Reading — UN urban centre
Reading: 274,632 people. Reference: 2025 annual estimate · World rank #2,112 of 12,138 source urban centres. Source: UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025 (CC BY 3.0 IGO). Source identifier: 5573; territory: United Kingdom (GBR). 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: 51.4499, -0.9704. National context uses World Bank estimates, a separate series and geography; no national share is inferred here.
UN population series
| Year | People | Method |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 143,299 | Estimate |
| 1980 | 136,619 | Estimate |
| 1985 | 148,215 | Estimate |
| 1990 | 158,513 | Estimate |
| 1995 | 181,582 | Estimate |
| 2000 | 218,152 | Estimate |
| 2005 | 230,463 | Estimate |
| 2010 | 237,976 | Estimate |
| 2015 | 254,475 | Estimate |
| 2020 | 266,597 | Estimate |
| 2025 | 274,632 | Estimate |
| 2030 | 282,340 | Projection |
| 2035 | 286,836 | Projection |
| 2040 | 290,336 | Projection |
| 2045 | 293,365 | Projection |
| 2050 | 340,857 | Projection |
Largest UN urban centres · Fastest-growing urban centres
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