You do have a couple of occupied cities, so it's likely that you're seeing the unfortunate, but also unavoidable consequences of folks who dabbled for a bit, didn't like the game all that much, and wandered off again. Their cities are removed after 30 inactive days, to make room for new blood.
The good news is that you'll soon have some new neighbors who are quite likely to be there for the long-term. The bump and run folks are more likely to try out the most recent world.
Meanwhile, look in the Fellowship seeking Members forum, or click on the shield in your in-game upper left-hand profile, and hie thee into a Fellowship, as that will provide you with access to 20+ plus more "discovered" players. You have 7003 points, so they'll be delighted to have you.