From 1.25 million in 1961 the city's population has reached 4.3 million in 1991. Its population is estimated to be about 6.0 million in 2001and is likely to reach 17.7 million in 2020. As the city has grown rapidly over the years, the quality of environment has declined steadily. A number of water bodies have disappeared due to encroachments. The Masab Tank, Nallakunta etc., remain only as names. So also many baghs - Kundanbagh, Basheerbagh etc. Disappearance of large number of water bodies and natural greenery has become the undoing of the city. Discharge of untreated industrial effluents and domestic sewage into the water bodies have further contributed to the decline of quality of life. Groundwater has become contaminated in several areas.

An unplanned and haphazardly built concrete jungle, traffic jams, rising vehicular pollution, rising noise levels greet the citizens on a daily basis with remarkable regularity. Submergence of several localities in flood waters, sometimes upto ten feet deep, in the last week of August 2000 was primarily because of obstructions to free flow of water due to large-scale encroachments and illegal constructions in water courses and water bodies.

In the last few years the city has emerged as an important centre for software professionals. The construction of the 'Hi-Tec City', the setting up of Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) and Indian School of Business (ISB), the setting up development centres by many software giants from India and abroad, and, last but not the least, the visit of the US President Mr. Bill Clinton in March 2000 have resulted in a lot of media attention from around the world focussing on Hyderabad.