feet above sea level on an east-west ridge of the Karnataka Plateau, it is a cultural crossroads for Kannada, Telugu, and Tamil speakers. In the 1950s, state-led investments in public sector industries and education attracted southern Indian migrants, transforming the city and creating jobs. Bengaluru’s economy started with manufacturing. However, economic liberalisation and educational reform in the early 1990s changed things. These factors boosted its ICT sector. Over the decades, this sector has made Bengaluru a global technology and innovation hub by 2025.
