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Karaj — UN urban centre

3,598,661

Karaj: 3,598,661 people. Reference: 2025 annual estimate · World rank #131 of 12,138 source urban centres. Source: UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025 (CC BY 3.0 IGO). Source identifier: 5114; territory: Iran (IRN). 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: 35.7595, 50.9761. National context uses World Bank estimates, a separate series and geography; no national share is inferred here.

UN population series

YearPeopleMethod
1975861,698Estimate
19801,020,427Estimate
19851,338,832Estimate
19901,681,241Estimate
19951,811,885Estimate
20001,965,705Estimate
20052,238,005Estimate
20102,630,633Estimate
20153,021,330Estimate
20203,347,818Estimate
20253,598,661Estimate
20303,727,488Projection
20353,831,933Projection
20403,932,803Projection
20454,012,438Projection
20504,064,578Projection

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.