Karbala — UN urban centre
Karbala: 1,022,893 people. Reference: 2025 annual estimate · World rank #501 of 12,138 source urban centres. Source: UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025 (CC BY 3.0 IGO). Source identifier: 3462; territory: Iraq (IRQ). 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: 32.6049, 44.0166. National context uses World Bank estimates, a separate series and geography; no national share is inferred here.
UN population series
| Year | People | Method |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | 102,937 | Estimate |
| 1980 | 143,701 | Estimate |
| 1985 | 191,052 | Estimate |
| 1990 | 227,355 | Estimate |
| 1995 | 303,780 | Estimate |
| 2000 | 397,827 | Estimate |
| 2005 | 517,527 | Estimate |
| 2010 | 601,993 | Estimate |
| 2015 | 788,575 | Estimate |
| 2020 | 920,654 | Estimate |
| 2025 | 1,022,893 | Estimate |
| 2030 | 1,125,513 | Projection |
| 2035 | 1,236,389 | Projection |
| 2040 | 1,338,659 | Projection |
| 2045 | 1,464,173 | Projection |
| 2050 | 1,566,924 | Projection |
Largest UN urban centres · Fastest-growing urban centres
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