The urban population in Asia more than doubled between 1960 and 1985, growing by 3.0 percent per annum on average. Yet during that period, the proportion of the total population living in urban areas increased only from 21 to 27 percent. This seeming paradox is explained by the relatively high rates of rural population growth in Asia, which averaged 1.8 percent over the same period. The Republic of Korea has experienced the most rapid rate of urbanization in Asia during the past century. The proportion urban jumped from 28 percent in 1960 to 65 percent in 1985. There is a clear association between economic growth and the pace of urbanization in Asia. Currently natural increase accounts for about 60 percent of urban growth, but the speed of urbanization is projected to increase after 1990, and migration, reclassification and annexation will comprise about half of urban growth, Seoul is currently the fourth largest urban agglomeration in Asia, and its population is projected to be over 13 million by the end of the century. It is argued that policies to deconcentrate urban population will not be generally successful in Asia and that governments should attempt to manage the growth of large metropolitan areas more efficiently.