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Sofia — UN urban centre

1,067,136

Sofia: 1,067,136 people. Reference: 2025 annual estimate · World rank #478 of 12,138 source urban centres. Source: UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025 (CC BY 3.0 IGO). Source identifier: 100; territory: Bulgaria (BGR). UN source workbook.

Method: Degree of Urbanisation (contiguous 1 km2 cells, density 1,500+ people/km2, total 50,000+). This is a source-defined urban centre, not a municipality or province. No association with a separate administrative entity is inferred from proximity or name.

Source centroid: 42.6853, 23.3253. National context uses World Bank estimates, a separate series and geography; no national share is inferred here.

UN population series

YearPeopleMethod
1975806,771Estimate
1980886,930Estimate
1985993,720Estimate
1990998,010Estimate
1995953,830Estimate
2000918,660Estimate
2005937,736Estimate
20101,003,504Estimate
20151,037,411Estimate
20201,079,292Estimate
20251,067,136Estimate
20301,049,065Projection
20351,030,357Projection
20401,011,607Projection
2045990,072Projection
2050970,901Projection

Largest UN urban centres · Fastest-growing urban centres

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This page is a structured reference entry. Its sources, geographic definition and reference dates determine what the figures mean; it is not independent reporting about the causes of change. Read the accompanying explanation before comparing different places or vintages.

Why an urban centre is not a municipality →

Interpretation reviewed 12 October 2026. Underlying reference years are stated on the page; this is not a fresh census or dataset refresh.