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Cartago — UN urban centre

189,608

Cartago: 189,608 people. Reference: 2025 annual estimate · World rank #3,172 of 12,138 source urban centres. Source: UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025 (CC BY 3.0 IGO). Source identifier: 494; territory: Costa Rica (CRI). 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: 9.8585, -83.9232. National context uses World Bank estimates, a separate series and geography; no national share is inferred here.

UN population series

YearPeopleMethod
197583,070Estimate
198097,893Estimate
1985109,258Estimate
1990128,480Estimate
1995139,048Estimate
2000144,824Estimate
2005166,400Estimate
2010179,666Estimate
2015188,580Estimate
2020186,978Estimate
2025189,608Estimate
2030191,499Projection
2035193,060Projection
2040193,602Projection
2045194,075Projection
2050193,176Projection

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.

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