Urban Population in Roman Cities

Better measure of Roman development than raw city count because it captures concentration, not just settlement presence.

800.0kpeople

Trend YoY growth is -42.7%, slowing by 11 bps/year over the last 550Y. Latest: -20.0%, 22.7 pp above trend, a 2.2σ deviation. At current levels, YoY would rise to +0.0% by Jan '01 as comparisons ease.